After Black Panther and Wonder Woman, Batgirl needs a female director

Joss Whedon’s exit from the Batman spin-off offers an opportunity to repeat the successes of recent superhero movies helmed by diverse film-makersTo see the world through illiberal eyes is scary.

While researching the rightwing reaction to movies such as Thor (with Idris Elba playing the Norse god Heimdall as a black guy with a Hackney accent) and Ghostbusters (the recent all-female remake), I’ve had to scan the internet’s darker corners, where those brewing their vitriol against such “controversial” casting decisions hang out.The overwhelming message broadcast by these shouty sites is that the white male is under cultural and existential threat.

The gradual shift towards creating a Hollywood that better reflects society’s diversity is not seen as a fascinating opportunity to enrich our cinema with fresh voices and perspectives, but as a sinister campaign to reverse the status quo, in which white blokes are always the righteous,

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