Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman becomes a Marvel superhero movie in a cringey mash-up video from Jimmy Kimmel. Scorsese of course enraged all of comic book fandom with his infamous remarks about Marvel movies, which according to the legendary director are not “cinema” but are in fact more akin to theme parks. Following Scorsese’s incendiary remarks, everyone from Robert Downey Jr. to Samuel L. Jackson to Kevin Smith weighed in to defend Marvel movies and their cinematic merit.
Recently, Avengers: Endgame directors the Russo Brothers too entered the fray, saying not even Scorsese “owns” cinema. For his part, Scorsese took to the New York Times to clarify his remarks, offering a somewhat more nuanced take on the nature of today’s Hollywood and the way studios’ emphasis on big franchise movies makes it harder for smaller, mid-budget films to get made. Even Scorsese, one of the great directors in American history, was forced to go to Netflix to get financing for his latest film The Irishman, a mob drama that employs state-of-the-art de-aging technology to turn Robert De Niro and Al Pacino into younger versions of themselves.
Indeed, things have been heated ever since Scorsese made his Marvel movie comments, but thanks to Jimmy Kimmel Live the controversy has now been given a much needed note of levity. Last night, Kimmel made light of the Marvel flap with a mash-up trailer for Scorsese’s The Irishman that transforms the very serious mob movie into a superhero film a la Marvel. See the trailer in the space below:
The video begins as an apparently normal trailer for The Irishman, but quickly takes a left turn into silliness when Joe Pesci gives De Niro’s character a glowing shamrock ring (a reference not to Marvel but to DC’s Green Lantern) and De Niro is transformed into the super hero “Irish Man.” Like Iron Man, Irish Man employs a high-tech flying suit and there’s even a shot of De Niro with the iconic Iron Man helmet display graphics over his face. In another nod to Marvel, Pacino – appropriately, given his famously explosive on-screen persona – transforms into the Hulk. No, the special effects are not exactly Marvel level.
Whether Kimmel’s attempt to make a joke out of Marvel vs. Scorsese actually lands is of course a matter of taste, but even though the trailer is a bit cringey it’s still refreshing to see someone taking a bit of the air out of the controversy after all the angry words that have been expended on the internet over the whole affair. Perhaps Kimmel's send-up will finally put out the fire and there will be no more need for further debate, and Marvel and Scorsese fans can settle back into their respective cinematic worlds and return to simply enjoying movies (like The Irishman).
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
