Stephen Dorff is best known for his acclaimed turn in True Detective season 1, but back in the day he starred in 1998’s Blade, playing the villainous Deacon Frost opposite Wesley Snipes’ vampire hunter. That movie helped kick off the superhero cinema craze that eventually led to the dominance of the MCU that we have today. But it sounds like Dorff is definitely not a fan of the franchise as he’s made his feelings about Black Widow crystal clear.
While speaking to The Independent, Dorff spoke about what sort of projects attract him, and took the opportunity to blast Marvel Studios’ incoming production, which he labelled as “garbage”. The actor even went so far as to say he was “embarrassed” for Scarlett Johansson for starring in something he believes looks like “a bad video game.”
“I still hunt out the good s**t because I don’t want to be in Black Widow,” he says. “It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I’m embarrassed for those people. I’m embarrassed for Scarlett! I’m sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I’m embarrassed for her. I don’t want to be in those movies. I really don’t. I’ll find that kid director that’s gonna be the next Kubrick and I’ll act for him instead.”
Dorff didn’t stop there with his heated thoughts either, as the same interview saw him go on a tirade against the general state of the movie and TV industry these days, with the targets of his anger including this year’s Oscars ceremony – which he calls “the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen” – and the rise of streaming services – “it’s all one big clusterf**k of content now,” he says.
The Blade franchise is being rebooted within in the MCU, with Snipes rumored to return in some shape or form. But it seems a safe bet to assume Dorff won’t be joining the universe anytime soon. Unless he does a complete u-turn on his opinions, which has happened before. Ethan Hawke once disparaged superhero films before going on to join the cast of Disney Plus’ Moon Knight.
It’s worth pointing out that Dorff’s guess that Johansson earned “five, seven million” for Black Widow is way off. In actual fact, she’s believed to have come away with a hefty $15 million paycheck. Meanwhile, the actress seems very proud of the movie, which is being met with warm reviews from most critics. Make your own mind up about it when it hits theaters and streaming this Friday.