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First Trailer and Poster for THE BOURNE LEGACY Starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, and Edward NortonDirector Matthew Vaughn Says the Superhero Genre is Almost Dead and That’s Why He’s Doing X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
by Matt Goldberg Posted:August 8th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
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Director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) doesn’t think there’s much life left in the superhero genre. Set to direct X-Men: First Class, Vaughn told LA Times’ Hero Complex, “It’s been mined to death and in some cases the quality control is not what it’s supposed to be. People are just going to get bored of it.” So why is he doing X-Men?
“I’ve always wanted to do a big-budget superhero film and I think we’ve kind of crossed the Rubicon with superhero films. I think [the opportunity to do one], it’s only going to be there two or three more times. Then the genre is going to be dead for a while because the audience has just been pummeled too much.”
Hit the jump for why I think Vaughn has miscalculated in more ways than one.
I don’t think audiences are being pummeled by superhero movies. If you look at the calendar, superhero movies are, for the most part, summer movies. And even then, they’re holding maybe a total of four weeks out of May, June, July, and August. What audiences are being pummeled by is the marketing for a handful of superhero movies. Marvel and DC aren’t even close to mining their vast roster superheroes and their stories. Sure, there are plenty of superhero movies in development, but so are plenty of non-superhero movies.
I also think Vaughn’s assumption that audiences will tire of superhero movies is unfounded. I just don’t see that happening anywhere. Even if Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers all flop, I think audiences would still be willing to see a superhero movie. They may be slightly more wary, but they’re not going to dismiss the genre because of a handful of bad movies.
As long as there’s a property with a built-in audience that has some semblance of cinematic potential, Hollywood will make that movie. Whether it’s a comic-book, a regular book, a toyline, a theme park ride–it doesn’t matter. Hollywood wants movies that are as pre-sold as possible. And even if audiences did turn their back (and they won’t), Disney isn’t going to throw up their hands and say “Gosh, I guess we just blew $4 billion to buy Marvel. Darn.”
Vaughn’s statement makes me sad not because he believes that superhero movies might be done, but because that’s why he decided to do one. It’s a cynical decision. He’s basically saying that it wasn’t the world or the characters or the story that attracted him. It was a now-or-never calculation that’s unfounded.
However, he did rag on Brett Ratner and X-Men: The Last Stand and that was awesome:
“As it happens, I could have made something a hundred times better than the film that was eventually made,” Vaughn told the Daily Telegraph. “It sounds arrogant, but I could have done something with far more emotion and heart.”
It does sound arrogant, but I don’t care. It’s most likely true. Now let’s see if he can bring that emotion and heart to X-Men: First Class.
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Related Links
- Matthew Vaughn to Direct X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel; Simon Kinberg to Write the Script
- Michael Fassbender Talks X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel
- Hugh Jackman Tells the Story Behind His X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Cameo
- X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Review
- Matthew Vaughn Talks X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, Possible Sequel, JAMES BOND, and the X3 That Could Have Been
I agree; Vaughn is terribly miscalculating the comic book-film industry. I've worked in a theater for nigh on 5 years now, and regardless of what comic property a film is based on, people come out to see it, even if it is only for the initial taste on a Friday or Saturday night. If it's a quality film, people keep coming. If anything, the comic book-film has been saved by the likes of Nolan and Favreau, and the majority of the upcoming films all seem to be looking like solid pieces. So boo to Vaughn: I loved Kick Ass, and it makes me kind of sad that he feels this way about the whole matter.
You guys miss the point. He said SUPERHERO movies, not comic book films. There will always be a market for comic book films in general, but tent-pole movies can't always be guys in tights; people will tire of it and here's why.
Sub-genres fall in and out of popularity every 5-10 years. For instance, action films fell out of popularity in the 80s and are only now making a slight comeback, vampire movies were popular in the 80s as well and are now making a return. Meanwhile epics were very popular in the 70's and again in the late 90's and early 00's but have since fallen out of popularity as well. The genres come back every so often but they don't stick around in full force forever.
