James Gunn Claims Martin Scorsese Lambasted Marvel to Get His Film Some Attention

Legendary director Martin Scorsese is one of the most celebrated figures in the world of filmmaking but in 2019, he got on the wrong side of comic book fans following his controversial statement regarding Marvel films which he claims shouldn't be described as cinematic works.

Best known for films such as Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese experienced public scrutiny after lambasting the billion-dollar franchise which has continuously dominated cinema for the last decade.

Even after the issue blew up, Martin seemingly remained firm with his stand despite the unpopular nature of it. Now, his fellow director James Gunn who is one of the staple filmmakers of the MCU has opened up about Scorsese's criticism and according to him, he only chose to talk smack about Marvel to get his 2019 film The Irishman some press attention.

During a conversation with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Guardians of the Galaxy director fired back at Scorsese's controversial statements and said he created his film in the shadow of Marvel movies.

He said: "I just think it seems awful cynical that he would keep coming out against Marvel and then that is the only thing that would get him press for his movie. He's creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films, and so he uses that to get attention for something he wasn't getting as much attention as he wanted for it."

Also Read: Thor Star Matt Damon Faces Backlash for "Complaining" About Superhero Films

Comparing comic book movies to "traditional" films is like comparing apples to oranges and I've always found it silly how Scorsese and other directors and actors for that matter chose to target Marvel and DC.

I mean, we can't really fault these huge media franchises for continuously creating content because fans are there to support them and I don't see anything wrong with that. If anything, the people who are throwing shade at comic book films just come across as bitter and condescending.

Meanwhile, James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is now showing in cinemas. It's also available for streaming on HBO Max.