Avengers Director Joss Whedon Responds to Martin Scorsese Criticizing Marvel Movies

Hell hath no fury as a Marvel fandom scorned and if you’ve been on the internet the past week, you’ll know legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese has drawn the ire of that aforementioned fandom. As James Gunn before him, Joss Whedon has now commented on Scorsese’s controversial comments, defending genre films as one might expect. “I rever Marty, & I do see his point, but…Well there’s a reason why ‘I’m always angry,’” Whedon tweeted.

In the same tweet, Whedon — who directed both Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron — pointed out the “hearts & guts” packed into Gunn’s Guardians franchise. Earlier Friday, Gunn also took to Twitter to also defend the genre, saying he’s “saddened” that Scorsese is judging his films without having seen them. The whole controversy is rooted in Scorsese doing an interview where he mentioned he thinks Marvel movies aren’t really “cinema.”

“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese told Empire on a press tour promoting The Irishman. “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.”

Last year, similar comments prompted Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige to discuss the situation where major blockbusters aren’t often considered for any major awards. That was, of course, until Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther ended up winning three Academy Awards.

“Maybe it’s easy to dismiss VFX or flying people or spaceships or billion dollar grosses. I think it is easy to say that you have already been awarded in a certain way,” Feige said last summer. “[Alfred] Hitchcock never won best director, so it’s very nice, but it doesn’t mean everything. I would much rather be in a room full of engaged fans.”

Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 20202, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision is set to hit Disney+ Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Marvel Studios Disney+ series without release dates include Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.

Photos by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic and Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage