What’s the saying? If you take a shot at the king, you better not miss? Some of the greatest directors around have made it their business to take shots at Marvel Studios and the superhero genre as a whole. Their criticisms have fallen on deaf ears, though, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. But Dune director Denis Villeneuve has decided it’s his turn to contribute to the echo chamber.
Speaking with Premiere, Villeneuve said about Marvel…
“The problem today… well, if we’re talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mold. Some filmmakers can add a little color to it, but they’re all cast in the same factory. It doesn’t take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted.”
That’s true for the most part. Marvel films do follow a certain formula, as most superhero movies do. With so many Disney+ shows added to the mix, we’re seeing that more than ever. But there is diversity to be found; whether it’s culturally in films such as Black Panther and Shang-Chi, or in tone as we’re going to see with Chloe Zhao’s Eternals.
Elaborating to another outlet, Villeneuve referred to Marvel movies specifically as “nothing more than a cut and past of others”, in his harshest criticism yet.
To me, all of this sounds like sour grapes, and Villeneuve isn’t helping Dune, which is already going to have a tough go being in theaters and HBO Max, with any of this. But what do you think?