Superhero movies are the youngest of the popular movie genres, but within the past two decades, they've exploded with popularity. While at one time fans were lucky to get one of them per year, now certain studios are releasing multiple entries per year. This is great for comic book enthusiasts and moviegoers who enjoy blockbusters, but as is the case with other genres, not everyone is a fan of them. Take former Batman movie actor Cillian Murphy, who thinks that these movies are running out of content to pull from.
Murphy, who played Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. Scarecrow, in the Dark Knight series, talked with Vulture about how he believes the recent superhero movies don't measure up to what he participated in. He said:
Have they exhausted every single comic book ever? I don't know where they're coming from anymore. It was a different time back when we made Batman Begins. I think that Chris [Nolan] has to take credit for making that trilogy of films. I think they're so grounded in a relatable reality.
Cillian Murphy may not understand where the material for these superhero movies are coming, but rest assured, there won't be a dry spell anytime soon. Marvel, Warner Bros and Fox have decades of source material at their disposal, and while the average moviegoer may not read comic books on a regular basis, they're seeing adapted versions of these stories being told through the movies. It's just now that lesser known characters are being brought in for the first time, their mythology isn't nearly as familiar.
It also sounds like Cillian Murphy isn't a fan of the fantastical nature of more recent superhero movies, which is understandable given the movies he was participating in. Unlike the previous Batman movies, the Dark Knight trilogy followed the Caped Crusader in a heightened reality where magical and extraterrestrial forces didn't exist. Jumping across to DC's competitor, even the Marvel Cinematic Universe revolved primarily around science in its early years. However, now the latter has embraced aliens and magic, while Warner Bros' DC Extended Universe welcomes featuring metahumans, demigods, aliens and other kinds of mighty beings. In Batman's case, he's still relying on his usual assortment of gadgets and fighting skills, but the threats in Gotham City aren't all as "realistic" as what Christian Bale's Batman battled.
Obviously we can't expect everyone to be a fan of superhero movies, but they won't be going away for a long time. Heck, they aren't even finished in 2016 yet. DC just concluded the year with Suicide Squad, and Marvel will release Doctor Strange on November 4. As for Cillian Murphy, while he noted that his kids watch the new Marvel movies, he has yet to watch them.
