In the past few months there has been a lot of debate as to whether Marvel films are considered "cinema", following an interview and later further in an op-ed in the New York Times. A number of directors and actors from Jon Favreau to Chadwick Boseman to even Kevin Feige himself have responded to the comments. Now with Oscar season heating up, another CBM director has chimed in, this time from a DC director, Todd Phillips, who's recent reinterpretation of The Joker has earned both major awards buzz and success at the box office. In an interview with The Playlist, Phillips said the following:
“My only issue with what he said – and I have no issue with anything he ever says, I literally worship the man – is that he’s lumping a lot of movies into one thing, and I think that’s a tough thing to do. I think if we lumped in gangster movies and put in “Goodfellas” and “Casino” with some shit that’s not quite the same…” he offered as an example before trailing off.
Phillips' film is heavily influenced by Scorsese's past films, in particular King of Comedy and Taxi Driver (which share a cast member with Joker in the form of legendary actor Robert DeNiro), so his split with Scorsese on the topic of Marvel is notable.
Joker still looks to have a great deal more success ahead of it as there are many reports (albeit inconsistent from outlet to outlet) that WB is interested in a sequel, as well as more potential spinoff films for villains and R-Rated characters from DCs vast catalogue of characters, including some on HBO MAX.