There's no use having Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad or interviewing Chris Pine about Wonder Woman if you can't do it right

Jimmy Kimmel couldn't believe that Chris Pine was playing second fiddle to Wonder Woman – an incredulous 'Do you have powers?' was quickly followed by, 'Who talked you into this?'

It’s no revelation to say that Hollywood is sexist. But it really has been remarkable to hear discussions about female superheroes in 2016 – or, more accurately, their love interests.

When Chris Pine came to talk to Jimmy Kimmel about his role as Steve Trevor in the upcoming Wonder Woman film at the beginning of the year, Kimmel just couldn’t get his head around the whole thing. His first remark was: “You’re playing Wonder Woman?” Sure, it was a comment played for laughs, but it was still telling that the first words out of his mouth suggested Chris Pine couldn’t have taken a role where he played second fiddle to a woman, so he must be the lead – ha!

Pine batted the comment away by calling Wonder Woman “a very impressive piece of filmmaking” –perhaps a suggestion to bring the conversation around to the story, or the progressive nature of the film – but Kimmel just continued down his original line of enquiry.

“They’re not married, right?”

“Do you have powers?”

“Who talked you into this?”

The questions just kept coming. Earlier this week, he interviewed Pine for the second time, and again brought up his shock that Pine had taken the role, saying he was a “strong man” to go from playing Captain Kirk to Wonder Woman’s boyfriend. The disbelief and incredulity about a man “stepping back” to take a secondary role in a film was obvious. As a man, after all, shouldn’t Pine be front and centre at all times?

This wasn’t the case when Scarlett Johansson, one of the highest paid actors ever, was cast as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, a film in which she didn’t even play one of the main characters. Similarly, when veteran actor and Oscar winner Natalie Portman took the role of Jane Foster opposite newbie Chris Hemsworth in Thor, nothing was said. Clearly, what is considered a career regression for a man just isn’t for a woman.

While these Kimmel interviews may have been done in a light-hearted talk show manner, the casual nature of the conversation shouldn’t obscure the undertone that ran through both interviews: the way women in superhero films are talked about in the media is problematic, and it’s problematic everywhere.

It’s happened during the release of Suicide Squad, a notable film in itself for including four women in the ensemble, two of whom are women of colour. However, in the many things written about Suicide Squad since it was released, this diversity hasn’t been mentioned. Margot Robbie’s hotpants have been – numerous times – as, for some reason, has Cara Delevingne losing her virginity. But Emmy winner Viola Davies’ role has barely been mentioned and Karen Fukuhara, the only Asian cast member, is omitted from discussions almost entirely. It’s a big ensemble and not everyone can be central to discussions in the media, but the conversations that end up persistently excluded are the ones about women.

It may seem like a small criticism to make; after all, the studios are at least making the films, regardless of how the media responds. But if we really want female superheroes to be seen as equal to male superheroes, it’s not good enough just to cast the roles: we need to direct the narrative and make sure people talk about them in the right way.

If we notice them, recognise what they do well and constructively criticise what they can work on then we can help develop them into more rounded characters and create more roles. But if we express disbelief that the men aren’t up front, act like men should never be secondary characters and reduce our conversations to Margot Robbie’s hotpants, then we’ll never end up with the Hollywood we deserve.