DC Studios CEO Peter Safran confirmed that Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson is part of his and James Gunn’s DCU writing team.
During a press event providing details about his and Gunn’s vision for the DCU as well as revealing the first 10 projects on their slate, Safran confirmed that Hodson was part of their writing team.
While discussing how the cancelled Batgirl film, written by Hodson, would have hurt those involved in the project and that it was not releasable, Safran said, “Christina Hodson, the writer, she’s somebody we’re already back in business with. A lot of talented people involved, but the film was just not releasable.”
He added, “It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace. It was built for the small screen. I think it was not an easy decision, but they made the right decision by shelving it.”
Hodson is the perfect example of current Hollywood writing that drives audiences away. While promoting her subpar Transformers film, Bumblebee, Hodson revealed she self-inserts herself into the films she writes and has bought in to the false narrative that you have to have direct representation in fiction.
She told Den of Geek, “I always wanted to see me be the hero. I wanted to see me kick ass. I mean, not literally. I had no desire to be an actor, but I wanted to have those role models and those heroes.”
“I think what’s really fun is that [Bumblebee] is a big, cool, fun, action movie the boys are going to love, but girls love action, too, and this is a chance for girls to see themselves in the movie. Which I think is a really special and important thing,” Hodson added.
To elucidate this point further, Hodson revealed that Harley Quinn is inspired by her and her “general bad behavior” when asked if one of her family members inspired her interpretation of the character.
Hodson told The Hollywood Reporter, “Sadly, no — just me and my general bad behavior, although my sister did inspire the hair tie moment, which, apparently, people seem to like on the internet.”
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Hodson also appears to buy into the idea that characters have to be wounded in order to be interesting.
When asked what makes a great superhero character, she told The Mary Sue, ” Ooh, I think it’s the same thing that makes any great character: nuance and complications and depth. Being a person that’s full of contradictions and having a clear goal of what you want, but sometimes the obstacles are internal as well as external.”
“I think that one of the things with Charlie in Bumblebee is, she is the one holding herself back after the loss of her father, she is the one kind of stopping herself from being able to connect with people again,” Hodson continued.
She then explained, “So yeah, I think it’s just about adding the richness and the depth, and sometimes it’s messy and murky and complicated and as a writer, you have to find that character through a process of trial and error sometimes. But I think it’s not just going too simple, it’s looking for the good and the bad in people.”
“Batman is such a great character because he’s a hero but he also comes across as a villain sometimes, he is dark and brooding but also driven by good things. He’s got his wounds and his background that make him complex and interesting,” she concluded.
She also had Black Canary reluctant to use her iconic Canary Cry claiming it was a metaphor for not using your voice.
She told The Hollywood Reporter, “I think it was more of a metaphorical thing and just the fear of using your voice generally. I think a lot of people can relate to that fear of getting involved. Yes, absolutely, what happened to her mother put a piece of that in her, but with or without powers, I think it would’ve been there.”
She continued, “I think she saw her mother be someone who stood up for the little guy, and it didn’t work out for her, obviously. I think it’s given her this edge, this reluctance to get involved and this assumption that ‘my voice won’t count whatever happens so there’s no point in using it.'”
Hodson concluded, “I think this is something that’s relatable and real. I see it happening now in this country with the way things are going. People often feel like their voice isn’t going to have a lot of power, and obviously in Canary’s case, that voice has a very literal power.”
On top of all these comments, one only need look at her work to see this is a massive red flag. She wrote Birds of Prey, a film that flopped at the box office only bringing in $201 million at the global box office despite having a reported $82 million production budget.
The film also has poor audience reviews with the film only receiving a weighted average of 6.0 from over 243,000 IMDb users.
Popular film critic The Critical Drinker excoriated the film saying, “Birds of Prey is a garbage movie. And I mean that in the most literal sense of the word. It’s disposal entertainment of the highest order. Something you are expected to consume with absolutely zero thought or intelligence and then promptly forget about.”
“A vapid, self-indulgent, meaningless, badly written, horribly paced conglomeration of different ideas that work together about as effectively as Kathleen Kennedy and directors that are capable of independent thought,” he roasted the film.
Bumblebee fared a whole lot better at the box office. The film grossed only $127.1 million at the domestic box, but thanks to a healthy Chinese box office it grossed $465.1 million at the global box office. The movie had a reported $102 million production budget.
However, the film still has a subpar 6.7 weighted average from over 170,000 IMDb users.
YouTuber Filmento explains why the film failed, “The problem with Bumblebee is that it’s only character and no plot. As in this film does not have a plot.”
The inclusion of Hodson as part of the writing team is just another red flag in a number of red flags coming out of Gunn and Safran’s plans for the DCU.
One thing that is positive about this, is that Gunn and Safran are telling us to avoid their projects.
What do you make of Christina Hodson being part of the writing team developing the DCU?