Marvel Movies Are A “New Art Form,” Martin Scorsese Says

Veteran film director Martin Scorsese made headlines recently when he spoke out about Marvel movies, saying they are “not cinema” and that they’re more like “amusement parks.” Now, the Oscar-winning director has clarified and explained those controversial remarks.

Speaking to ET!, Scorsese said Marvel and superhero movies are a “new art form” compared to the kinds of movies that were historically shown in theatres. He doubled down on his amusement park phrasing, saying Marvel makes “theme park films.”

“Let’s say a family wants to go to an amusement park, that’s a good thing, you know. And at the amusement park there’s these cinematic expressions. They’re a new art form. It’s something different from films that are shown normally in theaters, that’s all,” he said.

Scorsese said he’s speaking out so emphatically because he is concerned that these “theme park films” are edging out films that also deserve to be in theatres.

“For them, my concern is losing the screens to massive ‘theme park films,’ which I say again, they’re [their] own new art form,” he said. “Cinema now is changing. We have so many venues, there are so many ways to make films. So enjoyable.

“Fine, go and it’s an event and it’s great to go to an event like an amusement park, but don’t crowd out Greta Gerwig and don’t crowd out Paul Thomas Anderson and Noah Baumbach and those people, just don’t, in terms of theaters,” he added.

Scorsese’s comments inspired other directors to speak out as well. The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola took things further, saying Marvel movies are “despicable.”

“I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again. Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema,” Coppola said. “He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.”

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld said Scorsese and Coppola are entitled to their opinions, while pointing out that Marvel, DC, and others will not stop making superhero movies just because Scorsese and Coppola don’t like them. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, meanwhile, said in a post on Instagram that no one should be surprised by the comments made by Scorsese and Coppola.

Scorsese’s next movie is The Irishman, starring Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. It comes to select theatres and Netflix in November.

ET and GameSpot share the same parent company, CBS Corp.