Chloé Zhao Still Believes in Comic Book Movies Despite ‘Eternals’ Failure

Superhero cinema has spent the past few years fighting an uphill battle for critical respect, with prestige filmmakers repeatedly weighing in on whether comic book adaptations even qualify as legitimate art. Martin Scorsese famously stirred that debate years ago by comparing Marvel films to theme parks rather than cinema, a comment that’s continued to shape how the industry talks about the genre.

That ongoing tension has followed few filmmakers quite as closely as Chloé Zhao, whose career has taken an unusually varied path between deeply personal independent dramas and massive studio blockbusters. Zhao won an Academy Award for directing ‘Nomadland’ before pivoting almost immediately to Marvel Studios’ ‘Eternals,’ a jump that drew plenty of scrutiny from critics questioning how the two projects could possibly come from the same creative voice.

Now Zhao is pushing back on that narrative directly. Speaking during a masterclass at the Venice Film Festival, the director said it’s important not to write off stories simply because audiences don’t consider them high art, according to Variety.

Zhao elaborated further on her philosophy of storytelling during the conversation, explaining that her goal as a filmmaker is to create containers that help people process what they need to process. She pointed to archetypes as a particularly effective tool for that purpose, noting their consistent presence across myths throughout human history as evidence of something universally shared among audiences.

Zhao didn’t stop at defending the genre broadly. When a moderator suggested her work on ‘Nomadland’ and ‘Eternals’ represented opposite ends of the filmmaking spectrum, Zhao rejected the premise entirely, arguing both stories center on people living in nature while navigating complicated relationships with the world around them.

That comparison speaks to a consistent thread running through Zhao’s career, even as her subject matter has swung wildly in scale and budget. Despite ‘Eternals’ falling short of box office expectations, grossing around $400 million globally against a budget exceeding $200 million, Zhao maintained that she genuinely loved directing the film and described the opportunity as a dream come true for someone who grew up loving anime and comics.

Zhao also revealed during the masterclass that she once dreamed of becoming a manga artist before turning to filmmaking, admitting she simply wasn’t skilled enough at drawing to pursue that path professionally. She explained that storytelling remained her true passion throughout that period, eventually leading her toward cinema after years spent working as a bartender in her late twenties while feeling creatively lost.

Zhao’s comments arrive at a moment when the superhero genre has cooled considerably compared to its peak popularity in the years before the pandemic, making her full-throated defense of the format somewhat notable given the current industry climate. Her willingness to advocate for comic book storytelling, despite her own mixed commercial experience within the genre, adds a layer of credibility to the argument that’s often missing from filmmakers who’ve never actually worked within franchise filmmaking themselves.

The director’s remarks also touched on more introspective territory, with Zhao admitting she’s currently grappling with questions about whether her constant work behind a camera has caused her to miss out on experiencing life directly rather than simply capturing it on screen. That reflection offered a rare glimpse into how Zhao is processing her own career trajectory even as she continues defending the value of populist storytelling.

Whether Zhao’s comments shift the broader critical conversation around superhero films remains to be seen, but her perspective carries particular weight given her unique position straddling both awards-season prestige filmmaking and blockbuster franchise work. Few directors currently working have moved between those two worlds as visibly as she has over the past several years.

With franchise filmmaking continuing to face scrutiny from critics and prestige directors alike, Zhao’s defense offers a notable counterpoint from someone who has genuinely worked on both sides of that divide.

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