Chris Hemsworth criticizes directors such as Martin Scorsese and Marvel actors for 'bashing' superhero movies: 'Tell that to the billions who watch them'

Chris Hemsworth defended the superhero genre and Marvel movies following criticism from actors and directors including Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

• Chris Hemsworth slammed superhero movie critics in a new interview with the Times of London.
• He said Marvel actors should have more "humility" and not "bash" the franchise when their film fails.
• He added that high-profile directors should appreciate Marvel for bringing "billions" of people to the cinema.

Chris Hemsworth criticized high-profile directors and his fellow Marvel actors for "bashing" the superhero genre when it is beloved by "billions."

Since 2019, directors including Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Quentin Tarantino have criticized the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the superhero genre, believing they are not artistic and take up space that could be used by what they perceive to be better Hollywood movies.

In recent years, their comments have been echoed by actors, critics, and fans as confidence in the MCU's quality has dwindled, leading to what's been dubbed "superhero fatigue."

Hemsworth, who starred as Thor in nine Marvel movies, defended the franchise in an interview with the Times of London published on Sunday, and said he thought the negative comments from high-profile directors including Scorsese and Coppola "felt harsh."

"It bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space," Hemsworth said. "Those guys had films that didn't work too — we all have. When they talked about what was wrong with superheroes, I thought, cool, tell that to the billions who watch them. Were they all wrong?"

Hemsworth added that he believed smartphones and social media changed cinema-going habits rather than the superhero genre.

"Superhero films actually kept people in the cinemas during that transition and now people are coming back. So they deserve a little more appreciation," he said.

Hemsworth then turned his attention to Marvel actors who have spoken out against the franchise after their movies failed. They include Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, and Christian Bale.

"It's, like, 'They're films that are successful — put me in one. Oh, mine didn't work? I'll bash them,'" Hemsworth said.

He then compared this experience to his time on the Australian soap opera "Home and Away" earlier in his career.

"It used to bother me when actors would later talk about the show with guilt or shame. Humility goes a long way," Hemsworth said. "One of the older actors on 'Home and Away' said, 'We don't get paid to make the good lines sound good, but to make the bad ones work.' That stuck with me."

Despite his strong defense of Marvel, Hemsworth criticized his last movie appearance, "Thor: Love and Thunder," on multiple occasions. Though the movie did well commercially, it was divisive among fans and critics.

In 2023, Hemsworth told GQ that the movie was "too silly" and said he wanted his next appearance in the MCU to be "tonally different."

Last month, Hemsworth told Vanity Fair: "I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself."

Even in his new interview with the Times of London, Hemsworth said he would want to change Thor if he played the character again.

"There is a superhero curse in the sense you get pigeonholed, and I've felt a little hamstrung with what I could do, so desperately wanted something to scare the shit out of me," Hemsworth said.