Prime Video's The Boys has never been shy about taking the odd harmless (and sometimes a little more scathing) dig at the superhero genre, and both the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes have influenced quite a few hilarious parody scenes (and even full storylines) over the course of three seasons of the critically-acclaimed series.
During an interview with Total Film, producer Seth Rogen admitted that The Boys would “not exist or be interesting” without the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but isn't a big fan of the movies themselves as he feels they are made with a younger demographic in mind.
“I think that Kevin Feige is a brilliant guy, and I think a lot of the filmmakers he’s hired to make these movies are great filmmakers,” Rogen said. “But as someone who doesn’t have children… It is [all] kind of geared toward kids, you know? There are times where I will forget. I’ll watch one of these things, as an adult with no kids, and be like, ‘Oh, this is just not for me.'”
However, when asked about "superhero fatigue" and the notion that Marvel/superhero movies are over-saturating the marketplace, Rogen came to the genre's defence.
“I think if it was only Marvel, it would be bad. But I think it isn’t – clearly. An example I’m always quoting is, there’s a point in history where a bunch of filmmakers would have been sitting around, being like, ‘Do you think we’ll ever make a movie that’s not a Western again? Everything’s a Western! Westerns dominate the [frick]ing movies. If it doesn’t have a hat and a gun and a carriage, people aren’t going to go see it anymore.'”
While children are obviously one major target audience for Marvel, many would argue that the majority of the movies are no more "geared towards kids" than any major PG-13 blockbuster franchises that have come along over the years.
What do you guys make of Rogen's comments? Be sure to share your thoughts down below.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.