2020 has had more than its fair share of difficulties; those in the movie industry have been particularly affected by the pandemic that the year delivered to many first-world countries.
Originally set to be a huge year for most major movie studios, especially Disney and Warner Bros., 2020 resulted in the closure of theaters worldwide to, resulting in studios finding alternate ways to release their films to the public.
Christmas Day brings the release of Wonder Woman 1984, which will be one of the first major movies to enjoy a theatrical release in months. It will be only the second high-profile superhero movie after Warner Bros. released Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey in February, and it comes in a year in which no new releases came from Marvel Studios for the first time since 2009.
As one of the most prominent female directors working today, Jenkins took note of this unfortunate fact with her most recent quotes concerning her colleagues at Marvel Studios.
NEWS
In a recent interview with AP News, Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins lamented the fact that 2020 didn't bring the numerous female-directed blockbusters like Marvel Studios' Black Widow and Eternals to the big screen like originally planned. Describing the network of directors including herself, Black Widow's Cate Shortland and Eternals' Chloe Zhao as "a network of filmmakers who all really kind of help each other," Jenkins expressed her sadness that her colleagues have to wait to see their work on the big screen:
"It’s been too bad that this year was the year that they were all going to come out ... It’s bad timing."
In the midst of her disappointment, she still found a way to celebrate everything that's coming for female directors, partly thanks to Jenkins herself opening the doors with 2017's Wonder Woman:
"The idea that no one had done a movie of that scale before I did and then there are like five now on the heels of it is amazing. Obviously those directors have been out there and ready and waiting."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Even though Patty Jenkins has established herself as one of the DCEU's top behind-the-scenes personalities, it's evident that she wants to see her contemporaries at Marvel Studios enjoy the same level of success that she has had over the past half-decade.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has only utilized the services of one female director with Anna Boden co-directing 2019's Captain Marvel, but Phase 4 is set to amend that in a big way. Black Widow and Eternals are led by Cate Shortland and Chloé Zhao, respectively, and 2022 will see Nia DaCosta taking over the reins on the upcoming Captain Marvel 2.
After pandemic-related delays shut the MCU completely out of 2020, Jenkins expresses the same sadness toward the MCU's delays as she does for those to her own in the DCEU. Women in movies are taking on more responsibility every year, and it will be a huge step forward for the industry when these anticipated blockbusters finally make their way to comic book movie fans worldwide.
Wonder Woman 1984 now available to watch in theaters and on HBO Max. In the MCU, Black Widow is scheduled for theatrical release on May 7, 2021, while Eternals will make its debut on November 5, 2021.
