Simu Liu slams Tarantino & Scorsese’s Marvel comments, and fans strike back

Shang-Chi star Simu Liu recently posted his defence of Marvel on Twitter against directors Tarantino and Scorsese, but it didn’t go well.

Cinema has been somewhat at war with itself recently, and a lot of it has to do with Marvel. While the MCU franchise has no doubt been incredibly successful, it also seems like it’s constantly on the defensive.

Recently, directors Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese came out with criticism of the Marvel company, stating that it is ultimately having a negative impact on cinema. This obviously sparked some controversy, with MCU fans jumping to defend the franchise on social media.

This includes Shang-Chi lead Simu Liu – however, his tweets actually led to many cinema fans striking back, to informative and hilarious results.

Tarantino calls out Marvel and Simu Liu interjects

Yesterday, acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino went on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, and he used that platform to call out the “Marvel-ization of Hollywood,” which he claims has ruined recent cinema, though he did state, “My only axe to grind against them is they’re the only things that seem to be made.”

He continued, “You have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters, but they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times… but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star.”

Martin Scorsese has also made comments regarding the state of cinema and Marvel, telling Empire in 2019: “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But 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.”

But while this maddened many a Marvel fan, these comments also annoyed Marvel actor Simu Liu. And the Shang-Chi star took to social media yesterday to address the criticism, writing on Twitter: “If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie.

He continued, “I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs. But they don’t get to point their nose at me or anyone.

“No movie studio is or ever will be perfect. But I’m proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere.

“I loved the ‘Golden Age’ too.. but it was white as hell.”

Simu Liu gets responses on Twitter

While many Marvel fans were supportive of Simu Liu’s tweets, it seemed like he received just as many, if not more, critical responses.

Some of them spoke in defence of the two directors, arguing that they have also worked to diversify cinema, while also recognising Tarantino’s comments on movie stardom as true.

Some Twitter users made sure to include an interview clip from Falcon/Captain America actor Anthony Mackie, who actually had similar comments to say about the current state of Hollywood.

While some responses mainly served to one-up Liu, bringing some potential humor to another discourse-filled day on Twitter. Though, according to Liu, these were “internet trolls.”

“When he crafts a straw man argument to defend a multibillion dollar corporation,” one tweeted.

Ultimately, while we have another battle going on between Marvel fans and Film Twitter, this feud is unlikely to bring any real change to the industry. Just more funny Twitter reacts.