Quentin Tarantino Doubles Down On MCU Criticism; Says Marvel Actors "Are Not Movie Stars"

Quentin Tarantino Doubles Down On MCU Criticism; Says Marvel Actors "Are Not Movie Stars"

Quentin Tarantino has once again blasted what he describes as the "Marvel-ization of Hollywood," explaining why he doesn't consider Marvel actors to be movie stars: "Captain America is the star."

By MarkCassidy - Nov 22, 2022 12:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Studios

Iconic filmmaker Quentin Tarantino hasn't exactly endeared himself to comic book movie fans of late, and the Pulp Fiction director has now doubled-down on criticism for what he describes as the "Marvel-ization of Hollywood."

During an appearance on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, Tarantino was asked about his recent assertion that he has no interest in being a "hired hand" for Marvel Studios.

“Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is…you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters,” he responded. “But they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times…but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star.”

There is certainly an element of truth to this (the character does tend to become bigger than the actor), but would anyone really argue that Scarlett Johansson, for example, shouldn't be considered a movie star because she played Black Widow?

Tarantino would go on to clarify that he "doesn't hate" Marvel movies, but he is resentful because they seem to be the only type of big-budget projects studios have any real interest in developing these days.

“Look, I used to collect Marvel comics like crazy when I was a kid,” he added. “There’s an aspect that if these movies were coming out when I was in my twenties, I would totally be [frick]ing happy and totally love them. I mean, they wouldn’t be the only movies being made. They would be those movies amongst other movies. But, you know, I’m almost 60, so yeah. No, I’m not quite as excited about them.”

“My only axe to grind against them is they’re the only things that seem to be made. And they’re the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even for the studio making them. That’s what they’re excited about. And so it’s just the fact that they are the entire representation of this era of movies right now. There’s not really much room for anything else. That’s my problem.”

Many other directors - including the likes of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola - have raised similar issues, but is it really a fair assessment of the current state of Hollywood when so many other types of films are being made alongside superhero movies?

At any rate, we probably shouldn't expect Tarantino to take a meeting with Kevin Feige anytime soon... unless he gives him the opportunity to helm that Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos movie!

Kevin Feige On ETERNALS Sequel & Possibility Of The INHUMANS Making Their MCU Debut
Related:

Kevin Feige On ETERNALS Sequel & Possibility Of The INHUMANS Making Their MCU Debut

Kevin Feige Shares Updates On BLADE, MCU's Miles Morales, Important X-MEN Plans, Scarlet Witch, And More
Recommended For You:

Kevin Feige Shares Updates On BLADE, MCU's Miles Morales, "Important" X-MEN Plans, Scarlet Witch, And More

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2 3 4 5
WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 11/22/2022, 12:31 PM
When you realize you are no longer the top dogs in Hollywood you lash out

Jealousy and envy are powerful triggers

HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 11/22/2022, 1:00 PM
@WakandaTech - exactly.
Matchesz
Matchesz - 11/22/2022, 1:21 PM
@WakandaTech - yikes, and this is how MCU fanboys react to a legend with valid critiques. Feige and his cult of gen z sheeple. Didnt u watch she hulk? they dont care about you lol
DarthOmega
DarthOmega - 11/22/2022, 1:22 PM
@WakandaTech - Jealousy? You got that from his words?

DavidMullich
DavidMullich - 11/22/2022, 1:43 PM
@WakandaTech - He was asked a question in an interview and he answered it. He didn't lash out. He didn't express jealousy or envy. He gets to make the movies he wants to make, his movies are usually critically and financially successful, and he wins Oscars for them. His last movie was three years ago, and it was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 2, so he's still a top dog.
JuanRGuijarro
JuanRGuijarro - 11/22/2022, 2:43 PM
@WakandaTech - he was never a top dog in Hollywood, don't be a CHILDISH FANBOY. he is one of the most relevant American directors, he has a point...

you only are validating his criticism, fans today are very stupid
Drace24
Drace24 - 11/22/2022, 2:56 PM
@DavidMullich - If that's not lashing out, I don't know what is. That's a pretty insulting statement towards many of his collegues. That's not cool. And yeah, I wish interviewers would stop asking this too, but it's not like they force him to say this dumb shit. He could always just not comment on it.
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 11/22/2022, 3:25 PM
@DavidMullich - “My only axe to grind against them is they’re the only things that seem to be made. And they’re the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even for the studio making them. That’s what they’re excited about. And so it’s just the fact that they are the entire representation of this era of movies right now. There’s not really much room for anything else. That’s my problem.”



