A few days ago, iconic director Steven Spielberg revealed that it’s his opinion that the superhero genre will soon go the way of the Western and fade away when its cycle ends.
With superhero films slated for at least the next decade for studios such as Marvel, Fox, and Warner Bros., it’s interesting to hear that Spielberg has such strong feelings about the genre leaving the audience.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Spielberg says, “We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving.”
He continued, “I’m only saying that these cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us.”
Comments like this have actually reignited the debate on whether there are just too many comic book superhero movies, and while comic book movie saturation has been a topic of discussion for years now, it’s set to be an even more important one in the coming years.
There are 14 films based on Marvel Comics characters set to come out in the next five years, and some have wondered if this is too much for movie-going audiences to take.
Working to establish historical precedent, those who don’t believe in the long, long future of comic book movies point to the death of the western – which was a genre that went out of style simply because the market became saturated with too many similar stories set out in the old west. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but other movie-goers shoot back that westerns made up a much higher percentage of films being released back in ‘30s, ‘40’s, and ‘50s, and that the titles didn’t have the same opportunity for variety that comic book movies have (there aren’t exactly many comparisons to be made between "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."
It’s true that "Fantastic Four" showed us that disinterest in a superhero film can cause it to flop hard, but whether or not that’s the future for all movies based on Marvel properties is an unanswered question that will be fought about for years.
The only remaining fact from all the discussion is this, as long it entertains the movie masses, comic book and superhero movies are here to stay.
With superhero films slated for at least the next decade for studios such as Marvel, Fox, and Warner Bros., it’s interesting to hear that Spielberg has such strong feelings about the genre leaving the audience.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Spielberg says, “We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving.”
He continued, “I’m only saying that these cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us.”
Comments like this have actually reignited the debate on whether there are just too many comic book superhero movies, and while comic book movie saturation has been a topic of discussion for years now, it’s set to be an even more important one in the coming years.
There are 14 films based on Marvel Comics characters set to come out in the next five years, and some have wondered if this is too much for movie-going audiences to take.
Working to establish historical precedent, those who don’t believe in the long, long future of comic book movies point to the death of the western – which was a genre that went out of style simply because the market became saturated with too many similar stories set out in the old west. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but other movie-goers shoot back that westerns made up a much higher percentage of films being released back in ‘30s, ‘40’s, and ‘50s, and that the titles didn’t have the same opportunity for variety that comic book movies have (there aren’t exactly many comparisons to be made between "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."
It’s true that "Fantastic Four" showed us that disinterest in a superhero film can cause it to flop hard, but whether or not that’s the future for all movies based on Marvel properties is an unanswered question that will be fought about for years.
The only remaining fact from all the discussion is this, as long it entertains the movie masses, comic book and superhero movies are here to stay.
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