Patty Jenkins responds to James Cameron's 'Wonder Woman' comments

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has responded to comments fellow filmmaker James Cameron has made about her superhero film on Twitter.

"James Cameron's inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman," Jenkins wrote Thursday after Cameron called the DC Comics epic "a step backwards" for women in film.

"Strong women are great. His praise of my film Monster, and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated. But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we," Jenkins continued.

"I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be. There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely choose to judge their own icons of progress."

Cameron discussed his feelings towards Wonder Woman Thursday in an interview with The Guardian. "All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She's an objectified icon, and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!" he said before referring to his female character Sarah Connor from The Terminator franchise.

"I'm not saying I didn't like the movie but, to me, it's a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!" Cameron continued.

Cameron is currently busy working on four sequels to Avatar with the first addition set to arrive in December 2020.

A sequel to Wonder Woman is set to arrive on Dec. 13, 2019 with Jenkins noting that the film will take place in the United States.