Acclaimed director James Gunn has hit back at iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese over his criticism of Marvel films.
While chatting on the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, the Guardians of the Galaxy director said the only reason Scorsese criticized the MCU films was to bring more press towards his film, The Irishman, which he was promoting at the time.
"I just think it seems awful cynical that he would keep coming out against Marvel and then that is the only thing that would get him press for his movie," said Gunn.
"He's creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films, and so he uses that to get attention for something he wasn't getting as much attention as he wanted for it,” he went on to say.
"There are a lot of heartless, soulless, spectacle films out there that don't reflect what should be happening,” he shared.
"I can't tell you the amount of times I've talked to film directors before they went and made a big movie, and said, 'Hey, we're in this together, let's do something different with these big movies. Let's make them something different than everything that has come before them.' And then see them cater to every single studio whim and be grossed out, frankly,” he added.
Back in 2019, Scorsese had told Empire Magazine that Marvel films aren’t for him.
"I tried, you know? But that's not cinema. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn't the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being,” he shared.