Paul Dano says decline of superhero movies is a “welcome moment”
Paul Dano, who starred in The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson, has claimed the decline of superhero movies is a “welcome moment”.
The latest superhero movie to perform below expectations at the box office is 2024’s Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson. It comes after films such as The Flash, The Marvels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom suffered similar fates throughout last year.
During a new interview with The Independent, Dano was asked about superhero fatigue and whether this is the reason why comic book movies have become decreasingly popular.
In response, the actor said: “It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to go like, ‘OK – what now?’ Hopefully from that, somebody either breathes new life into [comic book movies], or something else blossoms which is not superheroes.”
Dano added: “I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment.”
He also believes the problem goes beyond superhero movies, stating: “It’s a larger thing, too. As soon as the word ‘content’ came into what we do – meaning making movies or TV – it meant quantity over quality, which I think was a big misstep. And I certainly don’t need that as a viewer or as an artist.”
Dano’s comments arrive shortly after British actor Ray Winstone shared his of being involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for 2021’s Black Widow, which he claimed was “soul-destroying”.
“It was fine until you have to do the reshoots,” he said to the Radio Times. “Then you find out that a few producers have come down, and your performance is too much, it’s too strong. That’s the way Marvel works. It can be soul-destroying because you feel like you’re doing great work.”
Winstone also revealed he told producers to find somebody else for the role, but he was forced to continue due to contractual obligations.
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