Simon Pegg Reveals Why Toxic Fandoms Won't Put Him off Superhero And Sci-Fi Movies - EXCLUSIVE

Simon Pegg Reveals Why Toxic Fandoms Won't Put Him off Superhero And Sci-Fi Movies - EXCLUSIVE

Mission: Impossible - Fallout star Simon Pegg explains why toxic fandoms won't put him off starring in comic book and sci-fi movies like Star Trek and Star Wars and what his own experiences have been like.

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By JoshWilding - Jul 16, 2018 05:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Mission: Impossible
As you're no doubt well aware, there's been a lot of talk online lately about "toxic fandoms." That's mainly down to movies like Justice League and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and filmmakers like Rian Johnson, James Mangold, and Christopher McQuarrie have all engaged with abusive fans on Twitter as of late (the latter has said his experiences with them put him off Star Wars and superhero movies).

When I recently had the opportunity to chat with Simon Pegg about his role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, I asked the actor for his thoughts on these "fans" and his experiences with the franchise. 

"I've never experienced it with Mission: Impossible fans and I think it's because Mission: Impossible doesn't really have those schisms within its fanbase," the actor explained in an interview we'll share later this week. "I don't think it has a fanbase in that same respect that comic book movies and science fiction does. I think maybe it's not susceptible or vulnerable to that kind of divisiveness." 

As for whether or not these people put him off taking roles in superhero movies (he recently expressed an interest in playing or starring in Captain Britain) or the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek, he added: "I don't think it's important really. This is a job and you just do it and hope that you can do it again. I think the minute you start engaging with that sort of stuff, it's just a waste of time...and life!"

Honestly, Pegg's approach definitely seems like the right one and it's good to know that he's happy to brush these fans off and just do the best he can as an actor. It's just a shame that there are so many directors who appear to have lost interest in these properties after seeing so much backlash online to movies like The Last Jedi. What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the usual place. 

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DBLACK
DBLACK - 7/16/2018, 6:05 AM
Love the way Ricky Gervais deals with trolls.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 7/16/2018, 6:05 AM
I think the toxicity of comic book and sci-fi fanbases is often overstated. It's important to remember that the crazies sending death threats are just a vocal minority of most pop culture fans.
TheOtherOn
TheOtherOn - 7/16/2018, 6:54 AM
@Nightwing1015 -

I don't think its overstated. I think it all comes down to the avg age of these fans.
One genre has mostly kids who think they are almighty powerful warriors behind their keyboard and they start typing trash for anything and everything
The other genre has a fanbase of more mature people who know EXACTLY what these movies are, just some crazy action popcorn flicks and they appreciate the entertainment aspect of "movies".

Now I better hide somewhere before I have at least one genre of fans chasing me with pitchforks and knives.
DetBullock
DetBullock - 7/16/2018, 7:25 AM
@TheOtherOn - There are also those that never grew up mentally and act like the aforementioned kids.
ftf530
ftf530 - 7/16/2018, 7:32 AM
@Nightwing1015 - Exactly. Those people just happen to be too loud.

I've been on this site (inconsistently) for some ten years, and if it weren't a vocal minority, I definitely wouldn't be here still.

In fact, the only time I thought I was being trolled on here this summer turned into a kind discussion about using references for claims and the World Cup haha
ftf530
ftf530 - 7/16/2018, 7:33 AM
@Nightwing1015 - I've met plenty of TLJ haters who aren't malicious about it. The few ruin it for the many.
NOVAtheSUPA
NOVAtheSUPA - 7/16/2018, 7:34 AM
@TheOtherOn - sorry man i am confused what do you mean?

What do you mean by genre?
NOVAtheSUPA
NOVAtheSUPA - 7/16/2018, 7:37 AM
@ftf530 - we had a nice chat about something the other day we didnt agree on
Your great at not escalating the situation :)
ftf530
ftf530 - 7/16/2018, 11:36 AM
@NOVAtheSUPA - That was exactly the situation I was referencing!

