Comic book movies are still public enemy no. 1 for Martin Scorsese, but the fight against the oversaturation of “theme park†movies won’t stop with him. In a new interview with British GQ, the Killers of the Flower Moon director elaborated on his long-held opinion that superhero-driven IP franchises are dangerous to film culture. “There are going to be generations now that think movies are only those — that’s what movies are,†he said. “They already think that. Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it’s got to come from the grassroots level. It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves.†In his eyes, we must assemble an elite group of avengers to fight back against comic-book-genre homogenization in theaters. Who’s in that special force? “You’ll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you’ll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean?†he name-dropped. “Hit ’em from all sides, and don’t give up. Let’s see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.â€
According to Marty, studios are not “interested any longer in supporting individual voices that express their personal feelings or their personal thoughts and personal ideas on a big budget.†“And what’s happened now is that they’ve pigeonholed it to what they call indies,†he concludes. He would keep up the good fight to make big budget movies that are “saying something,†but hasn’t he done enough? “How much longer can it be me? I’m gonna be 81,†Scorsese noted. The Safdie brothers, Christopher Nolan — time to put on your super-suits.