How will the superhero genre die out? Well, what will likely happen is in the next 3-4 years the industry will get swarmed by a series of B-quality productions similar to Jonah Hex and the studios will lose faith in putting superhero flicks up for production. Does this mean none will come out? Not necessarily, but they will probably have smaller budgets, make less money on average and lose the hype they've had this last decade. The reason these superhero movies have been so successful this decade is because special effects finally got good enough to tell these stories, and studios put the money and time into making a good production. As studios invest more and more into lower-quality properties the standards will inevitably drop and the movies on average will become more and more campy and poorly made.
It is possible that these new movies coming out Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America, etc. will end up being bad or at least not as good as the others. I find it more likely that some will falter like The Hulk has and the next roster of superhero flicks will end up being the final straw. Either way, by 2015 I think the superhero genre will have gone out of favor.
That doesn't mean there isn't room for some awesome comic book adaptations that are more rooted in the real world. It also doesn't mean that manga films won't become more prevalent or that more original works of fiction will hit Hollywood. This also doesn't mean that superhero movies will never be popular again, but there are only so many tent-pole releases that people are going to flock to see; when you start putting obscure characters on screen that 90% of the population has never heard of, you won't get the same response you get from a movie like Spiderman or X-Men or Captain America.
As you say, Vaughan does seem to be going for this film for the wrong reason, that said I doubt he would have if he doesn't think he can do well at it, but you argue that the studios will keep releasing these films because of the built in audience, which is again, the wrong reason to be releasing these films.
In fact, it's a good point to raise in Vaughan's opinion's favor as the studios will keep releasing these films they know people will watch regardless of quality so they'll keep throwing the Paul Anderson's, McG's & Brett Ratners on them knowing they can get them made on time and on the dollar and eventually driving people who can actually watch a film with out a super power in it away.
I think Vaughan's statement comes from the “What's goes up, must come down” school of thought and I've personally been wondering when the hey-day of the superhero film will come to an end. But it's not as black and white as that. The movies will keep coming, but at what quality and what price will be the difference.
I think the Thor, Capt America and Avengers films will indeed have an effect on the immediate future of the genre
“Vaughn’s statement makes me sad not because he believes that superhero movies might be done, but because that’s why he decided to do one. It’s a cynical decision. He’s basically saying that it wasn’t the world or the characters or the story that attracted him. It was a now-or-never calculation that’s unfounded.” —yes, I agree with you completely. I wonder if he would've taken ANY project just to make a superhero movie this big..
Are you kidding me?! Hasn't he seen the earnings of Batman and Iron Man recently? Dang, lol. Superhero movies are action movies that we grew up reading. Nobody is going to pass up the opportunity to see their favorite superhero on the big screen. nobody.
Um, Collider, don't you think he's trying to say in a subtle way that the X-Men franchise is dying? He can't just blatantly say it
Vaughn is all ego when it comes to…well, Vaughn. He couldn't handle the satire that was 'Kick-Ass.' Millar's comic-book gave us the brilliant revelation that Big Daddy was a fraud, a simple accountant 'fan-boy' who financed his super-hero efforts by selling off his rare comic book connection. Vaughn's film gave us…Kick-Ass with a Jet Pack. That and a final act that was overly sentimental, cliche' and redundant – nothing like Millar's book. What was shocking and fun on the page became the same old thing on the screen under Vaughn's direction. The reality is that the 'Superhero' film has finally become a mature, complex and vital genre. 'The Dark Knight” was the most critically acclaimed film of 2008. Its nominations for the PGA, DGA and WGA awards, along with Heath Ledger's Oscar win, finally had Hollywood itself admitting films based on 'costumed heroes' could be intelligent and insightful social commentary. The commercial and artistic success of 'Iron Man' and 'Watchman' reinforced the unlimited potential of the genre and the fact that comic book movies don't have to follow conventional formulas – like Vaughn did with 'Kick-Ass.' Watch the film's 'Ass-Kicking BonusView Mode' on Blu-Ray and listen to Vaughn pat himself on the back for intelligently making endless conventional decisions in the writing and directing of the film. You come away realizing Vaughn's 'X-Men: First Class' is probably going to have the same formula and feel as the previous 4 'X-Men' films. Any director going into a project feeling the subject matter is “going to be dead for a while because the audience has just been pummeled too much” needs pass on the project and put it in the hands of a director whose attitude is, “You ain't seen nothin' yet!” Thank God for Joss Whedon and Christopher Nolan.
