These days, it’s become de rigueur for iconic, heavyweight filmmakers to either weigh in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its cultural hegemony or to be asked about it. One of those recent dissenting voices has been Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” trilogy), and while he’s criticized the genre in the past, he seems to like at least one modern superhero film.
While Coppola, like Martin Scorsese, has often complained about the soulless of the MCU, in a recent interview with Variety, the “Apocalypse Now” filmmaker admitted he very much enjoyed Ryan Reynolds’ “Deadpool,” the atypical, fourth-wall-breaking superhero movie with R-Rated gory action sequences, and raunchy comedic beats. The pic also boasted about a budget of under $60 million, when most Marvel projects are made for $100-200 million.
“I liked ‘Deadpool,’ I thought that was amazing,” Coppola said, countering when asked yet again about his thoughts on superhero films.
READ MORE: Francis Ford Coppola Says Modern Studio Movies Are Unoriginal
Coppola also mentions directors Denis Villeneuve and Cary Joji Fukunaga are “wonderful filmmakers on the scale of big-budget films.” However, he suggests they might not have the same creative control with passion projects, “But I don’t think they necessarily get the chance to make the films in their hearts,” he explained. “I think they’re being asked to make movies that are not against the grain. We have an abundance of rich, great talent, and I would give them more responsibility because they’re capable of it.”
“Cinema is supposed to illuminate contemporary life and make us understand what’s going on,” he continued. “So we need the artists to give us a vision of what’s going on.”
He’s not the only high-profile director in the “Deadpool” camp; you might remember that filmmakers James Cameron and David Fincher backed the first installment when 20th Century Fox was having second thoughts about bankrolling the risky “X-Men” spinoff project (though that was also about their belief in director Tim Miller who they had worked with on VFX in the past). They apparently were instrumental in convincing the studio before the box office return secured Wade Wilson as a franchise player.
Marvel Studios recently hired Shawn Levy (“The Adam Project”) to direct “Deadpool 3,” but we’re still waiting on an official release date. Maybe, Coppola will get invited to an early screening once the movie is in the can.