In the frenzy of excitement surrounding this weekend’s release of “Avengers: Infinity War,” a less enthusiastic MCU story has arisen related to Marvel’s rumored all-female superhero team-up. At a red carpet premiere for ‘Infinity War,’ Elizabeth Olsen told Variety about the mooted idea, “I think that was something that was blown out of proportion by the media. So I don’t know.”
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The buzz around the potential project began in an interview in which Tessa Thompson described herself and other major players in the MCU, including Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson, and Zoe Saldana, pitching the idea to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. As Thompson said, “And we thought, ‘no, we should just have a whole movie where we know every day we’re going to arrive and get to work together.’ So we just ran right up to Kevin Feige and started talking about it.”
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However, Olsen’s soft dismissal is just the latest (and most public) in a series of quotes from those involved quieting the story (Thompson herself told Observer, “I don’t know. That was kind of an offhand thing, and then the press really ran with it”). An all-female Avengers-style film was a fun conversation had amongst some of the franchise’s stars, but at this point, there’s no indication that it will ever actually happen.
How bad is this news? On the one hand, it would obviously help to balance out the male-centric MCU. The rousing “Wonder Woman,” which playfully subverted cinematic gender cliches and succeeded critically and commercially, is the only point the DC Extended Universe has scored against Marvel Studios in recent years. But Marvel specializes in crossover superhero films, and one comprised entirely of women would be a major landmark.
However, even in light of this rumor getting squashed, Marvel’s upcoming slate is a big step in the right direction. Later this summer they’ll release “Ant-Man And The Wasp” (the titular Wasp is played by Evangeline Lilly). Next year brings the female-led “Captain Marvel,” an origin story built around a character played by Brie Larson (it’s also co-directed by Anna Boden and features a screenwriting team of mostly females). Finally, a solo outing for Johansson’s “Black Widow” movie is also gaining traction with several female filmmakers reportedly in the running. Honestly, after the massive build-up for ‘Infinity War,’ these more personal, organic stories sound like a breath of fresh air.
An all-female superhero team-up could be great, but, even without it, Marvel is still working towards a more balanced MCU. The extent to which the internet galvanized around this story despite little evidence that it was anywhere close to the development stage, will surely encourage Marvel to continue upping their game.