“I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff”: Not Just James Bond, Don’t Expect Jenna Ortega to Play the Genderbent Version of an Iconic Johnny Depp Role in the Future
- Jenna Ortega doesn't want to feature in gender-swapped 'Edward Scissorhands'.
- Ortega believes female characters deserve their original stories rather than being rehashed versions of male roles.
- Hollywood's attempts at gender-swapped remakes, such as 'Ghostbusters' and 'Ocean's 8', have faced challenges.
Gender representation in the entertainment industry has always been a topic of debate. Irrespective of whether any movie is an action-thriller or a romantic-drama, the balance between male and female roles is always noticed. And this has increased in recent years with more focus on female-centric films.
Jenna Ortega is one such rising female talent who has made her name in quite a short period of time. However, her recent comments regarding the James Bond franchise and one Johnny Depp film show why Hollywood’s approach to gender equality is sometimes offtrack.
Jenna Ortega Doesn’t Want to Play Gender-Swapped Edward Scissorhands
Wednesday fame Jenna Ortega has earned a name for being the new scream queen of the entertainment industry. In a recent interview with MTV, the actress was asked if she would like to feature in a gender-flipped version of Johnny Depp‘s fantasy-romance Edward Scissorhands.
In the movie, Depp’s character was an unfinished artificial humanoid named Edward who fell in love with Winona Ryder’s character Kim. In the interview, Ortega got real about gender-swapped remakes and dropped some truth bombs.
I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special, but we should have our own. I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see like ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass.
Ortega’s comments raise concern about the future of female roles and whether flipping the script is enough, like in this case. But she is not alone who has that opinion. There have been speculations going around for years now that a female Bond will be featured soon.
But the longtime producer Barbara Broccoli told The Hollywood Reporter, “I don’t think a woman should play James Bond.” However, there have been some popular female-led roles also, like Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde, Ortega herself in Wednesday, Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow, and so on.
But none of their characters in the mentioned movies or shows are just rehashed versions of male roles. This just shows that audiences are ready for fresh takes and new original stories on female characters.
Problems with Hollywood’s Gender Flips
Although gender-swapped remakes might seem like a quick fix for Hollywood’s diversity problem, they have their own challenges and drawbacks.
Take the 2016 Ghostbusters remake. It sparked some controversy before it even hit theaters. Some fans saw it as a politically motivated attack on their childhood heroes. The backlash got so bad that it overshadowed any discussion on the film’s positives.
Another example is Ocean’s 8. Though it was a fun heist movie with a stellar cast, it still couldn’t escape the original’s shadow. Such remakes often get challenging for female actors.
They are expected to not only replace the original characters but to improve on them. They are expected to be funny but not offensive, and they have got to be attractive but not objectified. It is a fine line that male characters rarely have to deal with.
Also, the industry still has not got over the notion that the ultimate villain needs to be a guy. But perhaps the biggest issue is that remakes can feel like they are dodging something. Instead of creating new, original roles for women, studios are recycling old ideas that rarely sit well with the audience.
Edward Scissorhands is available to stream on Disney+.
Ghostbusters (2016) and Ocean’s 8 are available to stream on Prime Video.
