We need more heroines in film

%C2%A0

 

Guardians of the Galaxy made me so happy as a girl, as a geek and as someone who simply enjoys well-placed explosions.

I loved the songs-of-my-childhood soundtrack, humor, action and yes, the giant talking tree. But one thing that really elevated the movie for me was the inclusion of Zoe Saldana. She plays Gamora, an impressively independent, fleshed-out female superheroine, something that has been absent in previous Marvel installments.

Not only was she portrayed as competent, reasonable and heroic, the character somehow escaped the many pitfalls women fall victim to in superhero movies. She didn’t become the damsel in distress (how many times did she get the team back on track?) or the love interest/sex object.

Let’s be real, female role models in superhero movies are pretty hard to come by. And while the love for Gamora has been wonderful, with it comes the realization that we female geeks don’t have many female characters to celebrate.

Kevin Fallon of the Daily Beast wrote earlier this month about fan reactions to Gamora and the potential for a superheroine starring in her own movie in the near future. His prognosis was grim.

Studio president Kevin Feige was asked earlier about the possibility of a female-led superhero movie.  “We find ourselves in the very strange position of managing more franchises than most people have …” he answered. “But does it mean you have to put one franchise on hold for three or four years in order to introduce a new one? I don’t know.”

It’s a trend that’s visible across the board: women are featured in movies, but have trouble getting their own.

According to Slash Film’s Peter Sciretta, it looks like we may have to wait to see Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow as part of yet another ensemble in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in May of 2015.

For those of us who like our female protagonists to hopefully have a little more screen time than that packed cast will allow, there’s 20th Century Fox’s “Fantastic Four” reboot where we’ll see how Kate Mara handles the role of Sue Storm in June of 2015.

And then we have to wait again for Gal Gadot to carry our hopes and dreams as Wonder Woman in “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” in March of 2016.

“Captain America 3”  will also be released in March of 2016, which, if she reprises her role, will be Scarlett Johanson’s fifth Marvel appearance in a supporting role.

Isn’t it time we stopped making our female characters play backup?

[email protected]