Captain America Says Superhero Movies Won't Go Away

[Fanghawk]

Captain America Says Superhero Movies Won't Go Away

Chris Evans - aka Captain America - disagrees with Steven Spielberg's notion that superhero movies will fade like the Western did.

When superhero movies like Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier became Hollywood's mega-blockbusters, an odd thing happened: would peak and fade away like the beloved Westerns of the John Wayne era. But now one of these superheroes - Chris "Captain America" Evans - is stepping up to say the genre isn't fading away. While it's possible the term "superhero" won't be used forever, modern filming technologies mean these types of stories will stick around for a long time.

"I certainly think that given the fact that technology has finally advanced, they're always going to be looking for other films to match their technological accomplishments," Evans said at the press day for his directorial debut, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/cinemarter/14578-Before-We-Go-Review>Before We Go. "Any film that can incorporate these larger-than-life characters and fantastical locations and plots, the technology wants to prove they can do it so whether it's superhero film or fantasy in general, that's going to surge for a while."

In other words, Evans isn't defining superhero films using comic book source material, but how technology presents action scenes. Considering the last Captain America film was basically a spy movie that happened to feature a superhero, that's not an unfair assessment. And it almost certainly influences how non-superhero films are made - like the Mission: Impossible sequel where Tom Cruise dangles from a moving airplane like he's Captain America.

"In terms of superhero in general, existing properties that we know and love, it's going to be a matter of the tone they strike," Evans continues. "You could look at Jason Bourne as a superhero. You could take any superhero movie and if you ground it enough, if you make it real enough-that's what I think [Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo] do really well. Certain superhero movies feel like 'superhero movies'. Russo movies almost feel like human stories with a little bit of superhero sprinkled in. So you might get exhausted of the larger-than-life powers I suppose, but as long as the filmmakers keep on reinventing the flavor and the approach and the tone, audiences are going to still go."

So in Evans' mind, it's not a question of whether superhero films will disappear - it's whether their traits will become so common that we won't notice the distinction anymore. Which is certainly good news for those of us hoping they'll stick around. What do you think of Evans' assessment? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Source: Gamesradar

Permalink

 

[Fox12]

This always happens with fads. People actually think the gravy train will keep on rolling forever, just because their in the middle of success. Then something captures the audiances imagination, and the whole thing shifts beneath their feet.

 

[Zontar]

Well of course Superhero movies won't go away, they've been here for over 30 years with no sigh of slowing down.

And can we stop with the "Superhero genre" crap? It may be true that it is, under the strict definition, a genre, it is by no means the same type of genre a Western or science fiction is. Hell, we've seen this already with Marvel's in house works being considered, for the most part, only as Super hero movies due to their being in the MCU and not because of anything in the movies themselves (the Iron Man movies are, when you get down to it, is a series of techno thrillers, and the Captain America movies wouldn't be considered super hero movies if you renamed the characters but left everything else the same).

This always happens with fads. People actually think the gravy train will keep on rolling forever, just because their in the middle of success. Then something captures the audiances imagination, and the whole thing shifts beneath their feet.

Keep in mind that "superhero" movies aren't limited by genre like Westerns where, and can pretty much adapt to changes in taste due to the fact that all it takes these days to be considered a superhero movie is to have someone put on a mask or have some inhuman ability.

Plus, it's not like Spielberg's predictions have had a history of panning out. He thought that movies would become something that was a much bigger deal then it actually is and the death of blockbusters being supposed to happen over a decade ago (yet in the years since that predictions blockbusters have become more likely to succeed)

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Though that's always what people say right before the bubble bursts. You'd think people would study history better.

 

[tzimize]

Well, nothing lasts forever.

That being said, one of the big reasons superhero movies have been pretty no-no has been the difficulty in actually making them. The Spawn movie was moderately successful for many reasons, but one of them was that imo he was missing his signature cape, and some awesome scenes with the living chains. The cape was animated in a couple of scenes, and it looked pretty spectacular for its time, but in the end, technology, and budget limited the movie to the point of pointlessness.

Now, if we want to make a movie about some guy wielding a hammer that throws lightning and flies, thats NO PROBLEM. One of the many reasons the superhero movies have been successful is because they actually look good.

Also, superhero movies has become so diverse. You got the regular ones like Marvels movies, then you got DCs movies gritty awfulness, then you got off-the wall stuff like Kick-Ass, and even the spectacular, obscure and eccentric Super.

