For filmmaker James Gray, whose new drama movie Armageddon Time is now out in cinemas, there is a big problem with Hollywood as a whole. But, he insists that problem does not lie at the feet of MCU movies or DC movies.
Gray is an acclaimed director whose work generally sits closer to the indie side of things in the film industry. His most high profile films, the science fiction movie Ad Astra and the adventure movie The Lost City of Z, were both still relatively low-key. Gray has been very vocal in the past about the issues with the cinematic landscape, but he wanted to clarify those comments in a recent interview with The Digital Fix.
According to Gray, he has nothing against the rise of superhero movies, it’s all just a matter of having more variety.
“I actually quite like a lot of them. They’re huge fun and I love seeing them with my kids. The problem is not the existence of blockbusters, the problem is not the existence of DC movies or Marvel movies, which can be wonderful,” Gray explained.
“The problem is now you face a menu of only the cheeseburger. I simply asked for a menu which also has, you know, the poke bowl. It’s like you just want different flavours. I mean, imagine if you went to an art museum, no matter how great Jackson Pollock is, and he was great. The only canvases you saw on the wall were drip paintings by Jackson Pollock,” Gray added. “You need a little bit of variety. I think that’s my big issue.”
He’s not wrong. With Marvel’s Phase 5 about to begin and the addition of various Marvel series now, it can feel a little overwhelming. Sometimes, you don’t a huge action movie full of flying heroes and Marvel villains. Sometimes, you just want a nice feel-good movie or a simple movie based on a true story to offer something more grounded.
Alas, we can’t see anything changing any time soon sadly. But, if you want to learn more about some projects on the horizon that can bring some variety to your viewing experiences, check out our guides to the Welcome to Wrexham season 2 release date or the Peaky Blinders movie release date.