It seems that whenever a new comic book movie comes out or is set to premiere, most self-respectable geeks like myself are beyond themselves with excitement. We always rush to the theaters and buy the latest merch, but it seems that a certain Amazonian warrior princess is being ignored.
The latest DC movie Wonder Woman premieres in less than a month and will be the first ever real-life action movie for the character. For years Wonder Woman has been pushed aside, only allowed to appear in animated films and television but now she will finally be seen on the big screen and not have to share the spotlight. Yet, the DC marketing department does not seem to think this movie deserves much attention.
If you didn’t know Wonder Woman was set to release in less than a month, no one could blame you because the amount of marketing this movie has seen in comparison to other DC films is abysmal.
The hype should be off the charts for the first unveiling of Princess Diana but instead, what do we get? Four trailers and two “Tilt Brush” videos explaining the concept art. However, when Suicide Squad came out, I couldn’t go on to YouTube or any social media platform without being bombarded by the world’s “worst heroes”. Similarly, Batman v Superman was marketed much more with celebrity interviews on who will win and videos of Ben Affleck interacting with fans. All you have to do is look at the YouTube playlist to see the stark difference between the marketing for Suicide Squad and the marketing for Wonder Woman.
Even the upcoming Justice League movie has been getting the same (if not more) attention from Warner Brothers with “Meet the Team” videos despite the release date being seven months from now. To make matters worse, the marketing Warner Brothers has done for Wonder Woman has been through diet products. Why is a movie about female empowerment and strength being marketed by an industry that constantly tells women they must change something about themselves? The diet company Think Thin that Warner Brothers has partnered with is destroying the message Wonder Woman is supposed to send.
The ultimate question is not why is DC doing this but why are we even surprised? For decades both DC and Marvel have neglected to spotlight female superheros with claims that “no one will pay to see them” and that “it will tank in the box office”.
While the comic book world is bursting with female heroes, they were until recently virtually non-existent in the film world. And still, many of those female characters are pushed to the side or used just as a romantic subplot or villainous diversion. Wonder Women will be the first DC or Marvel movie to start a heroine in over 10 years. And Warner Brothers hopes it flops because then it will give them a justification to not make another female driven movie. If any questions are asked, the company can simply say that movies like Wonder Woman don’t sell.
It is our responsibility to go to the theaters and prove to Warner Brothers and all companies affiliated with DC and Marvel that we do want to see female superheroes, in fact, we demand it.
