Welp, Turns Out Joss Whedon’s Mythical ‘Wonder Woman’ Script Is Very Sexist

Here we, here we, here we fucken go.
There’s a number of mythical and whispered-about Hollywood projects that never saw the light of day, existing on only in rumour and scuttlebutt. Think Tim Burton‘s shelved ‘Superman‘ film, or the many attempts at adapting the legendary novel ‘A Confederacy of Dunces‘ into a big-screen film.
One of the more talked-about white whales has, for the last decade, been Joss Whedon‘s almost-mythical ‘Wonder Woman‘ script.
The story goes that Whedon was commissioned by Warner Bros. to write and direct a ‘Wonder Woman‘ film back in 2006. At the time, Whedon was still best-known for his TV efforts like ‘Buffy‘ and ‘Firefly,’ both of which were noted and known for their strong, fully-formed female characters that relied less on the fetishisation that still stinks through the bulk of Hollywood properties to this day, and more or their own agency and ability.
For one reason or another, the film never came to be. Fast forward to 2017 and ‘Wonder Woman‘ has finally found its way into theatres with a film starring Gal Gadot as the titular superhero, directed by Patty Jenkins. The film has received widespread critical acclaim and smashed box office records along the way.
About a month ago, Whedon’s script leaked onto the internet. By all accounts, it appeared to be the real deal; the script is watermarked with Silver Pictures, who was the production house attached to the project at the time, and all evidence seems to point towards the fact that it was, in fact, Whedon’s very real take on the ‘Wonder Woman‘ story.
The only problem, as it turns out, is that the script is ahh… sexist.
Like, extremely sexist.
The script appeared on social media overnight and was torn a new one by several people who read through it, highlighting the document’s issues.
Chief among those criticisms is the fact that Whedon’s version of the story seems less about Diana, and more about the journey of Steve Trevor. Even worse still, the script contains long passages where Diana’s form and figure are focused on in painstaking, almost unbelievable detail. Right down to leering descriptions of her feet.
“The Girl.”
In Wonder Woman’s own script, she is introduced as “The Girl.” Hoo boy.
It doesn’t get a whole lot better from there, with multiple instances of blatant misogyny that leave little doubt that this was penned for a strictly male audience.

Just for good measure, there’s even a little light racist characterisation thrown in too.

Long story short, there’s a very good and obvious reason why this didn’t get made.

If you feel like doing a little self-torture, the full script is online and available to be read via this link here.
For his part, Whedon tweeted that the version of ‘Wonder Woman‘ that did make it to the screen this year was “a goddamn delight.” And a decade is a long time in a film career. But still, it’s enough to crinkle the ole’ brow about what form the ‘Batgirl‘ standalone film will take, given Whedon is signed on to write and direct that.
If it follows form, it’ll cave in on itself and be lost to the sands of time, and we’ll be back here in 10 years’ time freaking out over that script after the critically-acclaimed version of the movie has finally hit theatres.
Everything’s a circle.

Source: The Daily Dot.

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