The list of filmmakers ready, willing, and able to trash the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to grow longer by the day, but there are also no shortage of actors who look down their noses at Kevin Feige’s superhero sandbox.
For those of a classical disposition who either tread the boards on stage or cut their teeth in intimate independent dramas, the prospect of standing on a cavernous soundstage surrounded by nothing but green screens is a fate worse than death, but that doesn’t mean there’s any need to get snooty about it.
Recent franchise debutant Emilia Clarke – who was already no stranger to effects-heavy productions given her experiences on Game of Thrones, Terminator: Genisys, and Solo: A Star Wars Story – hit back at the people who don’t deem it to be real acting in an interview with The Los Angeles Times, and the Secret Invasion star has a point.
“The stigma is that people don’t do any acting in these shows and then you’re like ‘well, then why are they asking all these great actors to do it, and why are they saying yes?’”
The counterargument is that you could make a case for nothing more than money being the driving force behind the sheer number of legends, icons, and A-list superstars to have boldly gone where many have gone before and stand alone in front of a four-walled green set with nothing to react to, but Clarke’s initial musing still stands.
After all, it’s nothing but make-believe at the end of the day, and is there anything more imaginative than absolutely nothing?