Following the box office success of ‘Wonder Woman’ pressure is growing for a Hollywood studio to finally make a superhero movie with a strong male lead.
Superhero movies have been repeatedly criticised in recent years for their failure to provide male role models, with male characters generally relegated to romantic interest for the leading female and other supporting roles.
Robert Barhurst, film critic for The Empire magazine, told The Rochdale Herald that in his view it’s ‘just a matter of time’ before a superhero movie is made with a male lead, though he admitted that audiences might not be ‘completely prepared for such a radical development’. He noted the current domination of female superheroes such as ‘Wonder Woman, Batwoman and Mystique from X-Men’, but expressed confidence that ‘male counterparts can be created’.
News that there might soon be a male led superhero movie has been widely welcomed by men’s rights groups and the parents of young boys. Gavin Sellhurst, an IT technician and father to a four year old boy, told us he’d be ‘delighted’ if such a movie is produced, adding that its ‘difficult’ to find films which value men based on their ‘abilities and intellect rather than their physical appearance’. He added that at present the height of his son’s ambition is to be rescued by Batwoman, and he’s hoping that having a ‘prominent male superhero’ to look up to might help ‘heighten his ambitions’.
However the possibility of a male superhero movie has been slammed by some female industry insiders. Emily Perkins, an assistant film producer, commented that audiences wouldn’t be able to ‘respect or connect with’ a male superhero.
“Discussions in this direction are just another sign that Hollywood is prioritising diversity over quality content.”
