While next year’s “Wonder Woman” will mark the beginning of the female fronted superhero movie, over on Netflix, “Jessica Jones” has already been a trailblazer. The first season of the Marvel series earned accolades not just for having a woman in the lead, but for dealing with issues such as sexual abuse and PTSD from a distinctly female perspective. That lens has made the show stand out from the pack, and for season two, “Jessica Jones” is going to continue ensuring the narrative is being guided by female hands.
At the Transforming Hollywood 7: Diversifying Entertainment conference on Friday, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg announced that every episode of “Jessica Jones” season two will be directed by a woman.
READ MORE: Why Marvel & Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’ Feels Like Such A Missed Opportunity
The names of the filmmakers haven’t yet been revealed, but while the plan was to prioritize the hiring of female directors for season two from the start, it was pitched to Rosenberg to try and recruit only women for those jobs, and she rolled with the idea. It will mark a big increase from the first season which only had three female directors behind the camera, with six men handling the rest of the episodes.
In a time when more diversity is being called for in the industry, Hollywood can either wait for change to happen, or make it happen themselves. And Rosenberg’s move is exactly the kind of proactive decision making the industry needs more of if it’s going to see any kind of substantive shift and considerable impact on this issue in a timely manner. So big kudos to Rosenberg, Netflix and Marvel for going down this path.
Filming on “Jessica Jones” season two will begin next year. [Variety]