‘Loki’ EP Fires Back At Martin Scorsese’s Criticism That Comic Book Movies Pose A Threat To Culture: “I Would Challenge Anyone Watching To Say [The Series] Is Not Cinematic”

Spencer Baculi |

Oct 25, 2023

In pushing back against Martin Scorsese’s recent criticism that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “manufactured” output is actively degrading human American culture, Loki executive producer Kevin Wright has offered up the Disney Plus series as proof that the franchise is capable of producing something truly “cinematic”.

The esteemed director shared his latest take on the MCU while speaking to GQ‘s Zach Baron in promotion of his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, opining, “The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture, because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those—that’s what movies are.”

Met by Baron’s own observation that “I think people already think that,” Scorsese in turn confirmed, “They already think that. Which means that we have to then fight back stronger.”

“And it’s got to come from the grassroots level,” he continued. “It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves. And you’ll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you’ll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean? And hit ’em from all sides. Hit ’em from all sides, and don’t give up. Let’s see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.”

To this end, Scorsese further asserted, “I do think that the manufactured content isn’t really cinema.””It’s almost like AI making a film,” the filmmaker elaborated. “And that doesn’t mean that you don’t have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork. But what does it mean? What do these films, what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?”

RELATED: Marvel Studios Reportedly Only Chose Kang As Multiverse Saga Villain After Jonathan Majors Received “Positive Buzz” Over ‘Loki Cameo’However, while Scorsese’s recent appraisal has found support amongst a wide range of fans, critics, and his fellow creatives, Wright wholeheartedly disagrees.
Asked for his thoughts on the director’s comments during a recent interview with Geeks Of Color’s Matt Fernandez, the Marvel EP explained, “I think with Loki we just wanted to make a great story, and a great show, and I think that this is something that all of the filmmakers involved, including Tom Hiddleston, I think it comes through in every frame of this.”

“It’s being built with a lot of love and care, and an eye for the cinematic,” said Wright. “So I think, Any of these shows, any of these movies, anything in this world is about making a character-focused story that audiences can connect with. Sometimes we succeed at that, sometimes we don’t, but I think that something like this show, I would challenge anyone watching to say that it’s not cinematic, and it’s not built with the highest craftsmanship and care.”

“That’s something that I think as a producer, and for any producers within Marvel Studios, we should be aiming for, which is like ‘How do you build these to the highest levels’?” he concluded. “Because frankly, people just want to see good stories, and to me, you know, that gets the audience there. If you build something beautiful, they’re going to enjoy it whether it’s a show like this or an indie film.”

New episodes of Loki are currently premiering every Thursday exclusively on Disney Plus.

NEXT: Kevin Feige Confirms Marvel Timelines And Universes Will “Crash Or Converge”

Mentioned This Article:Geeks of Color Kevin Wright Loki Martin Scorsese Marvel Marvel Cinematic Universe

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