Stephen Dorff is no stranger to Marvel. In 1998, the former child actor starred as the villain in one of Marvel’s first big-screen adaptations – Blade. Flash forward almost a quarter of a century later and Dorff doesn’t have any kind words for the superhero films that have proliferated our movie-going experience and grossed countless billions worldwide, aiming solely at Black Widow, the upcoming Marvel film starring Scarlett Johansson.
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During a Zoom interview with The Independent over the holiday weekend, Dorff held nothing back.
“I still hunt out the good s— because I don’t want to be in Black Widow,” he told the publication. “It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I’m embarrassed for those people. I’m embarrassed for Scarlett! I’m sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I’m embarrassed for her. I don’t want to be in those movies. I really don’t. I’ll find that kid director that’s gonna be the next Kubrick and I’ll act for him instead.”
Criticizing comic book movies is nothing new. Legendary director Martin Scorsese wrote an entire op-ed in The New York Times blasting Marvel movies by calling them “theme park rides” instead of actual films. I don’t think they’re cinema,” Scorsese said bluntly. However Dorff or Scorsese feel about Marvel movies, they are here to stay for the foreseeable future. And Dorff shouldn’t feel too bad for Johansson, because according to The Hollywood Reporter, Johansson is reportedly making $15 million for Black Widow, finally nabbing as much as her Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth.
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After being delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Widow will be the first MCU film to debut on a streaming service and in theaters, giving fans options on how to watch the standalone tale of Marvel fan-favorite, Natasha Romanova. Despite the dual release, Black Widow is expected to have a respectable box office showing, with Forbes predicting a “domestic debut between $80 million and $110 million.” At the time of this writing, Johansson has yet to respond to Dorff’s comments.
