When the casting for the Superman movie was announced, I’ll admit I was concerned about how writer/director James Gunn would be able to introduce the new Man on Steel and have members of the Justice League involved. While I wouldn’t say the execution was perfect, I must say I was impressed with how invested I became in the supporting cast despite my feelings toward them walking into the release. There’s even one hero I want to see a spinoff ASAP for: Hawkgirl.
I Want More Of Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl After Her Appearance In Superman
I’m already a huge Isabela Merced fan. She was amazing in The Last Of Us, and I also really liked her in a movie called Turtles All The Way Down. But I knew Superman had a packed cast, and didn’t necessarily have high hopes for what would come of her role as Hawkgirl. However, it’s been about two weeks since I watched Superman, and I’m still thinking about the impression she made on the movie.
Hawkgirl only had a few scenes, but she made the most of every one, and she’s got one of the best moments in the movie: when she drops Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos after announcing she’s “not Superman.” It was just enough of an introduction to Hawkgirl that I care about the character, and I want more. But when I looked over the list of upcoming DC movies on the way after Superman, I was disappointed to learn a Hawkgirl movie is not on the slate. What the heck?
Peacemaker Season 2, and Merced pointed out to ComicBook that she’ll specifically get to show Hawkgirl’s “relationship to Maxwell Lord”, played by Sean Gunn. But I’ll be honest, I’m tired of great female superheroes being left to the sidelines, especially when there’s a great opportunity to bring them into the spotlight. I’ve been wanting to see Hollywood adapt Hawkgirl’s story for ages, and I want it to finally happen with Merced’s version.
As Merced has shared, Hawkgirl has a “really dark” backstory, but James Gunn’s superhero movies have never shied away from some dismal stuff before. The filmmaker’s power is how he can blend the two together. There have been a lot of iterations of Hawkgirl over the years, but her version is Kendra Saunders, who is a reincarnation of an alien. In the comics, her body was taken over by Hawkgirl after Kendra died by suicide (and her parents were also previously murdered by corrupt cops). She has all of Kendra’s memories, but almost none of the past Hawkgirl various iterations aside from fighting experience.
I’d also love to see Hawkgirl and Hawkman’s epic romance be adapted, but Merced also brought up how she’s a big fan of the Green Lantern romance in Justice League: Unlimited. There’s so much here to explore. Either way, I’m going to need DC Studios to get going on a Hawkgirl movie (or TV show), ASAP!