Chris Hemsworth Was Bothered by Scorsese and Coppola’s Marvel Criticism as It ‘Felt Harsh’ and ‘Was an Eye-Roll,’ Says ‘Superhero Curse’ Exists in That ‘You Get Pigeonholed’
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Chris Hemsworth expressed frustration in an interview with The Times of London over Marvel criticisms made by some directors he considers to be personal heroes such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Hemsworth is one of the original Avengers in the MCU as Thor, debuting in a 2011 standalone movie before headlining three sequels and starring in several “Avengers” movies through 2022.
“It felt harsh, and it bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space,” Hemsworth told The Times. “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?”
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Scorsese made his initial Marvel criticisms in fall 2019, infamously calling these movies a “theme park” and not real cinema. The Oscar winner later clarified that his frustration was not about the quality of Marvel movies but about the dominance of them in the marketplace. He argued that superhero movies were driving indie films and mid-budget movies out of exhibition.
Coppola agreed with his longtime friend, explaining in a 2022 interview with GQ magazine that “there used to be studio films. Now there are Marvel pictures. And what is a Marvel picture? A Marvel picture is one prototype movie that is made over and over and over and over and over again to look different.”
In his interview with The Times of London, Hemsworth rebuked Scorsese and Coppola’s criticisms and said “cinema-going did not change because of superheroes, but because of smartphones and social media. Superhero films actually kept people in the cinemas during that transition and now people are coming back. So they deserve a little more appreciation.”
Hemsworth also took issue with Marvel criticisms being made by actors who appeared in the MCU. He did not name any names, but The Times mentioned Idris Elba (he once said it was “torture” making a Marvel movie) and Christian Bale (he criticized the “monotony” of working on the “Thor: Love and Thunder” set) as examples.
“It’s, like, ‘They’re films that are successful — put me in one. Oh, mine didn’t work? I’ll bash them,’” Hemsworth said. “Look, I grew up on a soap opera. And it used to bother me when actors would later talk about the show with guilt or shame. Humility goes a long way. One of the older actors on ‘Home and Away’ said, ‘We don’t get paid to make the good lines sound good, but to make the bad ones work.’ That stuck with me.
“But hey, it’s all a lesson,” he continued. “And if I ever went back to [Thor] I’d wonder how we could change it again. But there is a superhero curse in the sense you get pigeonholed, and I’ve felt a little hamstrung with what I could do, so [I] desperately wanted something to scare the shit out of me. And ‘Furiosa’ did.”
Hemsworth has been making the press rounds in support of “Furiosa,” George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel that is world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of its theatrical release this month. The actor is playing a demented and villainous warlord, which is a far cry from his trademark Thor role. He admitted to Vanity Fair last month that he grew frustrated with Thor during his tenure with Marvel.
“Sometimes I felt like a security guard for the team,” Hemsworth said. “I would read everyone else’s lines, and go, ‘Oh, they got way cooler stuff. They’re having more fun. What’s my character doing?’ It was always about, ‘You’ve got the wig on. You’ve got the muscles. You’ve got the costume. Where’s the lighting?’ Yeah, I’m part of this big thing, but I’m probably pretty replaceable.”
Hemsworth added that “it’s been a long wait” to be able to get the chance to show off more than just his “muscly action guy” chops, but that’s what “Furiosa” is in his eyes. The film opens nationwide May 24 from Warner Bros.
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