Actors who’ve dragged Marvel for its capitalistic, IP-driven franchise
Marvel Studios used to weld a certain unprecedented power in the industry. Its star-studded, Robert Downey Jr.-backed franchise hit its peak during the most recent blockbuster Avengers films with exposés revealing a slew of internal crises like the glaring Jonathan Majors problem or just the general Marvel-film fatigue with all the shows and films coming out back to back. It seems like the same power that made Marvel movies insanely popular is also causing it to dwindle.
Even actors like "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White are not taking the Marvel bait used to lure in rising stars in the industry. White revealed in an interview with British GQ that he had a meeting about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe that didn't play out well because he had an "attitude." The star said he is steadfast in solely acting in independent films.
White is just one of many industry people who have been speaking on the potential side effects of Marvel's IP-driven franchise formula. Infamously, a figurehead of cinema, Martin Scorsese, has publically stated his disinterest in superhero films. When asked about Marvel films, Scorsese said, "That’s not cinema . . . Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Scorsese's comments have sparked endless discourse on the meaning of cinema, and similarly many actors have reiterated his comments on the spectacle surrounding Marvel and its movies.
Here are actors that have dragged Marvel for its formulaic, IP-driven comic book movie-making machine:
1 Jennifer Aniston
The longtime "Friends" actor is known for not mincing her words on the industry's wide issues. When Aniston returned to television for "The Morning Show" on the streamer Apple TV+, she stated that the industry has changed, and now it's the streamers that have quality television shows. "And then you’re seeing what’s available out there, and it’s just diminishing and diminishing in terms of, it’s big Marvel movies," Aniston said. "Or things that I’m not just asked to do or really that interested in living in a green screen." This take is one that most of the actors who have spoken out against the studio and its monopoly over the industry share. And diehard Marvel stans did not take a liking to Aniston's opinions.
2 Jon Hamm
The "Mad Men" actor has been previously considered for several superhero films specifically playing a villain in one of the "X-Men" franchise films. However, the actor said, "These conversations happen, and then life intervenes.” Years after he was considered for the role he said he made the right decision in saying no. The star critiqued the fact that once an actor signs on to a superhero film, they are contracted to film a series and crossovers.
“The deals that they make you do are so draconian. And, of course, you are signed on for not only the movie that you are signed on for . . . but at least two more that you haven’t read and you have no idea what they are going to be and all the crossover ones you are going to have to do," Hamm said. "For me to sign on now to do a superhero movie would mean I would be working until I am 50 as that particular superhero. It’s a lot of work at one thing which is not necessarily the reason I got into the business which is to do many things. If you want to spend all day pressing the same key that . . . seems an odd choice."
3 Christian Bale
The DC "Batman Begins" star has even drank the Marvel Kool-Aid. Most recently, Bale starred as villain Gorr the God Butcher in the mixed-reviewed fourth Thor movie, "Thor: Love and Thunder," but wasn't a fan. Bale said that his experience on set was “monotony,” and that he couldn’t “differentiate one day from the next" due to solely shooting in a green-screen space.
“That’s the first time I’ve done that,” he said. “I mean, the definition of it is monotony. You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next."
The actor said he would only return to the MCU if there was "a good character or a good director, you know, if it's an interesting thing.
4 John Cho
The "Star Trek" and "Cowboy Bebop" actor had similar thoughts to Jon Hamm's and was not shy in his piercing statement about Marvel, comparing the contract deals to "indentured servitude." In 2016, he told Vulture that the process of becoming a superhero "doesn't sound fun." But most importantly, he said "the problem now is whenever you do a movie they sign you to like, a three-picture deal, because if you play, you know, Condorman, you’re young, you’re just in from Ohio or whatever, you’re signing a 15-year contract, and they have the option to make three or four. That’s the weird thing about it — all these indentured servitude contracts."
5 Simon Pegg
Wanting more freedom in filmmaking seems to be a theme. Also known for starring in the "Star Trek" and "Ice Age" franchises, Pegg said he'd never want to join the MCU due to its lengthy contractual obligations. "I'm not in any rush to join the MCU or anything like that," Pegg said. "I kind of feel like I kind of want to be a bit more free. You join those things and then you're tied to them for years and that can be a little bit restrictive." He also said that he wants "to do more sort of grown up stuff in the future," and Marvel would not be included in that.
6 Jeremy Allen White
White is currently at the center of the Marvel discourse. He has been on the rise since the intense Chicago-set culinary drama "The Bear" catapulted the "Shameless" star to even greater heights. He is currently starring in the upcoming biopic "The Iron Claw," about the tragic story of the wrestling Von Erich brothers. During promo for the film, he shared a story about being considered for a role by the Disney-run studio. Even his "The Bear" co-star Ayo Edebiri is a part of the MCU's new "Thunderbolts" film.
“I had a meeting for a kind of Marvel-y movie, and I had an attitude,” White said. “I think I played it all wrong.” White was skeptical in front of the film executives saying “ ‘Tell me about why should I do your movie.'" "They were like, 'F**k you,'" White said. "And I was like, 'Right on.'"
He told GQ: “I am confused at how the pinnacle of an actor’s career has ended up in that place. . . They get really good filmmakers to do those movies and obviously they get really good actors to do those movies," echoing sentiments similar to Scorsese's. White said he's not sure he should be burning bridges at what is this critical point in his career but he doesn't regret it. “I played it the way I wanted to play it.”
