NAPOLEON Director Ridley Scott Has Turned Down Superhero Movies Becuase His "F***ing Stories Are Better"

NAPOLEON Director Ridley Scott Has Turned Down Superhero Movies Becuase His "F***ing Stories Are Better"

Alien director Sir Ridley Scott has once again taken aim at comic book movies, explaining that he's also told a number of superhero stories, with the difference being that their stories were better...

By JoshWilding - Nov 16, 2023 07:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Studios
Source: Deadline

Martin Scorsese is far from the only filmmaker to share his disdain for superhero movies, though there are also plenty of filmmakers who simply aren't interested in the genre. 

Alien and Napoleon director Sir Ridley Scott can be counted among them. Talking to Deadline about his latest historical epic, it was put to the filmmaker that most moviegoers are now more interested in TikTok and superheroes, prompting him to share his take on what the latter genre brings to the table.

"There’s this idolization of the superheroes, which really is just a comic strip extension," Scott says. "And from that, it’s very difficult to write a comic-strip story and carry it out successfully on film. That said, I’m not a superhero fan, even though I used to love the comic strips."

"I think there’s a couple of pretty good Batmans, and that Superman movie by Dick Donner captured the tradition of the comic strip. As we’ve enlarged upon our capabilities visually, I think funnily enough, everything gets less real and less real," he continues. "And now it seemed to become an excuse for actors to make a lot of money on the side playing superheroes."

Asked if he's ever been offered a superhero project, Scott responded, "Yeah, been offered, but just said, no, thank you. Not for me. I’ve done two or three superhero films. I think Sigourney Weaver’s a superhero in Aliens. I think Russell Crowe‘s a superhero in Gladiator. And Harrison Ford is the super anti-hero in Blade Runner."

"The difference is, the f*cking stories are better," he concluded.

That's fighting talk, though we're far more intrigued to know which superhero projects he's turned down over the years! 

This isn't the first time he's made comments along these lines, of course, as Scott drew the ire of comic book fans back in 2021 when he was quoted as saying, "The best films are driven by the characters, and we’ll come to superheroes after this if you want, because I’ll crush it. I’ll f***ing crush it. They’re f***ing boring as s***."

"Their scripts are not any f***ing good...why don’t the superhero movies have better stories? Sorry. I got off the rail, but I mean, c’mon. They’re mostly saved by special effects, and that’s becoming boring for everyone who works with special effects, if you’ve got the money."

So, that takes him off the list of contenders to join the DCU or helm the next Avengers movie then! It's a shame in many ways as there are likely many characters who would benefit from his expertise behind the camera. He's not interested, though, and feels he's had his "superhero" fix.

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narrow290
narrow290 - 11/16/2023, 7:44 AM
Wow. Don’t hold back man tell us how you really feel…😭
The1st
The1st - 11/16/2023, 10:55 AM
@narrow290 - I hear Ridley, but I see Clint from Gran Turino lol.
mountainman
mountainman - 11/16/2023, 7:46 AM
Nerds about to get get real mad at one of the best living directors.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/16/2023, 7:52 AM
@mountainman -

Alien
Blade Runner
Gladiator

All better than comic book movies.
Reginator
Reginator - 11/16/2023, 7:52 AM
@marvel72 - i agree
CAPTAINPINKEYE
CAPTAINPINKEYE - 11/16/2023, 8:00 AM
@mountainman - yup. They’re gonna break their number 2 pencils out of frustration.
mountainman
mountainman - 11/16/2023, 8:01 AM
@marvel72 - Those are easily his best, but even his movies that aren’t masterpieces are better than many MCU movies.

Napoleon sounds like it’s getting mixed reviews. I can guarantee it’s better than most if not all of Phases 4 and 5.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 8:10 AM
@mountainman - @marvel72 - you guys probably should be really thanking James Cameron for lighting a fire under Ridley’s arse to get him back into SciFi because it was getting a bit scary there for a bit on his resumé
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 11/16/2023, 8:46 AM
@marvel72 - Didn’t like BR (don’t shoot!), but I agree. Gladiator is probably my fav movie of all time.
Superheromoviefan
Superheromoviefan - 11/16/2023, 7:49 AM
prometheus and covenant are saying otherwise
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 8:11 AM
@Superheromoviefan - Kingdom of Heaven and Exodus, as well
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 11/16/2023, 8:12 AM
@Superheromoviefan - After a certain age it's okay to shit the bed every once in awhile. You can't always poop out golgen MC nuggets, The dude's earned it at this point.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 11/16/2023, 8:15 AM
@SauronthePower - Didn't bother with Exodus but Kingdom of heaven is easily is worst, aside from Norton, that was an extremely boring ass film.
TCronson
TCronson - 11/16/2023, 8:22 AM
@SauronthePower - are you on drugs? Kingdom of Heaven is a great movie, especially director's cut.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 10:45 AM
@TCronson - eh

