Feige fires back at Spielberg over his comments about the longevity of superhero movies, saying that the genre can be long-lasting.
- Oct 3, 2015
AceShowbiz - Although superhero movies have become the most anticipated films for more than a decade, Steven Spielberg believed that the superhero genre would not last forever. Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige recently responded to Spielberg's statement, saying that superhero movies could have a long lifespan.
Last month, Spielberg told the Associated Press that superhero movies would end up the same way as Western movies, which had already faded away. "I still feel that way. We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western," he said.
In an interview with IGN during "Avengers: Age of Ultron" Blu-ray release, Feige seemingly fired back at Spielberg. He was optimistic that superhero movies could perform quite well. "In 2001, 2002, 2003 there were two Marvel movies, [then] three Marvel movies," Feige said. "And I still believe the same thing, which is, as long as the ones that we can control are as good as they can be, that's all that I care about. I think we've been doing pretty well."
Feige also promised fans some different things that could make Marvel movies become fans' choices. "I'm very confident in the films we've announced that we have coming forward, that they're going to be surprising and different and unique," he explained. "I've said a lot: I don't believe in the comic book genre. I don't believe in the superhero genre. I believe that each of our films can be very different."
However, Feige agreed that there would always be a possibility that superhero movies could become extinct, but he believed that superhero movies might enjoy many more years of popularity than Western movies. "It could, but the Western lasted 40-50 years, and they still pop up occasionally," Feige said. "It's been, what, eight years since 'Iron Man 1' if we count that, which I do, as the beginning of our MCU? Maybe [the superhero genre] will only last another 42 years."
In the interview, Feige was also asked about Zack Snyder's comment that compared "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" to "Ant-Man" and called the later as the "flavor of the month." "Those are all very different movies," Feige said. "They all happen to be based on Marvel characters and Marvel comics, but from a genre and a cinematic perspective, they're all very unique. 'Civil War' may as well be a different genre from 'Age of Ultron'."
