Joss Whedon Says "Sexism" Is Preventing Female-Led Superhero Movies

Digital Spy visited the set of Avengers: Age Of Ultron last summer and sat down with director Joss Whedon for a one-on-one interview. Their discussion centered on the lack of female-led superhero films. Keep in mind, this interview was conducted two months before Marvel Studios announced a Captain Marvel film will be released July 6, 2018 and Warner Brothers announced a Wonder Woman solo film was in the works.

Whedon doesn't pull any punches when asked why there is a lack of female-led superhero films. "It's a phenomenon in the industry that we call 'stupid people'," Whedon replied. "There is genuine, recalcitrant, intractable sexism, and old-fashioned quiet misogyny that goes on.

Some have argued that Halle Berry's Catwoman (2004) and Jennifer Garner's Elektra (2005) prove that female superhero films just don't work, but Whedon isn't buying that excuse. "You hear 'Oh, [female superheroes] don't work because of these two bad ones that were made eight years ago', there's always an excuse," Whedon said.

Whedon's Buffy The Vampire Slayer redefined what a female-led television series could be and he believes Marvel Studios could knock down some barriers as well. "Marvel is in a position of making a statement simply by making [a female-led] movie, which I think would be a good thing to do," Whedon stated. "But it has to be a good movie, it has to be a good character, and most of the best characters in Marvel are owned by Fox, let's face it!"

Avengers: Age Of Ultron arrives in theaters May 1, 2015.