We’ve heard plenty of opinions on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s impact on the landscape of studio filmmaking and the theatrical market. Some directors have minced no words about the dominance of the superhero blockbuster potentially having a negative influence on both.
With that in mind, someone from the MCU camp also has a hot-take to share. While speaking with the Independent to help promote his hit Netflix series “Stranger Things,” David Harbour claims that a film like Martin Scorsese’s New York gangster epic “Goodfellas” would have trouble existing in the current climate that is geared towards superheroes.
“I don’t see it as anything but entertaining, fun stuff,” Harbour stated when asked if Marvel was wrecking cinema.
But added this caveat, “When I was growing up, ‘Goodfellas’ came out in the cinema, and it was like… the ‘Captain America’ of its day. We all rushed out to see it. And I don’t know if those movies really can exist in this climate anymore.” Admitting that Marvel is just “a smaller piece in a much larger cultural puzzle.”
Harbour plays the Red Guardian in Marvel’s “Black Widow” movie and there is an expectation to reprise the part at some point, he’s not simply taking snipes at something popular, which feels like a common accusation when folks like Scorsese or others share their opinions on the MCU.
It’s certainly an interesting take on Marvel’s impact on cinema and perhaps more adult-oriented material is indeed having trouble getting made as films and pivoting to series instead. Then again, the “Sopranos” prequel film “The Many Saints of Newark” wasn’t exactly “Goodfellas,” but is very much cut from the same cloth being a period gangster story backed by a major studio despite a hybrid release due to the pandemic.
The second volume of “Stranger Things” Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.