This whole paragraph sounds a little like jealousy and envy, maybe not in terms of the stuff he makes, but rather in terms of the stuff he wants to see.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 11/22/2022, 3:39 PM
@WakandaTech - Let the man have his opinions. It's not like he's stopping people from seeing them. He isn't taking any food off anyone's plates.
UnderBelly
UnderBelly - 11/22/2022, 12:32 PM
Old school RDJ would disagree with that statement. Lol
Razorface1
Razorface1 - 11/22/2022, 3:32 PM
@UnderBelly - I mean, the fact that the character is big instead of the actor is a good thing, isn't it? Actors are supposed to be the medium for the character to be shown, not the character itself.
UnderBelly
UnderBelly - 11/22/2022, 3:55 PM
@Razorface1 - That is correct, but to say some of these actors weren't movie stars before hand is incorrect. I mean the marketing and posters are mainly of their faces sans mask/helmets. To very well show off the star underneath.


Most of the the one sheets for Iron man, the very first MCU entry showed him in and out of the suit/Helmet on the same sheet.

Now compare that to say the original 2002 spiderman one sheets they barely featured Maguire's face at all.

I imagine though that when The Flash comes around they'll be heavily trying to covers Millers face lol.

SethBullock
SethBullock - 11/22/2022, 5:05 PM
@UnderBelly - RDJ before playing Iron Man was really far from the level of stardom he got after playing Tony Stark, his personal problems basically ruined his career, he was even fired from the Ally McBeal tv show just a few years earlier.

Right before joining Marvel he was in a few good or even great movies (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac, A Scanner Darkly, etc), but not the kind of movies that made billions, and he was never a huge star in the 80s or the 90s either, not at the level of his post Iron Man career.

He was really lucky for getting the chance to play this role, probably because hiring him was cheaper than looking for someone bigger at the time, though being great at portraying Tony also helped, of course, but he had some very terrible years just before, his face in the posters didn't sell tickets, and I even doubt that anybody back then could think that an Iron Man movie would launch such a succesful film franchise, Marvel had kept the rights for the Avengers characters for a reason, because nobody wanted to buy them, studios thought the big money was in the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four or even less popular characters like Ghost Rider or Daredevil, nobody seemed to be interested in an Iron Man movie despite all the rumors about Tom Cruise working in one, and that was the kind of face and name in the posters that could sell tickets, not RDJ's.

And Chris Evans wasn't a big star before playing Cap, Hemsworth was basically an unknown actor, I only remember him in a couple of small movies before playing Thor (Cabin in The Woods and the one with Milla Jovovich in an island, I had no idea of who was he when I watched them), Edward Norton was better known but not a huge mega star like Cruise or Pitt, and the same could be said about most of the actors that have joined the MCU, many were well known before but many others not so much, and all of them became way more popular after working in Marvel movies, maybe even Johansson, who was a really well known actress and became even bigger.

That doesn't mean they are not stars now, or that some of them weren't stars before, but many of them reached a new status in Hollywood stardom thanks to playing these characters, now they are Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth or Chris Pratt, but for a while they were the guys that played Captain America, Thor or "WHO?".
DrReedRichards
DrReedRichards - 11/22/2022, 12:32 PM
DrReedRichards
DrReedRichards - 11/22/2022, 12:36 PM
To be fair to Quentin, though, I totally get what he's saying. The MCU managed to turn Marvel's B-listers that almost noone used to care about into household names. That said, they did also help each respective actor's career significantly.
UnderBelly
UnderBelly - 11/22/2022, 12:47 PM









Pretty sure these guys were all well known before their marvel debuts
DrReedRichards
DrReedRichards - 11/22/2022, 1:01 PM
@UnderBelly -

Some MCU actors, sure. All of them? Hardly.
UnderBelly
UnderBelly - 11/22/2022, 1:09 PM
@DrReedRichards - I can see that angle but I think you really looked at it, most of the actors that have been hired have already had quite well known roles, yeah Marvel blows them up more, but I feel the majority of those who end up being cast would still have gone on to do really well without them.
WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 11/22/2022, 12:32 PM
Marvel and DC are setting up dozens of movies in the next few years
while once Top Directors have to fight to get their movies made
Dotanuki
Dotanuki - 11/22/2022, 12:33 PM
That’s fine, I don’t want to see HUGE MOVIE ACTOR as Superman. I want to watch a movie where I feel like I’m watching the character not the Rock playing a character. I don’t understand why he thinks that’s a detriment.
1 2 3 4 5
View Recorder