Martin Scorsese has been slamming the comic book movies since 2019, saying Marvel films are “not cinema.” He did the same thing again this year just before the release of his new movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, calling out superhero films for changing the industry and for being a danger to the culture. And though the Marvel Cinematic Universe directors and stars have already responded to the legendary director’s claim, the Avengers: Endgame filmmaker Joe Russo seemingly shades Scorsese.
At 80 years old, Scorsese, one of the figures of the New Hollywood Era, is still actively posting on TikTok, thanks to his daughter, Francesca Scorsese. Here, he’s seen trying to coach a new actor named Oscar, asking him to “show sadness.”
As the camera pans out, Oscar is actually a Schnauzer, who just stares at him. Joe then reshares Scorsese’s clip and adds his own twist, seemingly left in awe of the director’s puppy, which breed he says he loves and shows his own dog, named “Box Office.” The post received mixed reactions online, as many see it as a dig to the iconic filmmaker.
Scorsese has received nine nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director, winning one for his 2006 movie The Departed. Alternatively, Joe directed the 2019 Endgame with his brother, Anthony Russo, and ended up the highest-grossing film of all time with over $2.798 billion earnings at the box office worldwide. The only known highest-grossing movie of Scorsese is the 2013 The Wolf of Wall Street, with almost $390 million in revenues.
What did Martin Scorsese say about Marvel films?
In 2019, Scorsese told Empire magazine that his effort to get up to speed with contemporary superhero movies had failed. When asked if he had seen any Marvel films, he said he had tried but added, “That’s not cinema.” He even likened these movies to theme parks.
“It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being,” he said.
He was at it again this year, telling GQ that superhero movies were a danger to the culture as the new generations might think that films were “only those.” He continued that they should fight back stronger, and it should come from the “grassroots level,” which meant the filmmakers themselves.
Scorsese then mentioned the likes of Benny and Josh Safdie and the Oppenheimer director Chris Nolan, adding they got to save the cinema. Though he seemed to accept that theaters had become “amusement parks” and it was fine and good for the people who enjoyed such movies, he stressed it just wasn’t his thing.
A lot are surely affected by Scorsese’s remarks against Marvel movies, especially one of Marvel's directors, Joe Russo. However, it’s quite evident that they very much differ in genre and theme, and it’s up to the viewers what movies to support.
