Steven Spielberg Once Again Says Superhero Genre Will Collapse

About a month ago saw Steven Spielberg make mention that the superhero movie genre will go the way of the Western genre and die.

Now while speaking with USA Today, Spielberg offers up more of the same sentiments.

In clarifying earlier statements he was thought to have said about the film industry as a whole, Spielberg offers that he was actually talking about the collapse of superhero films.

“To clarify, I didn’t ever predict the implosion of the film industry at all,” he explained. “I simply predicted that a number of blockbusters in one summer — those big sort of tent-pole superhero movies — there was going to come a time where two or three or four of them in a row didn’t work. That’s really all I said. I didn’t say the film industry was ever going to end because of them.”

Spielberg also continued with mention again of comparisons to Westerns.

“[The superhero genre] doesn’t have the legs or the longevity of the Western, which was around since the beginning of film and only started to wither and shrivel in the ’60s.” 

Spielberg’s comments caused Batman Vs. Superman director Zack Snyder and Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige to respond.

Regarding Snyder’s response, which also contained a jab at Marvel, Snyder said he felt Batman and Superman were bigger than the superhero genre.

Kevin Feige’s own response didn’t seem to worrisome about the matter as Feige stated if Spielberg’s words hold true, that would mean Marvel is still in its infancy.