Steven Spielberg says the end is near for superhero movies

[Darkowl]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

They'll stop making thrillers and rom-coms soon.

 

 

[N/A]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

[N/A]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

They'll stop making thrillers and rom-coms soon.

 

I don't consider superheroes to be a genre.

[rjrjr]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

 

I cannot speak to all movie going audiences, but I have an opinion.

 

I know I am not as enthusiastic about the next round of Marvel superhero movies, especially after this disappointing summer. Avengers AoU did not live up to the hype overall but there were some cool moments, Ant Man looked more like a Disney movie than a Marvel movie, and FF was a complete failure. I'm excited about Superman vs Batman, but don't really know much about the Suicide Squad characters. I see Deadpool making slightly better than Kick numbers. But Black Panther, Dr. Strange, and Inhumans? Not a lot of excitement there to be honest. And Civil War was one of the worst summer events I've read from Marvel Comics, so I'm not sure why I should be looking forward to it being played out on the big screen. I can only hope they don't arbitrarily change the characters' personalities to force a confrontation. The one redeeming factor the movies have over the comic, they already have Tony Stark acting like he does in Civil War, so they are not sacrificing his character like they did in the comic. But based on the personalities we've seen so far, it would basically be Tony Stark versus everyone else.

 

I wouldn't say the audience is burned out so much as they are weary. I thought the interconnected movies would be cool and they were in the beginning, but I'd rather have good movies than interconnected movies to be honest. Interconnection should be an afterthought, not the overriding goal when it comes to producing movies. AoU felt like it was just passing time before we meet Thanos. I am not sure I will care when Thanos does eventually show up to fight our heroes which is a sentiment I've read on these boards by others.

 

Hopefully DC will have a strong start to their shared universe and Marvel will fix their formula for the next round of movies.

[Darkowl]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

 

Sure, but there's also an influx.

[rjrjr]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

 

I cannot speak to all movie going audiences, but I have an opinion.

 

I know I am not as enthusiastic about the next round of Marvel superhero movies, especially after this disappointing summer. Avengers AoU did not live up to the hype overall but there were some cool moments, Ant Man looked more like a Disney movie than a Marvel movie, and FF was a complete failure. I'm excited about Superman vs Batman, but don't really know much about the Suicide Squad characters. I see Deadpool making slightly better than Kick numbers. But Black Panther, Dr. Strange, and Inhumans? Not a lot of excitement there to be honest. And Civil War was one of the worst summer events I've read from Marvel Comics, so I'm not sure why I should be looking forward to it being played out on the big screen. I can only hope they don't arbitrarily change the characters' personalities to force a confrontation. The one redeeming factor the movies have over the comic, they already have Tony Stark acting like he does in Civil War, so they are not sacrificing his character like they did in the comic. But based on the personalities we've seen so far, it would basically be Tony Stark versus everyone else.

 

I wouldn't say the audience is burned out so much as they are weary. I thought the interconnected movies would be cool and they were in the beginning, but I'd rather have good movies than interconnected movies to be honest. Interconnection should be an afterthought, not the overriding goal when it comes to producing movies. AoU felt like it was just passing time before we meet Thanos. I am not sure I will care when Thanos does eventually show up to fight our heroes which is a sentiment I've read on these boards by others.

 

Hopefully DC will have a strong start to their shared universe and Marvel will fix their formula for the next round of movies.

 

I forgot to add, if the Marvel committee that Feige was using is behind much of the forced cohesiveness of the Marvel movies, I'm all for letting them go. Feige has it right, let the directors have some freedom and not be beholden to a forced continuity. Make good movies that people will want to enjoy years from now, not a series of movies that are devoid of story but are intertwined with one another.

[N/A]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

 

Sure, but there's also an influx.

 

Does the revenue support that theory? I googled briefly and it didn't seem to.

[Darkowl]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

 

Sure, but there's also an influx.

 

Does the revenue support that theory? I googled briefly and it didn't seem to.

 

It depends on what you're comparing it to. The first X-Men film brought in $54 million on opening weekend, while DOFP brought in $111 million. Within the last 15 years, there's been a MAJOR influx to superhero movies. There's going to be dips on the scale, but there will also be bumps. To me it seems like you're only comparing a few movies that have recently been released, instead of looking at the grand scheme of things.

 

Anyways, it doesn't matter, because my original point was that the majority of people still look forward to the next superhero movie. There's no disputing that.

