American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has worked on some of the most popular films in the industry, but one franchise has eluded the 59-year-old.
From Pulp Fiction to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino's films are known for references to pop culture and a dark sense of humour which fans love.
And the director has never shied away from genre-hopping, covering Spaghetti Westerns to martial arts.
However, one genre that the filmmaker has never touched is the superhero movie, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.
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In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tarantino was asked why he has never worked on a Marvel or even a DC movie.
He replied: "You have to be a hired hand to do those things.
"I’m not a hired hand. I’m not looking for a job."
The filmmaker then compared the current slate of superhero movies to the studio musical boom of the 1960s.
He recalled how New Hollywood auteurs rejoiced when the studio musical went into decline over six decades ago.
Comparing to that, Tarantino added that modern filmmakers 'can’t wait for the day they can say that about superhero movies'.
He said: "The analogy works because it’s a similar chokehold.
"The writing’s not quite on the wall yet, the way it was in 1969 when it was, ‘Oh, my God, we just put a bunch of money into things that nobody gives a damn about anymore.’"
Tarantino has seemingly never been a fan of Marvel, as in 2020, he claimed that he was fighting a 'war for movies' against the popular franchise.
Talking to Deadline, he said: "As far as I can see, the commercial product that is owned by the conglomerates, the projects everybody knows about and has in their DNA, whether it be the Marvel Comics, the Star Wars, Godzilla and James Bond, those films never had a better year than last year [2019]. It would have been the year that their world domination would have been complete. But it kind of wasn’t.
"Because of what you said, a lot of original movie comment came out and demanded to be seen, and demanded to be seen at the theatres.
"That ended up becoming a really, really strong year. I’m really proud to be nominated with the other films that just got nominated. I think when you sum up the year, it’s cinema that doesn’t fall into that blockbuster IP proof status, made its last stand this year."
Quentin Tarantino's next movie remains a mystery, however, with him famously saying his next one would be his last.
Topics: Film and TV, Marvel, Quentin Tarantino, DC Comics
Callum Jones