Captain Marvel is currently in the midst of a triumphant opening weekend that dispels any doubt that your average filmgoer isn’t on the same wavelength as the movie’s most vocal naysayers. And in an interview with Nerdist, actor Clark Gregg took a moment to condemn the online backlash that Carol Danvers’ solo debut has faced.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star argued in a newly shared video that much of the outrage towards Captain Marvel comes from people who are used to seeing members of their own demographic get the superhero treatment.
“It’s easy for people to get, I don’t know if the expression is butthurt about seeing someone else get a hero that looks like them, but that’s because they’ve always had heroes that looked like them.”
Gregg then went on to reaffirm his point, before suggesting a colorful metaphor for the outdated mentality that Captain Marvel is having to contend with.
“There are people who get very bent out of shape about the fact that she’s a woman, and that Brie’s a woman, and wants to see women moving into an equal place in humanity to men. It’s sad. It must be sad to be that kind of dinosaur wandering toward the tar pits.”
Despite the ongoing backlash, Captain Marvel is actually faring very well with those who’ve actually seen it. As well as currently boasting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80% based on 351 reviews, the movie has received a respectable CinemaScore of A that places it on the same level as Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Commercially, things have been going pretty swimmingly for Captain Marvel, too, with the movie outdoing the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok with a domestic opening weekend haul of $153 million. As it stands, the film sits at a global total of $455 million, making it safe to say that Marvel Studios has another hit on their hands.
Overall, it’s abundantly clear that the outrage directed at Captain Marvel from certain corners of the internet isn’t nearly as prevalent as many of the film’s more passionate detractors would have you believe, ensuring there’ll be plenty of hype for Carol’s return next month in Avengers: Endgame.
