Thunderbolts* Star Defends Marvel From Critics After Several MCU Films Disappoint At The Box Office

Key Takeaways

• MCU movies like Eternals, Ant-Man, & Captain Marvel face criticism for underperforming at the box office.
• Marvel stars like Sebastian Stan and Chris Hemsworth defend MCU films against harsh critiques.
• Despite backlash from renowned filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, MCU actors continue to support and appreciate their work.

Several movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe haven’t performed as expected at the box office in recent years. However, one MCU star stood up for Marvel Studios despite the harsh criticism it received from critics.

Three Marvel movies — Eternals, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel — are not getting sequels after they underperformed at the box office. Amid Marvel’s struggles to recover from the losses, several critics, including Martin Scorsese, a successful filmmaker, expressed how unimpressed they were with MCU films. The award-winning director previously said Marvel movies are “not cinema.” In an op-ed for The New York Times in 2019 titled “Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain,” he likened the MCU superhero movies to theme parks that lack the elements of a good film. Another great film director, producer and screenwriter, Francis Ford Coppola, shared the same sentiment. One Marvel superstar, who appears in the upcoming Thunderbolts*, also stood up to defend the superhero flicks from Marvel Studios.

Sebastian Stan, who made his MCU debut in the 2011 movie Captain America: The First Avenger, responded to the criticisms aimed at Marvel for its superhero movies. The actor who appeared in several movies from the franchise, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019) admitted that he was protective of the franchise. “It’s become really convenient to pick on [Marvel films],” Stan told Variety. “And that’s fine. Everyone’s got an opinion. But they’re a big part of what contributes to this business and allows us to have smaller movies as well. This is an artery traveling through the system of this entire machinery that’s Hollywood. It feeds in so many more ways than people acknowledge.” Stan said he wanted to protect MCU because the films had good intentions and it was never easy making great movies again and again.

The Thunderbolts* actor wasn’t the first and only star from the MCU to defend the studio. Chris Hemsworth, who plays the Thunder God, Thor, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, admitted that he found the criticisms against their work too much. “It felt harsh, and it bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space,” the Thor star told The Times of London in May 2024. “Those guys had films that didn’t work too — we all have. When they talked about what was wrong with superheroes, I thought, cool, tell that to the billions who watch them. Were they all wrong?” Tim Blake Nelson also previously said that he loved Scorsese’s works but didn’t agree with the director’s opinion about Marvel films. “I couldn’t respect Martin Scorsese more, he’s his own genre, but I disagree with him when he derides Marvel. I come down on the side of Marvel movies absolutely being cinema,” Nelson said.

Superhero movies have their own audience, and it’s understandable for some to love them and for others to express dislike for those types of projects. The criticisms weighed more because they were from individuals who made considerable contributions to the entertainment industry. It’s also normal for celebrities working for Marvel to defend their work because they invest time, energy and effort into every project they do for the studio. Having different opinions about something –- for this one Marvel movies –- should not be a big deal because it is subjective. What’s important is that the idea be delivered respectfully to avoid offending those who do not share the same opinion. Also, even if many would criticize Marvel’s superhero movies, its ardent fans and solid supporters would still watch the MCU films because they simply loved it and nothing could change their mind about it.

Thunderbolts* will hit theaters on May 2, 2025.

Source: Variety.