There is so much you can DO with a super-hero movie. The source material is VAST, and the enterpretations almost as endless. I believe that superhero movies will be happening for decades more at the very least, untill the source audience has died down. I read marvel/dc stuff when I was a kid, and I squeel with glee when I see my heroes on the silver screen. Comics doesnt seem to interest kids in general as much today...but if the movies keep the characters alive...maybe it will never end...

 

[Fox12]

Well of course Superhero movies won't go away, they've been here for over 30 years with no sigh of slowing down.

And can we stop with the "Superhero genre" crap? It may be true that it is, under the strict definition, a genre, it is by no means the same type of genre a Western or science fiction is. Hell, we've seen this already with Marvel's in house works being considered, for the most part, only as Super hero movies due to their being in the MCU and not because of anything in the movies themselves (the Iron Man movies are, when you get down to it, is a series of techno thrillers, and the Captain America movies wouldn't be considered super hero movies if you renamed the characters but left everything else the same).

This always happens with fads. People actually think the gravy train will keep on rolling forever, just because their in the middle of success. Then something captures the audiances imagination, and the whole thing shifts beneath their feet.

Keep in mind that "superhero" movies aren't limited by genre like Westerns where, and can pretty much adapt to changes in taste due to the fact that all it takes these days to be considered a superhero movie is to have someone put on a mask or have some inhuman ability.

Plus, it's not like Spielberg's predictions have had a history of panning out. He thought that movies would become something that was a much bigger deal then it actually is and the death of blockbusters being supposed to happen over a decade ago (yet in the years since that predictions blockbusters have become more likely to succeed)

Well, of course it will evuentually. Just like everything does. Superhero movies have not been profitable for thirty years. They haven't even been highly profitable for twenty years. If we're generous we can say it started with x-men in 2000, but it didn't become the fad it is today until The Dark Knight and Iron Man released in the same year. Baring in mind that the success of the genre has been almost entirely tied to the success of Marvel, with other studios riding its coatails. The genre will continue to be successful for some years yet, and the inevitable decline will probably be a slow one, but it will come all the same.

Besides, all those movies are samey. Like a car with different colors of paint. Red, blue, green... But all the same vehicle. The only ones that kind of standout are parts of winter soldier, before the boring finale we have in every movie, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Evuentually some other studio will do what Marvels done, and we'll be watching baseball movies for the next 20 years or something.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

You know he kind of has a point. What sets something like the Winter Soldier film apart from something like Commando or Rambo. You have a larger than life main character capable of improbable feats, a villain possibly with a personal connection, a bit of intrigue and deception (gasp, that guy was a bad guy all along!), a bit of cheesy emotion worked in there.
We've always had this kind of hero around, they're not new. They just go from one form to another. Now its westerns and they're cowboys, now its police and they're cops, now its superheroes and we're dressing them up in bright colours (insert your own joke about the DCCU here) and fancy accessories. Same ideas in different skins

 

[zinho73]

Super Hero films have always existed. Indiana Jones is a super-hero (with an uniform, weapon and everything). Matrix is a super hero film. Marvel and DC movies might eventually lose its appeal, but films in the genre will always be around, adapted from comics (like The Kingsman) or not (like Lucy).

 

[IOwnTheSpire]

then you got DCs movies gritty awfulness

STOP. Don't even start that crap. Quit whining. It's getting old. Leave it be.

 

[Pyrian]

Superhero movies are not going away in the manner that westerns went away. They're going to go away in the way that spy movies went away. Which is to say that they're not going away at all, but they won't always dominate the charts.

 

[Zontar]

Well, of course it will evuentually. Just like everything does. Superhero movies have not been profitable for thirty years. They haven't even been highly profitable for twenty years. If we're generous we can say it started with x-men in 2000, but it didn't become the fad it is today until The Dark Knight and Iron Man released in the same year. Baring in mind that the success of the genre has been almost entirely tied to the success of Marvel, with other studios riding its coatails. The genre will continue to be successful for some years yet, and the inevitable decline will probably be a slow one, but it will come all the same.

