Joss Whedon defends 2006 'Wonder Woman' script after scathing backlash

There was a time when Joss Whedon was going to direct a Wonder Woman film but after his script was shared online many people were relieved it never got made.

Now the Avengers: Assemble and Avengers: Age of Ultron director has jumped to the defence of the 2006 screenplay (which you can read here), saying he stands by it.

Speaking to Variety at the Avengers: Infinity War premiere, Whedon said he “re-read the script after I heard there was a backlash, I think it’s great.”

“People say that it’s not woke enough. I think they’re not looking at the big picture. It’s easy to take one phrase out of context,” he continued.

“Not that I was the most woke individual that ever lived at that time ten years ago, but I was in there swinging and the movie has integrity and the characters have integrity and I stand by it.”

Many people criticised his script because they felt it was sexist and focused more on Steve Trevor’s heroic narrative than Diana’s. Everything about the film would have been from a male perspective, Steve’s perspective, and judging by the directions it would have been presented through the male gaze too.

It’s no wonder that people were happy with the news that Whedon would not be directing Warner Bros’ planned Batgirl movie.

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The director said it was “a little heartbreaking” to leave the project, which as it turns out was because his idea for the movie “didn’t fit in the space that was left for it.”

Warner Bros has since hired Christina Hodson to pen the new script having written the screenplay for Transformers spin-off Bumblebee. All we know so far about the film is that it will focus on Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon.

The studio is clearly making an effort to ensure their female-led films have female talent behind the scenes too. Patty Jenkins is returning to write and direct Wonder Woman 2 while Cathy Yan has been hired to direct Birds of Prey, featuring Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

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