Gwyneth Paltrow Talks Decline in the Quality of Superhero Movies: “Can Only Make So Many Good Ones That Feel Truly Original”

For a few years now, there’s been a noticeable decline in the quality of superhero movies, evident in both critical reception and box office performance. By 2023, superhero fatigue had reached its peak. Two out of three Marvel Studios releases had failed to impress, with ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ barely breaking even and ‘The Marvels’ becoming the lowest-grossing MCU movie to date.

The DCEU didn’t fare any better. The year kicked off with ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods,’ which flopped critically and financially, followed by ‘The Flash.’ However, expectations for ‘The Flash’ weren’t high, especially considering controversies surrounding its lead actor. ‘Blue Beetle’ also failed to make an impact despite its wholesome family story. Surprisingly, the year ended on a somewhat positive note with ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom,’ which managed to be a relative success, earning $434.38 million at the box office.

Bob Iger himself addressed the declining quality and pledged to prioritize “quality over quantity.” As a result, rumors are circulating that ‘Ant-Man 4’ and ‘Captain Marvel 3’ might not see the light of day, with the studio focusing on guaranteed successes. The only movie scheduled for release in 2024 is ‘Deadpool 3.’

Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow shared her thoughts on the superhero genre during an appearance on ‘The Hot Ones.’ Paltrow, known for her role as Pepper Potts in several successful installments, including many hits, last appeared in the MCU in ‘Endgame.’ The movie, even four years after its release, is still considered unmatched.

You want to have the best chance of having a strong ROI. People put a lot of money into these things and they want them to be profitable. But I think if I look at the industry as a whole, this big push into superhero movies…you can only make so many good ones that feel truly original, and yet they’re still always trying to reach as many people as possible, which sometimes hinders quality or specificity or real point of view.

I’m sure many of us can relate to what Paltrow is saying. She also confessed a while back that she stopped watching Marvel movies at some point because she found it hard to keep up with the ever-expanding universe.

To be honest, I stopped watching them at some point. I’ve never seen Endgame. I can’t keep track of who’s what. But I probably should at some point.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Paltrow? Share your opinions in the comments section!