The superhero genre has been dominating the entertainment industry for years, and is showing no signs of slowing down. While many of us have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, filmmakers like Martin Scorsese have criticized the genre as a whole. And after Chris Hemsworth defended is work in the MCU, he’s once again responded to those viral comments. Let’s break it all down.
While film legends like Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have shared criticism for the superhero genre, it continues to be a powerful force in the film world. Hemsworth knows this all too well, starring in four Thor movies in addition to Avengers flicks. While speaking with The Times, he addressed the chatter surrounding superhero projects, offering:
It felt harsh, and it bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space. Those guys had films that didn’t work too — we all have. When they talked about what was wrong with superheroes, I thought, cool, tell that to the billions who watch them. Were they all wrong?
There you have it. It sounds like the hulking 40 year-old actor is still bothered by the way comic book movies have been maligned by the greats of the film world. And he’s using the wild popularity of the MCU to prove his point.
While there have been some box office disappointments lately, there are still upcoming Marvel movies that are sure to be a wild success, such as Deadpool & Wolverine. Then there’s also all the live-action shows that are available with a Disney+ subscription.
The part of Chris Hemsworth’s comments that struck me the most were about how some movies simply don’t work and bomb at the box office upon their release. Indeed, there are plenty of projects that bomb every year, many of which have nothing to do with comic book characters. And as such, he thinks that critics of the MCU should have a better perspective on the industry as a whole.
As previously mentioned, Chris Hemsworth is the first and only MCU hero to get four solo movies. The most recent installment was Thor: Love and Thunder, which performed well at the box office but wasn’t as beloved by fans as its predecessor Ragnarok. His future in the the shared universe is unclear, but there hasn’t been any news of him stepping down like his co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, or Scarlett Johansson.
The MCU has seen a change in the post-Endgame world, including its first box office bombs. The Marvels was an epic fail in theaters, although the movie has defenders online. So it should be interesting to see how the studio changes its release strategy moving forward.
The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is Deadpool & Wolverine on July 26th. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates.