An Oscar-winning director weighs in with the best take yet on the ‘is Marvel cinema?’ debate

Seth Rogen ironically ended up getting rounded on by Marvel Cinematic Universe fans when he offered his thoughts on the never-ending debate on the merits of the long-running superhero franchise, even though his opinions were incredibly measured, thought out, and most importantly relating only to his personal experience.

The ongoing war of attrition between some of the industry’s most iconic titans and Kevin Feige’s all-conquering comic book monolith has been raging in the background for years, but an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who hasn’t come close to touching a big budget blockbuster in his entire career has offered what might be the best take yet.

Steven Soderbergh has dived into pretty much every genre under the sun, not to mention his eclectic behind the scenes resume that’s seen him take on a multitude of different roles behind the camera, so the Traffic Oscar-winner knows his stuff. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he outlined why properties like Marvel demand respect, even if it’s never something he’d consider tackling himself.

“That shit’s hard. I couldn’t do it. I have no philosophical issue with those movies. The fact of the matter is: I’m not the audience for that. I never was. When I was growing up, I never had comic books. I’m not a fantasy person. I’m too stuck on the ground. So, I’m just not the target for that. I’m agnostic about them. I can tell you right now, just as a filmmaker, they’re really tough movies to make in terms of the stamina required.”

He knows that the MCU isn’t for him, so it’s not something he concerns himself with, but he knows full well as a multi-talented veteran that they are incredibly difficult productions that require no shortage of skill, vision, and ambition, which hits the nail right on the head.

Soderbergh then went on to reflect on the “weird mélange of forces, both economic and cultural” that have caused a rift in what constitutes being deemed as cinema, and having personally called Feige on behalf of the Russo brothers when they were trying to land Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he even ended up having an inadvertently massive impact on the tail end of the Infinity Saga.