Karen Gillan Defends James Gunn After Martin Scorsese Insults Marvel Movies

Add Guardians of the Galaxy star Karen Gillan to the growing list of those in Hollywood disagreeing with Martin Scorsese‘s opinion on Marvel films. At an event Saturday night, Gillan told THR she would “absolutely say” Marvel movies were cinema. She then made sure to point out the tremendous storytelling found in the movies written and directed by James Gunn, both of which she’s had a major role in.

“I would absolutely say that Marvel movies are cinema,” Gillan says. “Cinema is story-telling with visuals. There’s so much heart and soul, and it’s James’ soul in there. He injects so much of his own personality, his sense of humor … that’s a very big representation of who he is as a person and therefore it’s very cinematic. He’s an artist.”

Gunn was one of the first people from the Marvel family to respond to the controversial comments, saying he was saddened the Oscar-winning filmmaker is judging his films without having seen them. “I was outraged when people picketed The Last Temptation of Christ without having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way,” Gunn tweeted.

Scorsese’s initial comments from his interview with Empire magazine can be read in their entirety below.

“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. 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.”

Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, 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.

What MCU property are you looking forward to most? Share your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt to chat all things MCU!