Francis Ford Coppola Defends Martin Scorsese’s Position On Marvel Movies And Ups The Ante By Labeling Them ‘Despicable’

Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Netflix epic The Irishman has been getting rave reviews, but throughout its many promotions over the past month, the film’s press has been dogged by the director’s comments about the movies produced by Disney conglomerate Marvel Studios. In an interview, Scorsese declared Marvel movies were “not cinema” and compared them to theme parks. He later doubled-down on these comments despite various responses from Marvel actors Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr., fanboy auteur Kevin Smith, and superhero genre enthusiast Damon Lindelof.

The Marvel fans were also quite vocal about the matter, which exploded in social media circles almost immediately. Even so, the (faux) outcry has not disquieted Scorsese and his supporters — including fellow iconic director Francis Ford Coppola. When Agence France-Presse caught up with him recently, they asked him about the “controversy” surrounding Scorsese’s comments. Not only did he agree with his fellow director, but Coppola also took it a step further by calling Marvel movies “despicable.”

Per Yahoo! News:

“When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration.

“I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again,” the 80-year-old filmmaker said.

“Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.“

With HBO’s Watchmen series — which was created by Lindelof — premiering this weekend, Coppola’s involvement in the ongoing Marvel movies debate is sure to keep these irritating fires lit for a few more days.