'Black Widow,' 'Birds Of Prey,' 'Wonder Woman': Female Superhero Movies Will Dominate In 2020

The future is female, and 2020 sure is looking bright. Superhero movies, a genre long dominated by men, have been slowly embracing leading ladies over the last few years. In 2020, women will headline or co-headline the biggest superhero films of the year from both DC and Marvel. Get the details on all the female-fronted comic book movies coming out in 2020:

First up is “Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn),” out Feb. 7. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn returns after breaking up with the Joker, and she quickly finds herself having to work with Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez). They’re teaming up to take down Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) and Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), who have started targeting Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).

The DC Comics adaptation, like many of the films on this list, also has women working behind the scenes in major roles. Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”) directs “Birds of Prey” from a script by Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”).

Next up is “The New Mutants” — if it doesn’t get pushed for the umpteenth time. Currently set for April 3, 2020, this is set to be the final X-Men movie from 20th Century Fox, but it doesn’t feature the familiar superpowered heroes. Instead, it revolves around a new group of teen mutants, which includes powerful young women like Illyana Rasputin/Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy), Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams) and Danielle Moonstar/Mirage (Blu Hunt). They’re trapped in an institution against their will, and they have to find a way out in this scary flick. Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga and Alice Braga round out the cast.

The movie, directed by Josh Boone (“The Fault in Our Stars”), underwent extensive reshoots, which are said to make it even more frightening. It was initially set to come out in spring 2018, then summer 2019 and now spring 2020. Disney is rumored to feel it has “limited box office potential,” so this one probably isn’t breaking any records. Still, it’ll be interesting to see a horror-inspired superhero movie.

Then, it’s the female-fronted flick that fans have waited 10 years to see. “Black Widow” hit theaters May 1. After being introduced in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” and dying in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” Black Widow is finally getting a solo movie in 2020. Set between “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” the film follows Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) as she reunites with figures from her past including Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). She might want their help to fight her latest foe, Taskmaster.

“Black Widow” is directed by Cate Shortland (“Lore”) and written by Jac Schaeffer (“Captain Marvel”) and Ned Benson (“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”).

Just a month after Marvel Studios’ long-running leading lady gets her solo movie, Warner Bros. will bring DC Comics’ Amazonian princess back to the big screen. “Wonder Woman 1984” is due in theaters on June 5. The movie will catch up with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) in 1984 as she faces off against Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and somehow reunites with the long-dead Steve Trevor (Chris Pine).

Patty Jenkins, who helmed the 2017’s “Wonder Woman,” directs a screenplay she wrote with Geoff Johns and David Callaham.

Finally, Marvel Studios’ “The Eternals,” which will release Nov. 6, also has plenty of girl power in their diverse lineup. The cast includes Angelina Jolie as Thena, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Salma Hayek as Ajak and Lia McHugh as Sprite. The ladies are Eternals, powerful beings created by the Celestials to protect humanity from the Deviants.

Chloé Zhao (“The Rider”) directs from a script by Matthew K. Firpo and Ryan Firpo. The cast also includes Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as Druig and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman.