Well now, it looks like Joss Whedon, the man who stepped in to finish Justice League when Zack Snyder had to step down and the creator of Buffy and Firefly (he also directed the Avengers movies), ha stepped down from the Batgirl movie at Warner/DC.
“Batgirl is such an exciting project, and Warners/DC such collaborative and supportive partners, that it took me months to realize I really didn’t have a story,” Whedon told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I’m grateful to Geoff [DC president Geoff Johns] and Toby [Warner BrosPicture Group president Toby Emmerich] and everyone who was so welcoming when I arrived, and so understanding when I…uh, is there a sexier word for ‘failed?'”
Whedon’s name has been attached to the Batgirl movie for a year now (here) but it seems he’s no longer the man for the gig.
According to reports Whedon really had difficulty with the story… these things happen for sure, however the report adds:
Industry sources add that even as Whedon faced story issues, in today’s cultural entertainment environment, a male filmmaker may have faced greater public scrutiny if he were to have tackled a movie with such feminist importance such as Batgirl or Wonder Woman, much like a white filmmaker would have seen backlash taking on the Black Panther movie.
Now, please don’t misunderstand us, Wonder Woman was fantastic and yes, this was undoubtedly down to the great direction by Patty Jenkins and Black Panther’s success was undoubtedly helped massively due to it being directed by Ryan Coogler, however, we still have to wonder if a movie about a girl may not necessarily need a female director, or a black character may not need a black director… James Cameron did a wonderful job on Terminator, which has Sarah Connor as its hero, and Stephen Norrington made Blade an iconic black hero.
Whedon himself created Buffy The Vampire Slayer, one of TV’s greatest iconic female heroes, and created and directed Serenity, which clearly had a female hero as well as a host of diverse characters. And was awesome.
Are we wrong? We’re not making a statement here, simply asking a question.
What are your feelings on Whedon stepping down? Let us know.
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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