Moonfall director Roland Emmerich aimed at Star Wars and Marvel, claiming they're ruining the film industry. According to him, there's nothing original beyond these huge pre-established intellectual properties anymore.
This isn't the first time Emmerich has taken a swipe at Marvel movies, in particular, once stating he likes watching them on planes to fall asleep. Emmerich is no stranger to blockbuster movies himself, having directed disaster movies such as Will Smith's box office phenomenon Independence Day.
Emmerich is on the press tour promoting Moonfall, his new disaster movie about a team of astronauts and a conspiracy theorist who work to prevent disaster as the moon is put on a collision course with Earth. During an interview, Den of Geek asked whether the genre has changed in recent years, to which Emmerich responded, "Oh yes. Because naturally Marvel and DC Comics, and Star Wars, have pretty much taken over. It’s ruining our industry a little bit because nobody does anything original anymore.”
He obviously isn't the first influential director to share his opinion on Marvel movies. It's become a compulsory question nowadays, with legendary director Martin Scorsese credited as the first influential figure to have sparked the debate when he called MCU films 'theme park movies.' Fans are often weighing in on whether Scorsese was right or not with seemingly every blockbuster released, be it from a popular IP or not.
Emmerich's point however was seemingly not about the quality of these films but rather whether they're bold. Interestingly enough, he has previously credited George Lucas' original Star Wars for inspiring him to be a filmmaker, but now he much rather prefers Christopher Nolan because Nolan seems to make films about whatever he wants.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is continuing to dominate the box office and while the numbers may seem unprecedented, it does not mean these IP movies are for everyone. There are going to be factions that despise it and others that love it. Emmerich's main gripe is with the film industry not taking risks with blockbusters that are not from an established IP, and it's with good reason. Moonfall happens to be the most expensive independent films of all time. Fans who are more enticed by original blockbusters should be looking forward to watching Moonfall.
Moonfall will premiere in theaters on February 4th, 2022.
Source: Den of Geek