[N/A]

I tend to think that X-Men started the comic book movie ball rolling. It's been nothing but momentum ever since, and can you believe that movie was released 15 years ago? People are nowhere near burned out by superhero movies, and I predict it will be at least another 15 years before this genre burns out...temporarily.

 

People are nowhere near burned out? Think again.

 

It was a generalized statement. For the most part, they aren't. The people who are burned out are in the minority.

 

But a growing segment of movie goers.

 

Sure, but there's also an influx.

 

Does the revenue support that theory? I googled briefly and it didn't seem to.

 

It depends on what you're comparing it to. The first X-Men film brought in $54 million on opening weekend, while DOFP brought in $111 million. Within the last 15 years, there's been a MAJOR influx to superhero movies. There's going to be dips on the scale, but there will also be bumps. To me it seems like you're only comparing a few movies that have recently been released, instead of looking at the grand scheme of things.

 

Anyways, it doesn't matter, because my original point was that the majority of people still look forward to the next superhero movie. There's no disputing that.

 

Actually there were a few good pages comparing superhero movies over the last 15 years. no matter how many go to the movies it needs to make money. It appears the trend is going the wrong way. A few money pits and we go back to the profitable franchises. Even then the trend seems to be 3 movies, wait 10+ years and then 3 more movies.

[Conan_Aficionado]

I have to admit, this summer I stopped watching super hero movies. The fatigue is real. I also stopped watching the arrow, the flash and agents of shield. Add another drop in the bucket.

[fantastic_four]

Steven Spielberg Still Believes The End Is Nigh For Superhero Movies

 

Over the next few years, we're going to go from two or three superhero movies a year to at least twice that. With Warner Bros. getting in on the action with their DC Extended Universe and Fox launching risky properties like Deadpool and Gambit, the genre is either going to get bigger and better than ever before or fizzle out as moviegoers become fatigued. The latter option is exactly what Steven Spielberg sees happening. However, he said the same thing back in 2013, so has the legendary filmmaker since seen the error of his ways? Nope.

 

"I still feel that way," he reveals in an interview with The Associated Press. "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. 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."

 

2015, Mister Steven Spielberg pondering the value drop he will experience in his comic

book collection

 

This is a valid and interesting hypothesis, but Spielberg is overlooking a lot with it. While he's likely right, the odds of him or most of us living to see his prediction come true is low. The main thing he isn't considering is that superheroes edged out the universal emotional function of hero worship previously filled by Westerns almost a century ago and the trend hasn't slowed down since. Rosemary Harris's Aunt May described it perfectly in "Spider-Man 2" in the video below--it's one of the elements of that film that makes it one of the finest superhero films of all time--and what heroes do for us doesn't just apply to a Spider-Man, it also applies to a Dirty Harry, Indiana Jones, Katniss Everdeen, Harry Potter, or any of the hundreds of other heroic figures we love to live vicariously through. Spielberg is right that some genre will replace superheroes eventually, but NOTHING will replace heroic stories. Humanity has enjoyed them since the earliest forms of literature from Odysseus to Achilles to Beowulf all the way to Marshall Dillon and now Spider-Man, Superman, and Wolverine. Superhero stories have been going strong for 60 to 80 years since they replaced Westerns for kids, and I haven't seen any candidate heroic character type that will supplant what they do for us anytime soon. Westerns had their own run of about a century from the 1860s to the 1960s, and it looks likely that superheroes will last at least that long if not longer.

 

So while Spielberg's hypothesis is valid, hero tales aren't EVER going away, so simply predicting that the trend will end is pointless without also identifying what type of hero will replace them. I haven't noticed any candidate replacement for them, and it appears that Spielberg hasn't, either. Has anyone else seen a replacement?

 

[Bosco685]

I have to admit, this summer I stopped watching super hero movies. The fatigue is real. I also stopped watching the arrow, the flash and agents of shield. Add another drop in the bucket.

 

Could it be individual in nature, rather than attributed to everyone?

 

I couldn't get enough of The Flash CW show, along with Constantine, Arrow and at times Gotham just to see where the season was going.

[N/A]

Steven Spielberg Still Believes The End Is Nigh For Superhero Movies

 

Over the next few years, we're going to go from two or three superhero movies a year to at least twice that. With Warner Bros. getting in on the action with their DC Extended Universe and Fox launching risky properties like Deadpool and Gambit, the genre is either going to get bigger and better than ever before or fizzle out as moviegoers become fatigued. The latter option is exactly what Steven Spielberg sees happening. However, he said the same thing back in 2013, so has the legendary filmmaker since seen the error of his ways? Nope.

 

"I still feel that way," he reveals in an interview with The Associated Press. "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. 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."

