The world of superheroes is not exclusive to male characters, and the film industry is finally embracing female superheroes and antiheroes – but so far, those movies have been spinoffs. Superheroes and other comic book characters have been dominating the film industry in the past decade, in big part thanks to connected universes like Marvel’s and DC’s, though this last one didn’t take off as planned, and is currently going through some changes to give it the boost it needs (and deserves).
DC’s movie universe (unofficially titled DC Extended Universe) began in 2013 with Man of Steel, and the following movies gave fans a Batman and Superman crossover in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, introduced Harley Quinn and more in Suicide Squad, gave Wonder Woman her first solo movie, and brought Aquaman and Shazam to life. However, the underperformance of Justice League prompted Warner Bros. to make some changes, and it all begins with Birds of Prey, which marks Harley Quinn’s return far from the Joker.
Marvel Studios, on the other hand, has been quite busy building its own connected universe. It all began in 2008 with Iron Man, and it has since produced 22 movies, of which only one is a female led story: Captain Marvel. Both universes have more female superhero movies coming up, but they are all spinoffs in some way – except for one, which isn’t part of any of these worlds.
Birds of Prey is led by Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and her new squad: Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez). Together, they will do their best to protect Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from crime lord Roman Sionis a.k.a. Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). Although this movie puts Harley at the front and center, it’s a Suicide Squad spinoff. The same happens in the MCU – although Captain Marvel introduced Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and told her origin story, it’s not exactly a brand new film as it’s, essentially, an MCU spinoff as a whole, and the same can be said about the upcoming Black Widow.
The only exception is Tank Girl. Created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, Tank Girl is a British comic book that follows Rebecca Buck a.k.a. Tank Girl, a tank pilot (of course) who undertakes various missions for a nebulous organization before making a serious mistake and being declared an outlaw. Tank Girl was adapted to the big screen in 1995 with Lori Petty as the title character, and even though it didn’t do well with critics, it has built a cult following. A Tank Girl reboot was announced in September 2019 after Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, optioned the rights from MGM. The project might already have a director, and it would be the first female hero movie that isn’t a spinoff. Tank Girl is in early stages of development, and it might not happen as soon as many would like, but it’s definitely arriving in a much better time than the original version did, and it will have a lot to thank Captain Marvel and Birds of Prey for.
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