Tom Holland has responded to comments made by Martin Scorsese in 2019 when he said that he did not consider superhero movies to be cinema. It will come as no surprise that Holland doesn’t agree with Scorsese at all on this matter. Holland, star of Spider-Man: No Way Home, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the film’s box-office and critical success. Holland spoke of his experience making both superhero films and more “cinematic” films saying,
You can ask Scorsese ‘Would you want to make a Marvel movie?’ But he doesn’t know what it’s like because he’s never made one. I’ve made Marvel movies and I’ve also made movies that have been in the conversation in the world of the Oscars, and the only difference, really, is one is much more expensive than the other. But the way I break down the character, the way the director etches out the arc of the story and characters — it’s all the same, just done on a different scale. So I do think they’re real art.”
Holland is likely responding to Scorsese’s words in an interview with Empire in 2019 when he likened superhero films to “theme parks” and said they weren’t real cinema. Many took issue with Scorsese’s comments, including director James Gunn who has directed films for both Marvel and DC.
Holland is going after big guns with Scorsese, who is widely considered to be the greatest living and working director. However, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s success speaks for itself. With a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the second-best opening weekend of all time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would please audiences by giving the film a Best Picture nomination. Thus far, 2019’s Black Panther is the only superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination.
What do you all think of Tom Holland commenting on Martin Scorsese? Does he make a good case for treating superhero films as cinema? Or do you agree with Scorsese? Share your opinions in the comments.