Guardians of the Galaxy is breaking box office records this weekend, but more importantly it’s breaking barriers in Hollywood by being the first Marvel script credited to a woman.
What’s more interesting is that Guardians of the Galaxy is the first Marvel film to have been written by a woman that’s actually received credit for their work.
Screenwriter Nicole Perlman has been on the rise for quite some time. She’s been included in up-and-coming screenwriter lists for years now and even did some work on Thor’s script, but she’s finally been given credit for being the screenwriter of Marvel’s latest film, which is being touted for its unique storyline.
While director James Gunn co-wrote Guardians’ script, Perlman is being given credit by Marvel. She’s even reportedly involved in writing a treatment for the solo Black Widow film featuring Scarlett Johansson’s Russian S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was most recently featured in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
In a recent interview with TIME magazine, Perlman explained her attempts to persuade studios to put their trust in a woman’s hands to write sci-fi, saying, “I was noticing that I was having trouble convincing people, when I was pitching on projects, that I would be capable of doing this. There was a little bit of an attitude of, ‘Well, you’re a woman, you’re not writing romantic comedies, we’ll give you the Marie Curie biopic.'”
We would have never expected to learn that Guardians of the Galaxy was Marvel’s first go with a female screenwriter, but it seems that Perlman struggled to get her foot in the door for a big budget sci-fi film – or at least get credit for her work.
Even more surprising is that Perlman revealed she went uncredited for her work on Thor, despite reportedly writing, “all of Natalie Portman’s scenes.”
During the interview, Perlman also strongly suggested that Marvel is developing a movie (or movies) around female superheros. It’s most likely less about who will be the first solo female superhero, but how soon it’ll be headed to theaters.
Related: Guardians of the Galaxy after-credits scene explained
Women have always had a difficult time breaking into Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes positions, but this definitely makes screenwriting feel a bit like the NFL: No women allowed (except on the sidelines).
WWE star Dave Batista, who plays Drax in Guardians, revealed in a recent interview with CBC that he was very pleased to see strong female roles like Gamora and Nebula in Marvel’s highly anticipated film, mostly because he was raised by a single mother.
The WWE star, who is new to acting but has been considered a standout in Guardians, says, “It was just me and my mom and my sister growing up, and it really feels good to see that strong woman. She’s not just sitting in the background. She’s got that sweet side to her but she’s definitely, I mean, she’s strong, intelligent, independent. She’s a character within herself. She stands out.”
Zoe Saldana and Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan’s characters were a highlight of Guardians, but we expressed our concern that their characters were a bit underused in the film in our review.
Gamora and Nebula had some of the more interesting storylines, especially their connection to Thanos, yet they appeared to have less screentime than their co-stars.
It’s great that Nicole Perlman is getting solid coverage for her work on Guardians of the Galaxy’s excellent script because she deserves it, and we hope that Hollywood takes notice that women are clearly capable of developing sci-fi that men and women will flock to theaters to catch on the big screen.
Before director James Gunn had even signed on to direct the film or Chris Pratt had signed on to star, Nicole Perlman was scribbling away for two and a half years in an attempt to get Guardians of the Galaxy into Marvel’s fold, and we can honestly say she has exceeded all of our expectations.
Without Perlman, it seems we may have seen a different film entirely, or possibly no film at all.