MCU performer Stellan Skarsgård believes there's "definitely" a place for superhero movies in light of Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott's criticisms.
For a recent reader Q&A curated by The Guardian, the award-winning Swedish star (currently seen in cinemas as Dune's Baron Harkonnen) was asked what his takeaway was from their comments, which included comparisons to "theme parks".
"I've got nothing against superhero movies. I've been in a couple and they definitely have a place," he said.
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"I've got nothing against superhero movies. I've been in a couple and they definitely have a place. The problem is that the system that allows eight people to own half of the wealth in the world enhances the power of the market forces, so small and independent cinemas rarely exist any more outside a few big cities.
"There's no distribution channels for all the mid-budget films that have the best actors, the best writing, because they can't throw up $3 million for a marketing campaign. When cinemas let them in, they do so for one week and if it doesn't pay off in a week, they're gone."
Skarsgård went on to single out The Godfather's success thanks to word-of-mouth and "the people's opinion".
"Remember that The Godfather first opened in 100 cinemas in the United States – big films now open in 4,000. They had small ads in The New York Times, but it grew and grew because it was such a good film. The people's opinion has no chance any more. And that is sad.
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"I think that we should have Marvel films and more rollercoaster films," he declared.
"We should have other films, too. And that's the sad thing: when raw market forces come in, studios start being run by companies that don't care if they're dealing in films or toothpaste so long as they get their 10% [return]."
A compelling contribution to this ongoing discourse, but regardless of whether you agree or not, superhero cinema is here to stay.
