Jerry Seinfeld once joked that we don’t care about sports players, we’re just rooting for laundry. Quentin Tarantino seems to believe much the same thing when it comes to modern movies, saying that the “Marveil-ization of Hollywood” has led to a decline in movie stars.
“Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is…you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters,” Tarantino said on the “2 Bears, 1 Cave” podcast (via Mediaite). “But they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times…but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star.”
Noting that he doesn’t “hate” Marvel films, Tarantino said, “I’m not even putting them down frankly, to tell you the truth. But that is one of the — the legacy of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood movies.”
“Look, I used to collect Marvel comics like crazy when I was a kid,” the 59-year-old added. “There’s an aspect that if these movies were coming out when I was in my twenties, I would totally be fucking happy and totally love them. I mean, they wouldn’t be the only movies being made. They would be those movies amongst other movies. But, you know, I’m almost 60, so yeah. No, I’m not quite as excited about them.”
As he explained, “My only axe to grind against them is they’re the only things that seem to be made. And they’re the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even for the studio making them. That’s what they’re excited about. And so it’s just the fact that they are the entire representation of this era of movies right now. There’s not really much room for anything else. That’s my problem.”
Earlier this month Tarantino said modern times were tied for the “worst era in Hollywood history,” and that Marvel filmmakers are “just hired hands.” He’s currently developing an eight-episode television series for next year.