George Lucas Defends Marvel Movies & Claims Martin Scorsese Has Changed His Mind After 2019 Criticism

5 years after criticizing the MCU and superhero movies, Martin Scorsese has reportedly changed his mind according to George Lucas. It’s no secret that Marvel movies are typically money-spinners, with the brand of entertainment they offer appealing to a huge swathe of fans. With that in mind, Scorsese was famously quoted as saying “I don’t think [Marvel movies are] cinema,” in 2019 – something which George Lucas recently commented on.

Lucas, who created Star Wars, spoke at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (via World of Reel), where he said that Scorsese may have changed his opinion on Marvel movies, stating:

“Look. Cinema is the art of a moving image. So if the image moves, then it’s cinema. I think Marty has kind of changed his mind a little bit.”

The comments obviously fall short of a complete turnaround, especially given how hotly debated this topic was after the director’s initial interview. It is interesting that Lucas made this clarification, as the MCU’s sci-fi action movies are pretty similar to Star Wars – particularly the prequel trilogy that Lucas directed. Despite many reading Scorsese’s comments as a general hatred of Marvel and the MCU timeline, Scorsese has clarified that this is not the case.

Martin Scorsese is one of the most illustrious filmmakers of all time, which is why his perceived criticisms of Marvel movies were taken so seriously. The comments were made in an October 2019 interview with Empire Magazine, but a month later, the auteur penned an oped in the New York Times clarifying his statements.

In short, Scorsese insisted that the movies were not for him, and flew in the face of cinema as an art form liable to take risks, but he didn’t hate them. Instead, the comment was more aimed towards the idea of Marvel movies being a bankable business more geared towards making a profit than works of art.

Recent results for the franchise suggest Scorsese’s comments may have also been foreshadowing a sense of dissatisfaction in the MCU’s own audience, which could make his words more crucial going forwards. The MCU has been experiencing several stumbling blocks recently that Disney heads have put down to churning out too many releases; a practice spurred by business sense. Yet the minutia of Scorsese’s comments dismissing MCU movies as works of art is still a controversial statement to make for MCU fans and aficionados.

What is also notable is that Scorsese’s comments immediately preceded MCU Phase 4 – which is where Marvel’s downturn is often seen to have began. The correlation is hard to ignore, especially as other auteurs joined with Scorsese in dismissing Marvel movies soon after his comments started making waves.

Now it seems superhero fatigue has begun taking hold of the zeitgeist, the general sense of dissatisfaction with Marvel seems to have increased. Yet while Scorsese’s opinions may have been somewhat damaging, it is also apparent that Marvel has been struggling under the weight of the franchise, which is something that its more reserved plans for the future of the MCU may help to assuage in order to build a brighter future for the series going forward.

Source: World of Reel/NYT