It’s apparently become obligatory for every high-profile filmmaker in the business to be asked for their thoughts on the superhero genre, and the responses to date have pretty much covered the entire spectrum of opinion.
Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, and Ridley Scott are most definitely not supporters of blockbuster comic book adaptations, but independent darling and surprise Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings fan Paul Thomas Anderson believes franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe are necessary to the survival of the theatrical experience as we know it.
Given that his reputation was forged almost entirely on big budget, effects-driven spectacle, you’d have thought Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and Moonfall‘s Roland Emmerich would have kind things to say about spandex-clad crimefighters and the movies they star in.
However, he revealed to Den of Geek that the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars might actually be doing more harm than good.
“Oh yes. Because naturally Marvel and DC Comics, and Star Wars, have pretty much taken over. It’s ruining our industry a little bit, because nobody does anything original anymore.”
He does have a point in a roundabout way, with Emmerich favoring original concepts when he steps behind the camera armed with a budget in excess of $100 million, but if the aforementioned properties weren’t bringing in billions on an annual basis, then the complexion of the industry would look entirely different, and a lot less fruitful.