Kinda began Bloom’s downslide and is quite frankly, boring

Story’s been better done elsewhere
TCronson
TCronson - 11/18/2023, 6:58 AM
@SauronthePower - done where? There are not many movies on this topic.
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 11/16/2023, 7:54 AM
Covenant is worse than 95% of comic book movies (leaving it room to be better than the absolute worst of the genre, like BvS, first Suicide Squad and X-Men: Apocalypse).
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/16/2023, 7:55 AM
Dude uses the same type of language as a 13 year-old. No wonder nobody takes him serious.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/16/2023, 7:55 AM
He may have a point, if I did a list of my favourite movies of all time, I don't think one comic book movie would make the top ten.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 8:12 AM
@marvel72 - let’s hear em
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 8:13 AM
@marvel72 - and I mean that from a place of complete neutrality.

Kinda curious to see where yours stand
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/16/2023, 9:15 AM
@SauronthePower -

In no particular order

The Empire Strikes Back
The shining
The Exorcist
The Thing
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Blade Runner
Scarface
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
The Terminator
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 10:55 AM
@marvel72 - Exprcist and Thing are #2 and #4 on my Top 5 horror list
kg8817
kg8817 - 11/16/2023, 11:00 AM
@marvel72 - hard to disagree with that list. Although I would place T2 over the original Terminator but that’s just me.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/16/2023, 11:46 AM
@SauronthePower - I love horror.

1.The Shining
2.The Exorcist
3.The Thing
4.An American Werewolf In London
5.Hellraiser
6.Evil Dead
7.Dawn Of The Dead
8.Evil Dead 2
9.Hellbound:Hellraiser 2
10.It Chapter 1

You should check out Talk To Me and my favourite movie of the year When Evil Lurks.

The Sadness and When Evil Lurks do have some disturbing scenes but if that doesn't put you off, enjoy.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/16/2023, 11:47 AM
@kg8817 - Yeah I can see that but I liked the idea of him being an unstoppable killing machine.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 1:28 PM
@marvel72 -

Halloween ‘78
Exorcist
A Nightmare on Elm St
The Thing
American Werewolf in London
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 1:36 PM
@marvel72 - Evil Dead 2, Return of the Living Dead, Dracula ‘79 (Langella), and Wishmaster all get a really close ‘honorable mention’ to that list
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/16/2023, 2:50 PM
@SauronthePower - See I could add Halloween and A Nightmare On Elm Street, like lose Evil Dead 2 and Hellraiser 2.

My list would be forever changing.
Forthas
Forthas - 11/16/2023, 7:58 AM
For all of the people who keep wanting studios to lean into adding "color" and "jokes" this is the impression many people will develop about the genre. That it is silly garbage. And they are not totally wrong. The superhero genre would not be suffering the low point it is at now if the producers and directors took the source materials seriously instead of every would be film having to be infected with jokes and cartoonish CGI. Speaking of Aquaman 2....
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/16/2023, 8:05 AM
@Forthas - I agree. For example, I thought Wonder Woman was different than the rest of the genre and fantastic...
until the 3rd act which turned into a special-effects, CGI crapfest.
Forthas
Forthas - 11/16/2023, 8:08 AM
@lazlodaytona - My thoughts exactly. As the movie went on it seemed like the logic, themes and visuals just broke down. While I liked Wonder Woman on balance, I think it is way overrated.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 11/16/2023, 8:15 AM
@lazlodaytona - loved the theatrical experience of ‘Wonder Woman’ but the movie definitely suffers (to my mind) upon subsequent viewings

Still the best DCEU cinematic offering to me and the trench scene really is an iconic moment in that IP
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/16/2023, 8:50 AM
@SauronthePower - Yeah, no-man's land is right up there with the best scenes of a superhero movie.
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 11/16/2023, 7:59 AM
I have to revisit gladiator. I haven't seen it since it was in the theaters, and I remember it as being a bad movie
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