Zack Snyder reacts to Martin Scorsese's comments on superhero movies

Zack Sndyer filming Army of the Dead — (Image credit: Netflix)

Zack Snyder has responded to Martin Scorsese's comments on superhero movies.

"Oh, it's fair. Martin Scorsese is a genius. If you're really good at something, commenting on that world is completely within your rights," Snyder told The Guardian. "And it doesn't diminish my respect for him. I'm certain he wasn't talking about my movies [laughs]. He might've been, but I like to think he wasn't. He meant the other ones."

Back in 2019, Scorsese wrote in The New York Times about critical comments he had previously made of Marvel films: "Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures. What's not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes."

The Goodfellas and Taxi Driver director continued: "They are sequels in name but they are remakes in spirit, and everything in them is officially sanctioned because it can't really be any other way. That's the nature of modern film franchises: market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified until they're ready for consumption."

Snyder has helmed four superhero movies under the DC brand: Watchmen, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder's Justice League. The director actually praised Marvel in the interview, commenting that he wouldn't have changed anything if he'd been in charge of the franchise: "Nothing. I could have changed it so it would have maybe made less money or been less beloved. But for what they've created – I don't know that there is a better way to do it."

Snyder’s latest movie, Army of the Dead, is streaming on Netflix now. Scorsese, meanwhile, is currently shooting his next film Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jesse Plemons, and Lily Gladstone. Killers of the Flower Moon doesn't yet have a release date, but you can check out a first look at the film here – and, while you wait, see our roundup of the best Netflix movies streaming now.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.