Vincent Cassel’s character on Westworld might draw regular comparisons to a comic book supervillain, but the cult actor has no interest in moving into the crowded superhero movie space. In a newly-published interview with Inverse, Cassel became the latest Hollywood name to remind us that he doesn’t have Twitter, so your rage-filled mentions can’t hurt him. Actually, what he said is that superhero films don’t resonate with him anymore, and that he wouldn’t be interested in taking a part that felt like it was “for kids.” That bit is going to get fans riled up, but in context, it’s pretty clear that he isn’t insulting the films so much as saying that they aren’t the kind of movies he personally enjoys.
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Cassel joins folks like David Cronenberg and Martin Scorsese, who have both said that they have minimal interest in comic book movies. Last year, Scorsese repeatedly compared Marvel Studios films to “theme park rides” — likely a dig at parent company Disney — and argued they were “not cinema.” Cassel, certainly, doesn’t appear that commited to the position, acknowledging that while they feel like they’re made for kids, there’s a kid inside of him, too.
“Honestly, these are not movies I watch anymore,” Cassel said. “When they came up with the technology and the fact that suddenly Iron Man or Spider-Man could look real and not tacky in the special effects, I was interested. Then, it became normal. I was a big fan of the comics at the time when I was a kid. Nowadays, I think these are movies for kids, really. And even though I still have a part of me who’s a kid, I would say no. I wouldn’t watch it.”
Even with all of that on the table, Cassel seemed to suggest that his lack of interest isn’t exactly a hard-and-fast rule, leaving the door open if the right offer from the right creative people were to come along down the line.
“Maybe if you had a great villain and it’s done with by somebody who’s really intelligent and talented enough to give it a twist, so it doesn’t look like a movie for kids, then maybe I would do it,” Cassel said. “But otherwise, no. The few approaches that I had, I felt like it would have been a long time commitment for something that I wouldn’t even watch to the end.”
You can catch up on Westworld on HBO Go.
