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For the past few years, the trend of franchises led by male characters, subverted and rewritten for female heroines, has been gaining ground in Hollywood. First there was Ghostbusters and its 100% female cast in 2016, then Ocean's 8 in 2018 led by Cate Blanchett and Sandra Bullock, and then to some extent the new Star Wars trilogy featuring Rey – A Jedi. So when a journalist from MTV ask to Jenna Ortega, in full promotion of Beetlejuice Beetlejuicewhat she thinks about the idea of becoming a female version from Edward Scissorhandsa character played by Johnny Depp, in a possible spin-off of Tim Burtonshe smiles before pointing out that it would be more judicious to create new franchises for women rather than assigning them roles initially written for men:
“I like the fact that there are more women in leading roles these days, I think it's special. But we should have our own franchises instead. I don't like it when it's some kind of spin-off – I don't want to see 'Jamie Bond' you know? I want to see other badass heroines.”
If these franchise rewrites make it possible to give women a place in an industry that still struggles to give them one – the year 2023 was for example very bad for women who only represented 30% of the main characters in the top 100 – for the actress of Wednesday And Scream Vit would be better to create new works for them, without the influence of male narrative. The problem is that the lack of women in the industry undermines this desired creativity.
But Jenna Ortega can rest assured, 'Jamie Bond' is not going to happen anytime soon. Although the idea may have been raised after Daniel Craig's departure as the famous agent 007, the producer of the spy franchise, Barbara Brocoli, has no intention of making James Bond a woman. In 2021, she told the Hollywood Reporter :
“I believe in creating characters for women, not just women playing male roles.”
There are plenty of female spy films in cinema. To name just a handful, Red Sparrow, Atomic Blonde or even 355.
As for female-led franchises, they may not be as numerous as those focused on men, but they are just as popular. As proof, Alien led by the ruthless Sigourney Weaver Kill Bill embodied by Uma Thurman, Hunger Games and the famous Katniss Evergreen, Charlie's Angels and his trio of angels, Underworld following the vampire killer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) over five films or even Scream – franchise in which, by her presence, Jenna Ortega herself reinforces the presence of women in their franchise.
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