Two years ago, film legend Martin Scorsese penned an op-ed that fueled the rage of many Marvel fans when he dared to say superhero movies aren’t real cinema. Now, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn is firing back at those remarks with a specific dig at Scorsese himself.

Although Scorsese went on to clarify his initial remarks to great extent, the article did open up an interesting debate on the artistic merits of what the director dubbed “theme park” movies at the time. To make matters more interesting, Gunn is no stranger from criticizing the genre that made him a household name, recently stating that superhero movies are “mostly boring” nowadays.

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During a conversation with Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn took a bit of a personal dig at Scorsese by claiming he thinks part of the reason why the director “just kept coming out against Marvel [was] so that he could get press for his movie” in reference to 2019’s The Irishman, which was gearing up for a release on Netflix at the time Scorsese made his famous comments on superhero films. Gunn went further on, saying he felt Scorsese was “creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films” and that’s what may have prompted his “awful cynical” comments on the whole superhero realm.

Regardless of that, Gunn wished for his statements not to be taken out of context, so he quickly expressed his admiration for Scorsese’s work, while also admitting “there are a lot of heartless, soulless spectacle films out there.” That didn’t stop thousands of people from overreacting to Gunn’s comments on social media, with The Suicide Squad director being forced to further clarify his statements on Twitter, where’s he luckily very active in helping people bounce back from raccoon attacks.

Despite being a two-year-old discussion, the topic really does not seem to go away as superhero blockbusters and other big franchise movies continue taking up more space than ever both as streaming content and in cinemas. Gunn is not alone in this particular camp, as someone like Army of Thieves producer Zack Snyder has expressed similar counterarguments against Scorsese’s opinion.

With the debate over the artistry of comic book movies looking increasingly unlikely to be given a rest, perhaps Gunn and Snyder’s take might be the healthier option, as not every piece of content put out by Marvel and DC will be a great work of cinema, especially for the latter. So far, it would appear Gunn's The Suicide Squad is anything but soulless as early reviews have praised the movie, especially for the reasons that make it stand out in a market saturated with superheroes.

The Suicide Squad will be released in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6, 2021.

MORE: James Gunn's Other R-Rated Superhero Movie Is A Bloody Offbeat Masterpiece

Source: Happy Sad Confused|Apple Podcasts