Sarah Michelle Gellar knows what it’s like to direct a genre hit, having starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer for seven seasons. Now, in a new interview with The Guardian, she claims that the fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are less receptive to projects led by women.
“Genre films are an area where women can be successful and attract audiences,” she told the outlet. “Every time a Marvel movie tries to cast a female cast, they just destroy it… Unfortunately, the public doesn’t accept it.”
“There’s still that ‘male superhero’ mentality, that backwards thinking”he added.
The first Marvel movie starring women was Captain Marvel (2019), which was bombarded with reviews on Rotten Tomatoes prior to its release. The attack was so severe that it led the website to take preventive measures against such practices by banning user comments on a movie before its release to the public.
Other female-led Marvel projects, such as the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Lawyer She-Hulkhave had to face similar reactions on platforms such as IMDb.
In 2021, Gellar herself accused Joss Whedon (director of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) of abuse and unprofessional behavior.
“Not a day goes by without you picking up a specialist magazine and you hear about the dismissal of a series director for improper behavior” he said. “When I grew up, people were screaming on sets: actors, directors, everyone. That no longer happens. If someone comes out on set yelling, it’s like, ‘Peace! No one has to be treated like this, we’ve already talked about it.
Now, Gellar has returned to genre television with Wolf Packhis new Paramount+ teen series.