Marvel has faced the ire of notable Hollywood figures for years now, including Martin Scorsese who shared his blunt thoughts on the MCU, and Francis Ford Coppola. Recently, Quentin Tarantino discussed his opinion on superhero movies, explaining why he would never direct one. He launched another criticism against the genre, calling out Marvel movie stars for not being “movie stars.” But he wasn’t the first one to make such a statement as Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie made the same criticism years ago in a resurfaced interview.
Mackie echoed Tarantino’s sentiment in 2018 during a Q-and-A session at the London Comic-Con. At the time, the actor had played the Falcon in four MCU films, including Captain America: Civil War. As reported by Yahoo!, the MCU star was brutally honest about his feelings on the superhero genre being “the death of the movie star.”
There are no movie stars anymore. Like, Anthony Mackie isn’t a movie star. The Falcon is a movie star. And that’s what’s weird. It used to be with Tom Cruise and Will Smith and Stallone and Schwarzenegger, when you went to the movies, you went to see the Stallone movie. You went to see the Schwarzenegger movie. Now you go see: X-Men. So the evolution of the superhero has meant the death of the movie star.
Of course, Mackie had a point as Hollywood has shifted focus from crafting movie stars to building intellectual property. The MCU’s home – Disney – is the king of this philosophy with Star Wars, Pixar, and endless animated classics under its wing. The business has shifted more toward franchises and character-driven pieces rather than movies built around certain actors. If you have watched the Marvel movies in order you have seen the MCU establish a tangible relationship between the characters and the audience where I think fans enjoy actors like Robert Downey Jr. but love Iron Man.
The Hurt Locker star even quipped certain classics like Halloween and The Goonies wouldn’t get made today. While Mackie had his frustrations over the apparent Marvel takeover, the 44-year-old actor has benefited from being part of the MCU as he will headline one of the MCU's upcoming projects: Captain America: New World Order in 2024.
What Did Quentin Tarantino Say about Marvel Stars?
Quentin Tarantino has been making waves with his Marvel commentary recently. He originally called out the studios’ process, calling the filmmakers helming the blockbusters “hired hands.”
His latest criticism saw him call out MCU’s all-star talent for not being “movie stars” as Hollywood leans on big-budget blockbusters. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director gave his take on the lack of movie stars on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast (via The Wrap), saying:
Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is…you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. 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.
He echoed Anthony Mackie’s frustration as the superheroes and the films were the stars instead of the actors. Tarantino wanted to keep the Hollywood tradition of movies centering around talent rather than a studio releasing lots of content.
The Oscar-winning director is pushing to get his tenth and final movie made. He is currently promoting his book, Cinema Speculation, which is currently available in bookstores and retailers. As for Anthony Mackie, he will get the chance to take a break from The Falcon as he has numerous projects lined up, including the Peacock series Twisted Metal. In the meantime, you can check out the 2022 movie schedule to see what is coming out next.
