Independence Day: Resurgence Director Finds “It Silly When Someone Dons A Superhero Suit And Flies”

When it comes to big-budget films which could double as demolition projects, Roland Emmerich is probably the man behind the project. With his 1996 film Independence Day having threatened to destroy the world with an epic alien invasion, the director is now promising even greater destruction with his next film, Independence Day: Resurgence. Speaking with The Guardian, Roland talks about everything from his work to the film industry and, yes, even superheroes movies.

In fact, when the topic of Hollywood’s love of superhero flicks was mentioned, Roland had few kind words to say about the subgenre. With Roland’s penchant for cinematic destruction having drawn his films into comparison with projects like Marvel’s The Avengers, the director insists his work has nothing in common with superhero films. He said, “When you look at my movies it’s always the regular Joe Schmo that’s the unlikely hero. A lot of Marvel movies, they show people in funny suits running around. I don’t like people in capes.”

Continuing the thought, Roland went on to say, “I find it silly when someone dons a superhero suit and flies. I don’t understand it. I grew up in Germany, that’s probably why.” While it’s uncertain whether Roland’s heritage does fuel his dislike of superheroes, what is clear is that the director definitely sees his artistic vision in films like Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow as separate from Marvel or DC projects.

Though Roland’s staunch aversion to superheroes appears to be long-standing, there are plenty of fans who would care to disagree with his stance. Since Marvel created its cinematic universe back in 2008, the studio has raked in ridiculous grosses for all its films, and DC has all done extremely well with The Dark Knight trilogy breaking box-office records. In fact, both Marvel’s The Avengers and DC’s The Dark Knight rank within the top 10 of all-time highest domestic box-office grosses with $623+ million and $534+ million respectively.

With Independence Day: Resurgence being released later this week, fans will finally be able to return to a blockbusting franchise which captured their imaginations decades ago. And, perhaps, those very same fans will also be buying tickets for superhero movies such as DC’s Suicide Squad and Marvel’s Doctor Strange later this year.