Roland Emmerich Says Marvel, DC & ‘Star Wars’ Are “Ruining” The Film Industry Because Nobody “Does Anything Original”

Director Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster film “Moonfall” returns him to the Moon yet again, after exploring it in “Independence Day: Resurgence” and in a greater capacity with his lesser-known 1990 sci-fi actioner “Moon 44.” He’s now on the press tour to promote his latest studio event movie and, of course, has been asked about the current state of cinema, blockbusters, and the movies business in general.

The German filmmaker was asked by Den of Geek about the changes to the disaster film genre in recent years, and his response was, “Oh yes. Because naturally, Marvel and DC Comics, and ‘Star Wars,’ have pretty much taken over. It’s ruining our industry a little bit because nobody does anything original anymore.”

READ MORE: Roland Emmerich Purposefully Tanked His ‘Godzilla’ Pitch, But The Studio Ended Up Loving It Anyway

Emmerich further explained his own experience with comic books and why he’s not terribly interested in making movies within the superhero genre.

“There were [“The Adventures of Tintin” comics], but they were very childish, and there were no superheroes. So that’s why at the very beginning, superheroes didn’t work in Germany. They needed 10 or 15 years [of movies] to get to the same level as the rest of the world…. But I just have never found any interest in that kind of movie,” Emmerich told Den of Geek.

“You should make bold new movies,” he added. “And I think Christopher Nolan is the master of that. He is someone who can make movies about whatever he wants. I have it a little bit harder, but I still have a big enough name—especially when it’s a disaster [movie] or has some sort of disaster theme.”

It’s not like Emmerich hasn’t tackled studio IP in the past with the poorly received take on “Godzilla” back in 1998 and once developed a never-made version of “Alien vs. Predator” for 20th Century Fox in the 1990s. Still, it’s at least nice to hear he’s not looking to jump into an existing franchise anytime soon.

READ MORE: ‘Independence Day’ Director Roland Emmerich Regretted Not Pulling The Plug On ‘Resurgence’ When Will Smith Bailed

Not every filmmaker suits the superhero genre or is even appealing to them, so these comments aren’t bizarre after people like Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese have distanced themselves from certain kinds of studio blockbusters.