There's literally no need to get up in arms about anything on this site, no one is on here for that
NOVAtheSUPA
NOVAtheSUPA - 7/16/2018, 11:57 AM
@ftf530 - its getting better on this website i feel. We all argue cause we all have one thing in common we love comics everyone on this site is basically another family
ftf530
ftf530 - 7/16/2018, 11:58 AM
@NOVAtheSUPA - It definitely seems like its gotten better on here, a few years ago - like 2015-2016, I feel like every article comment section had people fighting the same three trolls
Kman
Kman - 7/16/2018, 6:06 AM
Fans have been the same amount of "toxic" they've always been. Social media just exposes it more than we've ever seen and gives an anonymous voice to people that previously didn't have one. This is the world we live in now - and if you cannot handle or ignore the noise. then you probably should just stay away. And this pretty much applies to any public figure.
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 7/16/2018, 6:09 AM
Simon Pegg is as much a fanboy as anyone if not moreso. He’s smarter than to let the hyper people get to him. His movies make plenty of money and look at the incredible talent that he gets to work with.
ftf530
ftf530 - 7/16/2018, 7:36 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - It's also given him some incredible opportunities of his own - I think he's done some triple hyphen write - direct - starring roles in smaller things thanks to it.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 7/16/2018, 6:09 AM
These toxic fans that they speak of, are always on the lookout for a reason to start a new petition. Pathetic.
Antoin
Antoin - 7/16/2018, 6:09 AM
What if films are bad and the fans expect better and it comes across as toxic, but really they are just upset they aren't getting a good quality product?
Nebula
Nebula - 7/16/2018, 6:15 AM
He right.
KaioKen
KaioKen - 7/16/2018, 6:15 AM
This is such bullsht. It's not "toxic fans" it's bad movies. Stop blaming the fans for not liking bad movies.

Funny how the good movies don't have these problems.
Nebula
Nebula - 7/16/2018, 6:22 AM
@KaioKen - It's more the disingenuous assholes, like Rian Johnson, who lump the people who don't like a movie in with the actual toxic assholes.

It's just like GamerGate in which gamers as a whole were suddenly being portrayed as white, male, sexist assholes by the media. It's the exact same situation - Rian Johnson even recently tweeted about GamerGate, guess which side he was on.
ThunderThighs
ThunderThighs - 7/16/2018, 6:23 AM
@Nebula -
Pantherpool
Pantherpool - 7/16/2018, 6:23 AM
@KaioKen - So it's normal for fans to send death threats and insult people because they didn't like a film?
KaioKen
KaioKen - 7/16/2018, 6:28 AM
@Pantherpool - if by "normal" you mean, it happens all the time. Then yeah. People used to send hate mail, then email, now they tweet. It's nothing new.
Kman
Kman - 7/16/2018, 6:28 AM
@Pantherpool - Its normal on today's social media, unfortunately yes. Same applies to politics, sports, and non-comicbook movie situations.
Nebula
Nebula - 7/16/2018, 6:28 AM
@Pantherpool - The actual toxic group that are so small in size that they're not even worth mentioning.

Everbody on the internet has received a death threat from some asshole - its on account of the anonymity. It's like road-rage; people are all talk when they're driving around honking their horn within their protective metal box, but they don't act that way outside it.
Pantherpool
Pantherpool - 7/16/2018, 6:30 AM
@Kman - Common yes, but definitely not normal.
KaioKen
KaioKen - 7/16/2018, 6:30 AM
@Kman - people have sent hate mail for ages. The show "Dallas" got hate mail. South Park got hate mail. Now they just tweet it.
Pantherpool
Pantherpool - 7/16/2018, 6:34 AM
@Nebula - This is true, but for some people, it can be very overwhelming to have to deal with all of that. I do think though that it's better to ignore these people and move on, not giving them the attention that they are seeking.
Nebula
Nebula - 7/16/2018, 6:36 AM
@Pantherpool - Exactly. They're the loonies. Someone invaded the pitch during the World Cup final yesterday, they didn't play a single replay because they don't want to reward him by giving him attention.
CaptainElrond
CaptainElrond - 7/16/2018, 6:40 AM
@Nebula - @Pantherpool - @KaioKen -

I always wonder how someone comes across and says "im going tok ill you for this film". I always hear about death threats, but i never get how so many do it and how they word it.

And none of them go through with it. A guy threatend to come to my house and sexually harass me. Still never shown, despite how many times i gave him my address.
MarkV
MarkV - 7/16/2018, 6:42 AM
@Nebula - "toxic" is kind of a code word.
Nebula
Nebula - 7/16/2018, 6:42 AM
@AngryCipher - Rian Johnson's response to all this has earned a lot of respect for Zack Snyder in my book. Because you know the response to both would've been the exact same.

Rian Johnson's response: tried to justify his choices, sexist assholes, manbabies, death threats. Blah.

Zack Snyder's response: tried to justify his choices, tumbleweed.
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