Iron ManstarRobert Downey Jr.has some thoughts regardingPulp FictiondirectorQuentin Tarantino’s recent comments surrounding movie stars and comic book movies. Speaking withDeadline, The Avenger took some issues with Tarantino’s critique of the “Marvel-ization of Hollywood” and the declaration that the actors playing the likes of Captain America and Thor are not movie stars.
“I think our opinions on these matters say a lot about us. I think that we are in a time and place that I unwittingly contributed to, where IP has taken precedence over principle and personality. But it’s a double-edged sword. A piece of IP is only as good as the human talent you get to represent it, and you can have some great IP even if it’s coming from an auteur or a national treasure of a writer-director, and if you don’t have the right kind of artist playing that role, you’ll never know how good it could have been.”
Ultimately, Downey Jr. thinks there is more than enough room for both big, blockbusters and smaller, more independent movies. And really, he thinks the movie-making community should all just get along.
“I think that creatively it is a waste of time to be at war with ourselves. I think this is a time when everything is so much more fragmented now that I think you have this kind of bifurcation. Throwing stones one way or another … and I’ve had my reactions in the past when people said things that I felt were discrediting my integrity … I go, “You know what? Let’s just get over it. We’re all a community. There’s enough room for everything,” and thank God for Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water. That’s all I have to say. We need the big stuff to make room for films like Armageddon Time.”
Related:Quentin Tarantino Reveals the Marvel Movie He Would Love to Direct
Robert Downey Jr. Loves Leaping from Major IPs to More Standalone Movies
The Marvel star, who retired from the role of Tony Stark aka Iron Man at the end of 2019’sAvengers: Endgame, goes on to state that he is simply having a great time playing in the worlds of both major IPs and more standalone projects. The actorcan currently be seen as himself in the Netflix documentary,Sr., which recounts the life and career of his late father Robert Downey Sr., and is due to star in Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimerand Park Chan-Wook’sThe Sympathizer.
“It’s already a transformative, literally playing five different roles experience for me. So, I would just say, before we cast aspersions on each other — undergo your own renaissance and see if it doesn’t change your mind a little bit. Reinvent yourself before you decide that somebody else doesn’t know what they’re doing or that something is keeping you from doing your best, or that something is better than something else. You know, we’re in this age now where Favreau said it best: We used to attempt to make waves in a lake, and now we’re just trying to catch people’s attention as things are moving by quickly in a stream. I think that’ll change again, but this is just where we’re at. And to accept it and be grateful that you get to participate is the right place to start."
So, it sounds like Robert Downey Jr. Fallson the side of his fellow Marvel star Samuel L. Jacksonin this particular debate. But really, can’t we all just get along?
