Martin Scorsese has no idea which superheroes populate the Marvel Cinematic Universe because he has no interest in the comic book genres at all.
The legendary filmmaker caused a stir last year with his criticism of Marvel movies, claiming that they were "not cinema" and likening them to theme park rides.
However, Scorsese has now clarified that his comments were directed at all superhero films, as opposed to just Marvel.
In a directors round table with The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "I said superhero films, I never – I don’t even know Marvel. I remember Marvel was a comic book."
The 77-year-old director – whose filmography includes Mafia dramas ‘The Irishman’, ‘Casino’ and ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘Taxi Driver’ – also clarified his "theme park" comment, suggesting that studios have wanted films to become as important as Disneyland in American culture.
He explained: "I remember when Disneyland was built, I’m that ancient. One of the aspirations of the studios was to become as important in a sense to American culture as Disneyland."
Scorsese was joined at the event by ‘Joker’ director Todd Phillips, who recently supported the Oscar winner over his criticism of the MCU.
Discussing the reaction from executives at Warner Bros. when he pitched his psychologically dark origin story for the DC Comics villain, Phillips says their first concern was for the child-friendly merchandise they sell thanks to their partnership with DC.
Phillips said: "Marty got a lot of heat for (what he said), but I understand it fully. We were struggling to get ‘Joker’ made, which sounds funny because it exists in the superhero world, but it’s not really one of those movies.
"We spent a year at Warner Bros., and I saw emails back and forth, literally, where they said, ‘Does he realise we sell Joker pyjamas at Target?’ I go, ‘Didn’t movies come first and pyjamas come second? Are the pyjamas dictating the movies?’
"Theme park rides. Pyjamas. Slurpee cups. Whatever it is you are selling off the back of movies, you can’t make your decisions based on that."
Martin Scorsese has no idea about Marvel superheroes
