The 2017 summer movie season is drawing to a close, and this season was a mixed bag in the blockbuster category. One of the resounding successes, however, was Wonder Woman. Appealing to both longtime DC Comics fans and casual moviegoers, Diana of Themyscira's origin story was a critical and commercial powerhouse, so much so that Warner Bros is reportedly angling to get it some Oscar attention. But as with every movie, Wonder Woman hasn't been immune from criticism, and mostly recently, Hollywood heavyweight director James Cameron didn't hold back on expressing his dissatisfaction with how the DC heroine was adapted, to the point that he considers the movie a "step backwards." In his words:
All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She's an objectified icon, and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I'm not saying I didn't like the movie but, to me, it's a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!
James Cameron didn't tear into the entire Wonder Woman movie while speaking to The Guardian, but he made it perfectly clear that he doesn't consider the eponymous protagonist to be as positive an icon as most have lauded her as. Of course, Cameron is responsible for the creation of Sarah Connor, one of science fiction's most famous heroines. In his eyes, the Terminator protagonist was more a compelling character than Gal Gadot's version of Wonder Woman because her imperfections were emphasized over her looks, and thus doesn't feel that Wonder Woman fits the bill for who he considers to be a good female protagonist.
While James Cameron is certainly entitled to his opinion about Wonder Woman, there's no question that that the DC blockbuster has been well received by most people over the last few months. It ranks at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and it's collected over $800 million worldwide, making it the most financially successful superhero movie origin story ever. And the Wonder Woman train may not stop anytime soon. Along with her upcoming appearance in Justice League, Diana is already set to return in Wonder Woman 2 in late 2019, and Patty Jenkins is signing a "historic deal" to return as director. No details for the sequel have been revealed yet, but it's rumored that it will be set in the 1980s and see the Amazon battling the Soviet Union.
Wonder Woman will be released digitally on August 29, and the Blu-ray/DVD release will follow on September 29. Audiences will also be able to reunite with Diana of Themyscira in the present day when Justice League hits theaters on November 17. As for James Cameron, he's currently working on Avatar 2, which will come out on December 18, 2020.
