The upcoming Wonder Woman is, without question, the most anticipated comic book film led by a woman. That's admittedly not a huge statement, seeing as how the other two are Elektra and Catwoman. But all the same, there's a great deal of excitement in the air for Wonder Woman and the new path it will hopefully blaze. One way the film is straying from the pack is with its central romance which will find the male lead (Chris Pine as Steve Trevor) in a supporting role. However, Trevor won't just be "the damsel," as his relationship with Diana will be unique to a comic book film.
Wonder Woman screened new footage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this past week, and Chris Pine was on hand during the presentation. Pine plays Steve Trevor, who in the simplest of terms, is the film's love interest, but no one making the film labeled him as such. Yahoo! Movies caught up with Pine and asked him how his role as the love interest felt and this is what he had to say:
The question doesn't service anything but this narrative of hierarchy. What you're asking almost flips the script, and the question is, 'Do I enjoy being the second?' I think this is a movie about parity. This is a movie about two people bringing a lot to the table with completely disparate qualities. She happens to be a superhero; I happen to be ... definitely not. But there's no judgment or discussion or conversation in the narrative about a hierarchy. It's not a matriarchal structure; it's not a patriarchal structure --- it's just human beings trying to figure out how to live in this awful world.
What Chris Pine is essentially saying here is that the film treats Steve and Diana (Gal Gadot) as equals, despite the fact that one is a superhero, and that the movie never presents one as being superior to the other. Wonder Woman is definitely going to be saving Trevor a whole bunch, but that doesn't mean he's treated as a "dude in distress," (a term I've never heard before but will now say as frequently as possible), it just means that Diana likes to save people.
There's certainly no shortage of comic book movies where the female lead is labeled a damsel. Even Marvel movies tend to find their female characters in a perilous situation waiting for the hero to rescue them, despite being competent characters themselves. Thankfully, movies have been slowly moving away from what many may consider an archaic trope, and here's hoping Wonder Woman can help speed it up a little.
Wonder Woman is directed by Patty Jenkins and his expected to hit theaters on June 2, 2017. For more on Wonder Woman, here's What We Know So Far about the film.
