(NOTE LANGUAGE) Another stop on his promotional tour for his new book Cinema Speculation, another jab at Marvel movies from writer-director Quentin Tarantino.
But this time, one of the studio’s stars has clapped back: Simu Liu.
Tarantino recently sat down with comedian Tom Segura on his Two Bears, One Cave podcast and shaded not only Marvel movies, but also the actors who lead them.
He prefaced his new comments by saying, “Look, I used to collect Marvel comics like crazy when I was a kid. There’s an aspect that if these movies were coming out when I was in my twenties, I would totally be f***ing happy and totally love them…But, you know, I’m almost 60, so…I’m not quite as excited about them.”
The Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction screenwriter went on to say, “Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is…you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. But they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star.”
One of those stars, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings’ Simu responded, also referencing Martin Scorsese‘s 2019 diss that Marvel movies were “not cinema.”
Simu tweeted Tuesday, “If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie. I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs. But they don’t get to point their nose at me or anyone.”
He added, “No movie studio is or ever will be perfect. But I’m proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere.”
Liu noted, “I loved the ‘Golden Age’ too.. but it was white as hell.”
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