AceShowbiz - Jon Favreau has no ill feelings towards Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola despite the two veteran directors' criticisms of Marvel movies. Asked to weigh in on the two filmmakers' controversial remarks about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which he has been part of since the beginning, the "Iron Man" director and star says they are entitled to their opinions.

"These two guys are my heroes and they've earned the right to express their opinions," Favreau said respectfully of Scorsese and Coppola during an interview with CNBC. "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if they didn't carve the way. They've served as a source of inspiration, you can go all the way back to 'Swingers' where I was referencing Marty, and I've worked with him. For me, they can express whatever opinion they'd like."

During the interview, Favreau also talked about the rapidly changing entertainment landscape, which he said is creating "a great deal of uncertainty" but also "a lot of opportunity." He explained, "You see Scorsese with 'The Irishman', I don't know that that would have been possible, with that budget level, and the technology required to tell that story, in a more traditional model."

Favreau's statements come after Scorsese and Coppola dissed Marvel films. "The Wolf of Wall Street" director previously said he doesn't see Marvel movies, calling them "not cinema." He added, "Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn't the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."

Supporting Scorsese's remarks, Coppola later said, "When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he's right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration... Martin was kind when he said it's not cinema. He didn't say it's despicable, which I just say it is."

"The Avengers" director Joss Whedon, "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn, as well as MCU stars like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo and Sebastian Stan have weighed in on the criticisms against the superhero movies.