I'm saying 30 years because I'm considering every movie which, if released today, would be considered a superhero movie to be a superhero movie. Outside of the costume or the fact they came from a comic book, the elements that make up what everyone calls a superhero movie long pre-date X-men, Spider-man, Blade or the Tim Burton Batman movies. When one looks at things like the archetypal 80s action hero or the super spies of the 90s, all one needs to do is put some of the main characters in those movies in colourful suits and they become indistinguishable from a modern superhero movie save for how gritty they can be and how well the effects are done.

The superhero genre is already dead, and it's been dead for a long time. You know what killed it? Batman & Robin. Ever since that movie came out, the only thing I could honestly see called a "superhero" genre movie are Superman Returns and the two not-so-Amazing Spider-man movies. Outside of them, pretty much every superhero movie which has come out is distinctly not of the superhero genre, but a movie where the superhero is turned into a movie element, overshadowed by political thriller, space opera, fantasy or war story.

Superhero movies are dead, and that's actually a likely reason why Marvel Studios manages to succeed at the box office.

 

[Fox12]

Well, of course it will evuentually. Just like everything does. Superhero movies have not been profitable for thirty years. They haven't even been highly profitable for twenty years. If we're generous we can say it started with x-men in 2000, but it didn't become the fad it is today until The Dark Knight and Iron Man released in the same year. Baring in mind that the success of the genre has been almost entirely tied to the success of Marvel, with other studios riding its coatails. The genre will continue to be successful for some years yet, and the inevitable decline will probably be a slow one, but it will come all the same.

I'm saying 30 years because I'm considering every movie which, if released today, would be considered a superhero movie to be a superhero movie. Outside of the costume or the fact they came from a comic book, the elements that make up what everyone calls a superhero movie long pre-date X-men, Spider-man, Blade or the Tim Burton Batman movies. When one looks at things like the archetypal 80s action hero or the super spies of the 90s, all one needs to do is put some of the main characters in those movies in colourful suits and they become indistinguishable from a modern superhero movie save for how gritty they can be and how well the effects are done.

The superhero genre is already dead, and it's been dead for a long time. You know what killed it? Batman & Robin. Ever since that movie came out, the only thing I could honestly see called a "superhero" genre movie are Superman Returns and the two not-so-Amazing Spider-man movies. Outside of them, pretty much every superhero movie which has come out is distinctly not of the superhero genre, but a movie where the superhero is turned into a movie element, overshadowed by political thriller, space opera, fantasy or war story.

Superhero movies are dead, and that's actually a likely reason why Marvel Studios manages to succeed at the box office.

I'm a little confused by this comment.

Superhero movies have been around for decades, technically, but they were typically seen as goofy, poorly made pulp that no one took seriously. Even the ones that were successful were few and far between. I'm specifically talking about how long hero films have been majorly successful, which is not long. Not about how long the genre has existed.

In any case, I'm little lost on your point. If you're essentially saying that superhero films have melded with other genres, then sure, but that's true for any genre. You could make a political thriller conspiracy story in a medieval fantasy world if you wanted. Or a war story akin to Saving Private Ryan. Or a horror story. Or a spiritual film. Heck, A Knights Tale was basically a sports movie set in medieval Europe. That wouldn't stop most of the stories from being medieval fantasy. The same is true for superheroes, which, I think, have not been overshadowed by other genres. It's more like they dipped their feet a little.

 

[Scarim Coral]

The day I see superheroes movies being over is the day when Anime being popular in the West are over too.

 

[Synigma]

I'd just like to point out Guardians of the Galaxy. It's MCU so it's technically a superhero movie... but also technically they aren't really superheroes just augmented aliens. It's more like Star Wars than any other superhero movie.

So the point is what do you consider a superhero movie? When they say the superhero genre will 'peak and fade away' are they referring to the MCU and the latch-on DC/indie movies? In that respect I do kind of agree. People are already getting burned out and I can already see the crowd fading (though I'm sure Avengers 3 will still bring in big numbers). I give that another 10 years before they start going straight to video with only the occasional theatre release.
BUT if you define the superhero genre as movies with super-powered people; ya that's never going away. Jedi, Androids, over-the-top action heroes, these can all be considered superhero movies.

 

[tzimize]

then you got DCs movies gritty awfulness

STOP. Don't even start that crap. Quit whining. It's getting old. Leave it be.

There there, no harm no foul.

I didnt mean it as a bad thing, I was simply trying to point out that they are a different brand of superhero movie, which they are. And that there ARE many different kinds, and that this will help the genre to stay relatively fresh.

