Quentin Tarantino Names the Classic Franchise He Compares To Marvel Today
Quentin Tarantino has often spoken about superhero movies, but his opinion is more mixed than many people think. He has praised some comic book characters and stories over the years, yet he has also criticized how franchise films now dominate Hollywood.
The director has said before that he enjoys comic books and has long respected parts of the Marvel world. In past interviews, he mentioned ideas like making a Luke Cage movie years ago.
He has also spoken positively about titles such as Shang-Chi and even praised modern films like Thor: Ragnarok. So while he questions the current system, he is not against the genre itself.
What Tarantino seems to dislike most is how studios now build giant connected universes where the brand can become bigger than the stars or filmmakers. He has argued that many actors become famous because of the costumes they wear, not because audiences are following them personally.
He has also suggested that directors inside those systems often have less room to bring their own style. But Tarantino also believes this kind of shared-universe idea existed long before Marvel became a global force. According to comments he made while discussing cinema history, he pointed to the 1970s martial arts films starring Jimmy Wang Yu.
He said the One-Armed Boxer movies felt like the closest version of a Marvel universe during that decade. Tarantino described them as wild action stories full of larger-than-life heroes and strange villains. He said the films were packed with over-the-top fights and comic book energy.
“The One-Armed Boxer movies are comic book-inspired gonzo extravaganzas, filled with superpowered superheroes fighting an array of superpowered supervillains,” Tarantino said. He also explained that these movies featured colorful enemies and exaggerated battles that reminded him of old comic pages.
In his view, audiences in the 1970s were getting a live-action version of superhero entertainment through martial arts cinema. “In the ’70s, these movies were the closest equivalent to the Mighty Marvel Universe that cinema had to offer,” he added.
Even while talking about older films, Tarantino continues to stay busy with new projects. He recently finished a script for The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a follow-up connected to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The movie is expected to focus on Brad Pitt’s character.
This time, Tarantino is not directing the project himself. David Fincher is set to direct, while Tarantino works on other creative ideas, including a stage production planned for London.
So even when he talks about Marvel, Tarantino often uses the topic to highlight film history. In this case, he believes the roots of today’s franchise culture can be found in action movies from decades ago.
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