Why-No-Wonder-Woman-

Wonder Woman -­‐ p. 20
April 15 th , 2013
characterʼs source material. Furthermore, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was
successful enough to spawn a sequel, while the Underworld and Resident
Evil action franchises both star a woman and have thus far produced nine
films between them.
Perhaps more alarming was a report in 2007 that then President of
Production at Warner Brothers, Jeff Robinov, issued an edict within the
studio that Warner Brothers would cease to produce female fronted films.
Although Warner Brothers issued a denial on the accuracy of the report,
the original reporter publically stood by the story and indicated that it was
Robinov who made the decision to stop the development of the Wonder
Woman film. Without concrete evidence of this edict, it is impossible to
know Robinovʼs true intensions, but it is notable that the timing of this
report coincides with the demise of two Wonder Woman scripts. Moreover,
since 2007, Warner Brothers has released less than a dozen films with a
sole female protagonist, and less than half a dozen films with a
predominantly female cast. All the while, Robinov was promoted to
President of Warner Brothers Picture Group in 2011.
However, regardless of the studioʼs attitude towards female leads, it is
simply bad business sense to not take advantage of an asset with such
widespread recognition as Wonder Woman. While the media is often, and
quite rightly, criticized for its lack of quality roles for women, there has been
a recent surge of strong, quality, female characters in both film and
literature. Novels, and their subsequent film adaptations, such as The
Hunger Games and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are all centered on
strong, independent, and resourceful young women. 2011 was heralded for
the success of Bridesmaids and The Help, two films consisting almost
entirely of female characters, and their successes prompted many to claim
that women were poised to take over the box office. While 2012 yielded the
female fronted hits The Hunger Games, Brave, and Snow White and the
Huntsmen, the two most financially successful films of the year were The
Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, two superhero films comprised
almost entirely of men with one lone woman in a black, skintight bodysuit.