Sarah Michelle Gellar Called Out Unfair Criticism of Female-Led Superhero Movies

Publish date: 2024-04-22

With Paramount+'s Wolf Pack, Sarah Michelle Gellar is back in the world of the supernatural — a place where she made her name and a genre where she feels that she can really shine. But in a new interview, she noted that even though she's been in the business for more than two decades and seen the rise of superhero films (a cousin to the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for sure), she still sees rampant sexism. She pointed out that female-led films and series, like Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, fall victim to review-bombing and face undue criticism from fans. 

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“[The] genre is where women can really succeed and hold an audience,” Gellar said to the Guardian. “Every time a Marvel movie tries to do a female cast, it just gets torn apart … Unfortunately, audiences weren’t as accepting. There’s still this mentality of ‘the male superhero,’ this very backward way of thinking.”

She went on to say that even as she's racked up producing credits and executive producing credits, she still deals with being dismissed on set. She added that people seem to forget the fact that she's done it all, from acting and stunt work to behind-the-scenes operations.

“I still don’t get taken seriously by men on sets. I still feel the need, sometimes, to read [out] my résumé, like: ‘How many of these shows have you done? How many experiences have you had at 2 a.m. with 250 extras, a late shot, a stunt–all of these things? I not only have produced it, but I’ve also been in it. Listen to me, because I know where I’m coming from,’” she said.

As for what she's doing to make sure her team isn't part of the problem, Gellar added that she's acting as a mentor in addition to showing off her chops in front of the camera.

“[I was able] to set up an infrastructure for the younger cast”, she said. “Something that I know for sure that I didn’t have on any of my jobs.”

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