Sarah Michelle Gellar says fans have ‘backwards' views on female-led Marvel films

Sarah Michelle Gellar was fighting supernatural bad guys before the Marvel Cinematic Universe even existed.

So you better believe she knows what she's talking about when she calls out superhero fans over their 'backwards' views on female heroes.

Sarah Michelle Gellar had a hit on her hands with Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which saw high school student Buffy Summers hunt down demons for seven seasons.

But the actor has noticed that modern fans don't exactly love female superheroes like they used to.

"Genre is where women can really succeed and hold an audience," Sarah told The Guardian in a recent interview.

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"Every time a Marvel movie tries to do a female cast, it just gets torn apart... Unfortunately, audiences weren’t as accepting.

"There’s still this mentality of ‘the male superhero,’ this very backwards way of thinking."

Immediately Marvel projects like Captain Marvel and Ms Marvel come to mind - both of which got poor reviews after their release.

Fans' vendetta against female superheroes is seriously affecting the genre, and turning actors off bringing diversity to the MCU.

Just last year, Brie Larson, who played Captain Marvel, hinted that she's getting sick of all the backlash from Marvel fans.

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During an appearance at Disney's D23 Expo, the actor was asked whether or not she'd be returning to the role, to which she replied: "I don't know. Does anyone want me to do it again? I don't know, I really don't have the answer to that."

The Oscar-winning actor has been plagued with criticism and even sexual harassment campaigns ever since she took on the superhero role, so it's easy to see why she'd be a little hesitant about returning.

Marvel attempted to take on their misogynistic fans with the mini-series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, by putting Jennifer Walters (aka She-Hulk) up against a group of toxic online trolls who hate her just because she's a woman.

" There’s so much resistance to a woman just existing in that space of superheroes," said series star Tatiana Maslany.

"I sort of anticipated it. It’s why I also feel it’s important. There’s such an entitlement to space held by certain people, and to even exist as She-Hulk is like a f**k-you, and I love that."

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With all this discourse around female superheroes - which honestly is getting exhausting at this point - Sarah Michelle Gellar says that Buffy The Vampire Slayer is more important now than ever, especially the series finale.

"I love the ending," she said.

"I love the fact that the whole idea was that every girl who wants the power can have the power. Isn't that the ultimate lesson?"