The growing number of superhero movies in Hollywood represents a double-edged sword for filmmakers. Fans cannot get enough of them, but many wonder if we could ever simply go too far. Superhero fatigue has become a serious conversation among fans, and even the biggest nerds on the block have begun to chime in on the matter. Kevin Smith recently gave his own personal opinion on the whole superhero fatigue concept, and he doesn't seem all that concerned. Specifically, he said:
Look who you're asking. Look how I'm dressed, are you serious? You got me for five minutes and you're going to ask that question? No, they need to make more dude. I don't care if they're quote unquote bad or something, the more you see the better it is. Like, make it as, as ubiquitous as the western was in the fifties I say, because what's better than little morality tales. Some of them are going to be wonderful, some may be not as wonderful, but let em make them all. There's no such thing as too many of these things.
Kevin Smith spoke to Variety at the Suicide Squad world premiere last night, and he didn't seem very worried about the growing ubiquity of superhero films. He's admittedly biased in this particular matter -- as he's one of the go-to DC fans in Hollywood -- but he doesn't think that there's any problem with pumping out good stories centering upon our favorite comic book characters for years to come. Of course, likening superhero movies to westerns might not bode well for those of us who actually enjoy them. As Kevin Smith's fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg recently pointed out: superhero movies could very go the way of the western if we milk the genre for all its worth and run out of stories to tell.
It's easy to understand both sides of this argument. On one hand, you can most certainly have too much of a good thing; people will get tired of something if it's overexposed. It happened to the western, it has begun to happen in the zombie genre, and it could easily happen with superhero movies.
On the other hand, superhero movies are far more flexible than most other types of films. "Superhero" really isn't one single genre; it can cover a wide range of movies and styles. We've seen this in recent years, as superhero movies have taken the form of romantic comedies, heist movies, horror movies, and many others. As such, filmmakers have considerably more flexibility when adding iconic comic book character to silver screen adventures, meaning that superhero fatigue might never actually set in.
Considering the amount of anticipation for Suicide Squad, superhero fatigue still seems a long way off -- if it even exists at all. Kevin Smith thinks comic book movies should get made for as long we they can, and we're inclined to agree with him. Make sure to check out David Ayer's Suicide Squad when it opens in theaters this Friday.
