James Gunn says that Martin Scorsese's criticisms of Marvel and superhero movies were to get publicity for his movie at the time, but the director reveals he agrees with some of his statements. In 2019, Scorsese famously blasted superhero movies and Marvel specifically as not real cinema. The statement ignited the ire of many, but Scorsese had his fair share of supporters, too. More recently, without citing Scorsese directly, Matt Damon blasted superhero movies and streaming as ruining cinema.
Over the last decade, superhero movies have come to dominate the industry and they show no signs of slowing down. Both Marvel and DC are moving full steam ahead with their upcoming slates. Four MCU films will come out in 2021 with five to follow in 2022. The DCEU will pick up the pace in 2022 with five movies also. Now, those movies are typically the highest grossing films of the year and are nearly guaranteed to be successes. How the pandemic will change all of that remains to be seen, but with both franchises also delving into the streaming sphere, the genre is only continuing to grow.
With the continued growth of the genre, those at the forefront of it haven't forgotten Scorsese's comments. In a recent interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn responded to Scorsese's 2019 comments about Marvel and the superhero genre in general, seemingly implying that the director only said them promote his latest movie at the time, The Irishman. However, the director did go on to say that part of what Scorsese is true in that there are plenty of large-scale films that don't take risks and become formulaic in the process, degrading the genre in their own way. Check out Gunn's full comments below:
I just think it seems awful cynical that he would keep coming out against Marvel and then that is the only thing that would get him press for his movie. So he just kept coming out against Marvel so that he could get press for his movie. He’s creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films, and so he uses that to get attention for something he wasn’t getting as much attention as he wanted for it.
He’s one of the greatest filmmakers who’s ever existed. I love his movies. I can watch his movies with no problem. And he said a lot of things I agree with. There are a lot of things that are true about what he said.
There are a lot of heartless, soulless, spectacle films out there that don’t reflect what should be happening. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve talked to film directors before they went and made a big movie, and said, ‘Hey, we’re in this together, let’s do something different with these big movies. Let’s make them something different than everything that has come before them.’ And then see them cater to every single studio whim and be grossed out, frankly.
Gunn's comments will certainly prove to be controversial. Scorsese does not need to make statements like the one about the superhero genre to promote his own films. The mere attachment of his name to any project elevates it above most films. As a veteran of the industry, Scorsese has directed such classics as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed. His far-reaching influence has even spread into the superhero genre itself, with many citing his film, The King of Comedy, as a massive influence on 2019's Joker.
Still, Scorsese's comments were derivative of the real issue at hand, which seems to be the larger consensus that studios only make guaranteed hits, shifting away from smaller budgeted dramas and original films in favor of movies that sure to break the bank at the box office, most of which just happen to be superhero films or movies based on established IP. Gunn seems to agree with that sentiment, but as someone so entrenched in the superhero genre with movies like The Guardians of the Galaxy and his upcoming The Suicide Squad, it may prove difficult for some to pick up on the wider meaning of the director's comments.
Source: Happy Sad Confused podcast