James Cameron: Wonder Woman Is 'A Step Backwards'

The Terminator director compares Wonder Woman to Sarah Connor.

By Jonathon Dornbush

Avatar and Terminator director James Cameron believes that, despite its box office and critical success, Wonder Woman is still a symbol of "male Hollywood doing the same old thing."

Speaking to The Guardian, Cameron told the outlet that Hollywood has been far too self-congratulatory about the film and that it is actually "a step backwards" because Wonder Woman is "an objectified icon.

"All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided," Cameron told The Guardian. "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."

Cameron specifically compared the representation of Wonder Woman, played by Fast and Furious star Gal Gadot, to Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton in Cameron's Terminator films.

"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," Cameron said.

Cameron is currently working on four Avatar sequels, for which release dates were recently revealed — Avatar 2 won't hit until December 18, 2020. The villain for the sequels was also recently revealed. Cameron has also recently discussed the possibility of a Terminator reboot, as well as a possible role for original star Arnold Schwarzenegger in those new films.

Wonder Woman, for which Warner Bros. and DC confirmed a sequel at San Diego Comic-Con, has continued to break box office records ahead of its release on home video. Most recently passing the $800 million worldwide box office mark, as well as the $400 million domestic mark, Wonder Woman has become the highest-grossing superhero origin film domestically ever.

The DC superhero film also recently became the highest-grossing blockbuster of the 2017 summer season, the biggest domestic hit of the DC Extended Universe, and the highest-grossing film by a female director.

WB is reportedly eyeing an Oscar campaign for Wonder Woman and the film's director Patty Jenkins is reportedly close to a historic deal to direct Wonder Woman 2.

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Let's block ads! (Why?)