10 Times Movie Sequels Screwed Over Strong Female Characters
Was it something they said?
"It's a man's world and show business is a man's meal, with women generously sprinkled through it like overqualified spice" - Carrie Fisher
Although it has been four years since the death of Carrie Fisher, her inspiring, no-nonsense personality lives on through her groundbreaking portrayal of Princess Leia.
There has been a plethora of strong female characters before and since Leia, whose bravery and charisma broke the glass ceiling and earned their rightful place in cinema history.
Undoubtedly, there is still a long way to go, but the representation of strong women in films has never been better as the movie industry is trying desperately to produce and finance films that pass the famous Bechdel Test*, in order to portray a more diverse representation of women beyond the typical damsel in distress cliché.
Despite the recent influx of tenacious heroines, sometimes a heavily featured female lead can go from audacious butt-kicker to timid sidekick just one movie later. This list will look at the times that some of the most famous female characters were inexplicably rewritten in sequels and ended up being a shadow of their former selves.
*A film that has at least two women in it who talk to each other and it's about something other than a man.
10. Astrid Hofferson - How To Train Your Dragon 2
It's almost unbelievable to think that the first How To Train Your Dragon film came out 10 years ago.
In 2010, Cressida Cowell's iconic books got the nod to become a series of films created by DreamWorks Animations. The film follows Hiccup, the son of the mighty chieftain Stoick The Vast and heir to the city of Berk.
At Hiccup's Viking school the audience meets Astrid Hofferson. She is the best in class by a mile showing off her strength, intelligence and speed, leaving the rest of the knuckleheaded Vikings in her dust.
Her famous quote "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it" perfectly encapsulates her bravery and fearlessness, making her one of the strongest female characters in animated cinema.
Astrid's character ark is a complex one as her appreciation for Hiccup and dragons grows throughout the film showing more of her character other than her tough exterior.
In HTTYD 2, however, Astrid is a shadow of her former self. Sure one could argue she has matured from being a teenager desperate for a fight, but it's a shame she has no stand out scenes which showed why she was a standout character in the first film.