James Cameron Says Marvel Characters 'All Act Like They're In College': 'Not The Way to Make Movies'
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Jeff Spicer/WireImage James Cameron
James Cameron is not convinced by characters in Marvel and DC films.
In a new interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, the Avatar: The Way of Water director said that he likes to "do the thing that other people aren't doing" during a conversation with Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana and Sigourney Weaver about following up their 2009 blockbuster Avatar.
"When I look at these big, spectacular films — I'm looking at you, Marvel and DC — it doesn't matter how old the characters are, they all act like they're in college," Cameron, 68, said as the group discussed the effects of parenthood on their characters and actual lives.
"They have relationships, but they really don't," Cameron said of characters from Marvel Studios and DC Films movies. "They never hang up their spurs because of their kids."
"The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters don't experience it, and I think that's not the way to make movies," the director added to the Times.
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In the Times interview, Cameron also suggested that recent blockbusters that utilize underwater locations, like the Aquaman movies and Disney's upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid, simply don't feature as high-quality visuals as the new Avatar sequel because the productions did not actually film underwater.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe that it looks good?" Cameron said when asked about the advantages of shooting underwater. "Come on! You want it to look like the people are underwater, so they need to be underwater."
"It's not some gigantic leap — if you were making a western, you'd be out learning how to ride a horse," he told the newspaper.
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
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Though Cameron had critical words for Marvel and DC blockbusters in the interview, the director has made a point of applauding Marvel Studios in the past. In May 2019, Cameron publicly congratulated Marvel days after Avengers: Endgame eclipsed his own blockbuster Titanic (1997) to become the second highest-grossing film of all time.
"To Kevin and everyone at Marvel. An iceberg sank the real Titanic," Cameron wrote on Twitter at the time, against a photo of the Avengers logo swapped in for the Titanic's fatal iceberg. "It took the Avengers to sink my Titanic. Everyone here at Lightstorm Entertainment salutes your amazing achievement. You've shown that the movie industry is not only alive and well, it's bigger than ever!"
— James Cameron (@JimCameron) May 9, 2019
Avatar: The Way of Water is set "more than a decade after the events of the first film" and meets Jake Sully (Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldaña) as parents to three children, including Kiri (Weaver), according to an official log line for the film.
The story captures the "trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure," according to the logline.
Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters Dec. 16.