Who cares what this chump has to say.
Quality Control not what it's supposed to be? I would argue that if you compare superhero films from the past couple years (Dark Knight, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Watchmen) to earlier films from the current craze (Daredevil, Hulk, “LXG,” Catwoman), it's fairly clear that we're only now beginning to see the pinnacle of the genre.
He's just talking about X-Men, people!!!!!!!!! Arghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
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well, as it happened, he instead made something 100x WORSE than x3- stardust (seriously, what a pant load) and kick-ass was just a weak, blatant rip-off of spider-man; so, matthew vaughn's opinion means little to me.
action films fell out of popularity?! since when?! bourne, bond, die hard?! every summer tent pole film since the 80's has been action, comic book, sci-fi or fantasy (all sub-genres of action). soooo. yeah. you're wrong.
well, it's dying as long as it stays in fox's hands. give it back to marvel and it'll be full of life again.
exactly. vaugh is a terrible director! stardust and kick-ass were awful. and, everything the man says makes him sound like a d-bag.
But you don't know that Vaughn isn't still interested in the X-Men themselves, perhaps had he not felt the genre was dieing he would have immediately jumped into Kick-Ass 2. Either way, I'm sure hes going to make a pretty good movie.
WOW! That is fking hilarious. You super nerds were praising his ass two months ago when you saw Kick-Ass and now you have the audacity to call him a hack?! What the fuck. Go get a life, you trolls.
Stardust wasn't the best film ever, but if you hadn't noticed it was trying to be a campy fantasy comedy, I found it pretty entertaining; even if it sometimes felt too childish. Layer Cake was pretty awesome, and Kick-Ass was a great superhero comedy film (name one better). Just because it didn't bring in 300 million, get ultra-praise from the critics and win an Oscar doesn't mean the movie sucked.
P.S: Everything you say makes you sound like a d-bag.
How in the hell was Kick-Ass a ripoff of Spiderman? Because it was a satire of certain aspects of the comic book? You've got to be kidding me.
Can't argue with Vaughan. He's a good director and so what if he's looking to cash in on the market (everyone else does) and/or indulge in a “whim”.
'Excpired' is referring to the traditional action movie, the escapist 'one-man army' style of action film that was massive in the 80s and early 90s and then fell out of favour. It was eventually replaced by the angsty, glum Bourne-type blockbuster you mention, and is only now starting to edge its way out of the darkness.
Back to the subject at hand, I think Vaughn makes a valid point. He's saying that the marketplace is too crowded; not that there shouldn't be superhero movies, just fewer, better quality ones.
And those thinking he took on this project for the wrong reasons, I think you have short memories. Remember that he was first associated with the X-Men five years ago and dropped out because he didn't think he could make as good a film as the characters deserved with the time he had available. He dropped out again for a spell during the First Class negotiations until it he had a contract that allowed him greater creative freedom. He obviously cares – remember he has said time and again that he is a big fan of comic book movies. He just observed the current trends and feels if he wants to make a big superhero film he has to do it now BEFORE people get bored of them in the near future. The fact that a director of a big superhero film is aware enough that he can't just phone it in to a complacent audience should cheer and inspire us.
Vaughn seems blunt and cocky, but he's one of the few showbiz types who doesn't filter things through publicists. He says what he thinks, and I'm grateful for it.
of course I don't know that — but he makes it sound like they could've offered — I don't know — The Adventures of Lame Boy in the Land of Boredom and he'd still say yes — because 'this fad is gonna be dead soon..”
The only KICK-ASS digital extras are available on iTunes Movies, download KICK-ASS and get them for free!
I think he was just worried that people might say he sold out when he signed up for this movie, so he's making excuses. I'm not going to get tired of Superhero movies. It's possible that there will be increasing backlash from hardcore fans, but the box-office numbers won't go down.