 

2015, Mister Steven Spielberg pondering the value drop he will experience in his comic

book collection

 

This is a valid and interesting hypothesis, but Spielberg is overlooking a lot with it. While he's likely right, the odds of him or most of us living to see his prediction come true is low. The main thing he isn't considering is that superheroes edged out the universal emotional function of hero worship previously filled by Westerns almost a century ago and the trend hasn't slowed down since. Rosemary Harris's Aunt May described it perfectly in "Spider-Man 2" in the video below--it's one of the elements of that film that makes it one of the finest superhero films of all time--and what heroes do for us doesn't just apply to a Spider-Man, it also applies to a Dirty Harry, Indiana Jones, Katniss Everdeen, Harry Potter, or any of the hundreds of other heroic figures we love to live vicariously through. Spielberg could be right that some genre will replace superheroes eventually, but NOTHING will replace heroic stories--humanity has enjoyed them since the earliest forms of literature from Odysseus to Achilles to Beowulf all the way to Marshall Dillon and now Spider-Man, Superman, and Wolverine. Superhero stories have been going strong for 60 to 80 years since they replaced Westerns for kids, and I haven't seen any candidate heroic character type that will supplant what they do for us anytime soon. Westerns had their own run of about a century from the 1860s to the 1960s, and it looks likely that superheroes will last at least that long if not longer.

 

So while Spielberg's hypothesis is valid, hero tales aren't EVER going away, so simply predicting that the trend will end is pointless without also identifying what type of hero will replace them. I haven't noticed any candidate replacement for them, and it appears that Spielberg hasn't, either. Has anyone else seen a replacement?

 

 

Walking Dead?

 

I don't mean zombies replacing superheroes but heroes minus the super.

[fantastic_four]

I haven't noticed any candidate replacement for them, and it appears that Spielberg hasn't, either. Has anyone else seen a replacement?

 

Walking Dead?

 

I don't mean zombies replacing superheroes but heroes minus the super.

 

I'm not sure. Are kids playing with Rick action figures more than Spider-Man? Are they dressing up as Rick more than Superman at Halloween? I don't have kids yet so I simply don't know.

[N/A]

I haven't noticed any candidate replacement for them, and it appears that Spielberg hasn't, either. Has anyone else seen a replacement?

 

Walking Dead?

 

I don't mean zombies replacing superheroes but heroes minus the super.

 

I'm not sure. Are kids playing with Rick action figures more than Spider-Man? Are they dressing up as Rick more than Superman at Halloween? I don't have kids yet so I simply don't know.

 

I'm just talking movies. You may not want to use Halloween as an example. I do recall seeing a bunch of Zombies. Since you asked I seem to recall only 1 Superman and 1 Spider-man on Halloween.

 

I have 3 kids and nobody requested any superheroes. Hard to get beyond Frozen.

[fantastic_four]

I'm just talking movies. You may not want to use Halloween as an example. I do recall seeing a bunch of Zombies. Since you asked I seem to recall only 1 Superman and 1 Spider-man on Halloween.

 

I have 3 kids and nobody requested any superheroes. Hard to get beyond Frozen.

 

Zombies aren't heroic. They're not a threat to superheroes, they exist beside them. They fill a different emotional role. Frozen is about hero worship, but it's not a genre, just a hero. There has always been room for heroes alongside both Westerns and superheroes from Flash Gordon and Zorro during the heyday of Westerns to Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, or Elsa from Frozen in modern times.

[N/A]

I'm just talking movies. You may not want to use Halloween as an example. I do recall seeing a bunch of Zombies. Since you asked I seem to recall only 1 Superman and 1 Spider-man on Halloween.

 

I have 3 kids and nobody requested any superheroes. Hard to get beyond Frozen.

 

Zombies aren't heroic. They're not a threat to superheroes, they exist beside them. They fill a different emotional role. Frozen does, but it's not a genre, just a hero. There has always been room for heroes alongside both Westerns and superheroes from Flash Gordon and Zorro during the heyday of Westerns to Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, or Elsa from Frozen in modern times.

 

Holy moly. I just commented on your post. I answered your question for a replacement in the hero minus the super. Get rid of the powers. Zombies are background even in Walking Dead.

[Comicopolis]

Aren't super-hero movies really just science fiction/fantasy films?

[N/A]

Aren't super-hero movies really just science fiction/fantasy films?

 

I think so.

[Bosco685]

Aren't super-hero movies really just science fiction/fantasy films?

 

Exactly! Just a slightly different genre. But not by much.