Why Quentin Tarantino will never make a superhero movie
Since releasing his debut feature, Reservoir Dogs, in 1992, Quentin Tarantino has established himself as one of cinema’s most idiosyncratic directors. Known for his heavy use of dialogue and stylised violence, the filmmaker has attracted a dedicated following over the years, becoming one of cinema’s most recognisable names.
Tarantino has always been obsessive and meticulous, and his carefully crafted movies reflect his deep love for all things cinema. From Reservoir Dogs to Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, his oeuvre always feels distinctively Tarantino-esque, regardless of genre.
Although most of Tarantino’s movies deal with crime, he has explored and paid homage to genres ranging from westerns (Django Unchained) to blaxploitation (Jackie Brown) and martial arts (Kill Bill). The filmmaker has an impressive knowledge of cinema, often directly referencing his favourite movies within his work. Although he has expressed an eclectic taste in film over the decades, Tarantino has never been interested in the superhero genre.
In his book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino declared that he “can’t wait for the day” that superhero films become unpopular, echoing Martin Scorsese’s claim that they are not examples of “real cinema.”
Superhero movies typically go against the idea of the filmmaker as an auteur, lacking in originality and prioritising audience-pleasing storylines. As Scorsese noted in his Empire article, “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.”
Despite the criticism wagered against superhero films over the past few years, their popularity has only increased. Four of the top-ten highest-grossing films of all time are superhero movies, with Avengers: Endgame coming in at number two with a worldwide gross of $2,797,501,328.
In an interview with Howard Stern in 2022, Tarantino was asked about his opinion on superhero movies. He stated that if they were as big a phenomenon in the 1980s as they are now, he – a comic book lover – probably would’ve been a fan. However, the director isn’t interested in modern-day superhero movies because he believes they use too many special effects in post-production.
Tarantino explained, “I’ve never really been a big ‘do a bunch of special effects later’ kind of guy. I come from the idea that if you didn’t shoot it on the day it doesn’t count.” He continued, “We’re there with the crew, the actors. We shot it on the day, we sent the film to the lab, it came back, it’s done. Now you can do little tiny things, but I’m very about practical effects. I work with makeup effects, and I work with animatronic effects.”
The filmmaker is dedicated to making his films look like they haven’t merely been constructed using lots of computer-generated special effects. “I have the best effects team in the world, and the idea is – they’re going to create it, and we’re going to do it on stage, we’re gonna capture it on film.”
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