For years now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been used as an example by certain filmmakers, actors, and fans of everything that is wrong with the film industry today. Because Marvel Studios’ films have been dominating the box office, there’s a feeling from some that these superhero films are pushing away smaller films and changing audiences’ expectations when coming to the cinema. And adding to that are the recent comments by Quentin Tarantino, who didn’t just take aim at the superhero films but also said that the folks acting in them are being overshadowed by the characters they play. Now, we have Robert Downey, Jr., who is basically the de facto godfather of the modern superhero film, here to defend the genre that, in essence, resurrected his career and turned him into the biggest star on the planet.
Speaking to Deadline, while promoting his new Netflix documentary, “Sr.,” Robert Downey, Jr. was asked about Quentin Tarantino’s comments, as well as the way superhero films have been maligned by some of his colleagues in the film industry. And honestly, he gives what might be the most thoughtful response we’ve seen yet.
“I think our opinions on these matters say a lot about us,” said Downey, Jr. “I think that we are in a time and place that I unwittingly contributed to, where IP has taken precedence over principle and personality. But it’s a double-edged sword. A piece of IP is only as good as the human talent you get to represent it, and you can have some great IP even if it’s coming from an auteur or a national treasure of a writer-director, and if you don’t have the right kind of artist playing that role, you’ll never know how good it could have been.”
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He continued, “I think that creatively it is a waste of time to be at war with ourselves. I think this is a time when everything is so much more fragmented now that I think you have this kind of bifurcation…and thank God for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’ That’s all I have to say. We need the big stuff to make room for films like ‘Armageddon Time.’”
He goes on to mention how his own experiences, especially after working with folks like Christopher Nolan and his upcoming series with Park Chan-wook, titled “The Sympathizer,” have been “transformative” in his career. And he thinks if more people experience that, they may think differently about taking shots at other people’s hard work.
“So, I would just say, before we cast aspersions on each other — undergo your own renaissance and see if it doesn’t change your mind a little bit,” he explained. “Reinvent yourself before you decide that somebody else doesn’t know what they’re doing or that something is keeping you from doing your best, or that something is better than something else. You know, we’re in this age now where [Jon] Favreau said it best: We used to try to make waves in a lake, and now we’re just trying to catch people’s attention as things are moving by quickly in a stream. I think that’ll change again, but this is just where we’re at. And to accept it and be grateful that you get to participate is the right place to start.”
Obviously, it’s in Downey, Jr.’s best interest to defend Marvel Studios and superhero films, in general. Sure, he’s not attached to any of them now, having ended his run in “Avengers: Endgame,” but after debuting as Iron Man in 2008, he enjoyed more than a decade of being the centerpiece of the biggest franchise that has ever existed. And as such, he has been able to work with a variety of different filmmakers and seen the good, bad, and ugly about working in superhero films. But he’s come out the other side and seems to be truly at peace with the life he has been given, thanks in no small part to the character of Iron Man.
“Sr.” is available now on Netflix.
