For the most part, fans weren’t too pleased with the recent announcement that the highly anticipated Wonder Woman 1984 has been delayed an additional seven months, but in what’s likely a mere accident, this development does gift the DCEU with a noteworthy ‘first’ for superhero cinema.
With Birds of Prey also due for release in 2020, it seems that Warner Bros. will have the honor of being the first studio to release two female-led comic book movies in a single year. It’s a moment that DC looks set to beat the MCU to the punch on quite comfortably, with Marvel Studios only just releasing their first female-led film, Captain Marvel, in March next year.
DC’s 2020 release slate could be regarded as a sign that we’re starting to move away from the days where female superheroes were considered a rare exception rather than a norm. It’s worth remembering that the original Wonder Woman was the first of its kind since 2005’s Elektra, and when the Patty Jenkins-helmed flick did hit cinemas in 2017, its critical acclaim and commercial success marked a break in the pattern of female-led comic book movies being critically panned box office bombs.
Since then, Marvel Studios has announced their intention to vastly increase the number of female superheroes in their saga, and this can be seen in a release slate that includes Captain Marvel and Black Widow, the latter of which is reported to be heading for a 2020 release.
As for the DCEU, Wonder Woman has proven to be the exception in a franchise that’s largely seen mixed-to-negative reception, but the confirmed R-rating for Birds of Prey gives us at least one reason to be optimistic as we await its release on February 7th, 2020. After that, Wonder Woman 1984 will be completing its unexpectedly long journey to cinemas on June 5th of the same year.