 

[IOwnTheSpire]

then you got DCs movies gritty awfulness

STOP. Don't even start that crap. Quit whining. It's getting old. Leave it be.

There there, no harm no foul.

I didnt mean it as a bad thing, I was simply trying to point out that they are a different brand of superhero movie, which they are. And that there ARE many different kinds, and that this will help the genre to stay relatively fresh.

That's fine. It's just when you say awfulness, it kinda sounds like a cheap shot.

 

[JenSeven]

Well, we first need to explain what a Superhero movie actually is, because when you look at it, basically Die Hard, Rambo and those sort of movies could actually qualify as Superhero movies.

And then we have Green Lantern, which I'm not sure technically qualifies as a movie.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I think people are mistaking "comic book" with "superhero". Comic book movies, the good and the bad have been around for quite a bit, longer than some people on this site have been alive.
The modern comic book movie I'd believe started with Burton's Batman, which actually made a standard by which Hollywood more or less messed up on after Batman Returns. Then they disappeared until Spawn, which was pretty well atrocious and Judge Dredd (Stallone's version) as well.
Then Spider Man (Raimi) and Blade and the first X-Men (which few people knew was a comic first) came along and started a revival of sorts with total misses like Punisher and its "sequel". But I'd say the modern comic book movie was successful mostly because of Marvel's Iron Man and the decision to go with a shared universe rather than one-offs, and seem to have pretty well made the genre what it is today.
Nolan's Batman series was good, to a certain point but had a definitive end to it. Hell I didn't even know Batman Begins existed until I found it in a bargain bin, thats how much personally, even as a comic book nerd, I'd more or less given up on the genre.
I doubt they'll go away but they may run out of steam for a bit due to oversaturation. I could be wrong, there really hasn't been a movie series aside from Star Trek that has spawned more than a handful of movies that tied together as part of a shared universe but not necessarily following different characters from the same universe.
There's a lot of source material and its quite amazing that not only movies but TV Shows have also cropped up because of and sharing the same universe as Marvel. It's been a good ride so far, even if some of the flicks haven't been perfect.

 

[Lightknight]

Super hero movies aren't going to stop being made. Hell, Westerns are still made here and there.

But I think anyone who believes a trend will exist perpetually is naïve at best or just completely ignorant of every trend in history.

Superheros are the current flavor but they should not exist at the top of the spot in perpetuity. Unless there's something special about Superheros that's different from every other genre that's had its turn in the sun.

 

[Something Amyss]

This always happens with fads. People actually think the gravy train will keep on rolling forever, just because their in the middle of success. Then something captures the audiances imagination, and the whole thing shifts beneath their feet.

"I certainly think that given the fact that technology has finally advanced, they're always going to be looking for other films to match their technological accomplishments," Evans said at the press day for his directorial debut, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/cinemarter/14578-Before-We-Go-Review>Before We Go. "Any film that can incorporate these larger-than-life characters and fantastical locations and plots, the technology wants to prove they can do it so whether it's superhero film or fantasy in general, that's going to surge for a while."

In other words, Evans isn't defining superhero films using comic book source material, but how technology presents action scenes. Considering the last Captain America film was basically a spy movie that happened to feature a superhero, that's not an unfair assessment. And it almost certainly influences how non-superhero films are made - like the Mission: Impossible sequel where Tom Cruise dangles from a moving airplane like he's Captain America.

I'm with the author here. Given what Captain Chris Evans is saying, it's not even really so much the superhero "fad" you
're describing. Hollywood has always looked to do bigger stuff like this, it's just that we keep redefining what "bigger" is. There was a time when Wizard of Oz was a technical masterpiece, same with Star Wars.

Far as superheroes themselves go, eh. They'll be around. They're going to be like vampire movies. Sure, there won't be 60 of them each summer, but they'll be around, and something big will happen and we'll be hearing about them all over again. Comic books and superheroes remain popular with time.

Superhero movies are not going away in the manner that westerns went away. They're going to go away in the way that spy movies went away. Which is to say that they're not going away at all, but they won't always dominate the charts.

Or basically what Pyrian said.

Though that's always what people say right before the bubble bursts. You'd think people would study history better.

Conveniently, it's also what people say before the bubble doesn't burst, meaning it's a poor indicator.