The Boys producer Seth Rogen sees Marvel movies as “geared towards kids”
Seth Rogen says Marvel movies are "not for me," but credits the franchise with making The Boys more interesting
Aux News Seth Rogen
Abandon all hope ye who enter here: there is no safe way to wade into Marvel vs. Cinema discourse. The topic is designed to ruffle feathers and provoke outrage. All of this, ironically, over a bunch of kids movies—at least that’s how Seth Rogen sees them.
“I think that Kevin Feige is a brilliant guy, and I think a lot of the filmmakers he’s hired to make these movies are great filmmakers,” Rogen tells Total Film magazine. “But as someone who doesn’t have children… It is [all] kind of geared toward kids, you know? There are times where I will forget. I’ll watch one of these things, as an adult with no kids, and be like, ‘Oh, this is just not for me.’”
Rogen is far from a snob; his contributions to culture, while beloved, are not what you’d call high-brow. He’s also a self-professed comics fan, and has produced some comic book properties himself, including the adult-geared Preacher and The Boys. (And then there’s The Green Hornet.) He obviously has no real beef with superheroes, nor ultimately with the MCU.
“I think just as naturally to us as The Boys fell into the comic-book-store landscape as a comic, we thought it would fall well into the media landscape as a TV show,” he says in Total Film. “But truthfully, without Marvel, The Boys wouldn’t exist or be interesting. I’m aware of that. I think if it was only Marvel, it would be bad. But I think it isn’t—clearly.”
There’s nothing wrong with making movies for children, though some more, ahem, mature Marvel fans may argue about the franchise’s appeal to adults. The real issue for cinema purists is the genre’s perceived monopolization of the movies. Yet Rogen cites a familiar argument to explain the fad: “An example I’m always quoting is, there’s a point in history where a bunch of filmmakers would have been sitting around, being like, ‘Do you think we’ll ever make a movie that’s not a western again? Everything’s a western! Westerns dominate the fucking movies. If it doesn’t have a hat and a gun and a carriage, people aren’t going to go see it any more.’”
In other words, this too shall hopefully pass. Meanwhile, The Boys certainly benefits from having something to satirize. Whether Rogen makes it out of this Marvel discourse unscathed is another story!
114 Comments
Are you telling me the movies people keep having tantrums over every time someone says “eh, not for me” are…for babies?
They never just say “eh, not for me”, when it comes to the MCU. It’s always couched in gate-keeping snobbery and insults to the viewers that like it.
Yes. It is always, unequivocally, like that.
I don’t think Rogan’s comments insult fans of the MCU. I’m a big MCU fan (I just bought Ant-Man 3 tickets today) but I somewhat agree with his take, though I think by kids he means teens, not adolescent children. That’s an assumption, since he obviously didn’t clarify what he meant.In Rogan’s case, I don’t think he’s a big enough nerd to get into them, and I think he was too old when the MCU started to really enjoy it. It’s just there, and he doesn’t get the hype.
Categorizing it as “for children” is insulting. They’re made to a appeal to a wide audience, including, but not limited to, children.
When did critical distaste become “gate keeping”? The other day I told someone I was sick of suburban dads and their guitars (after yet another party was dragged to a dead stop by someone trying to play a song… Poorly), and I was accused of gatekeeping. If something is shit, and I can defend that position, it’s not gatekeeping. I’m not preventing anyone from seeing it, but I do hate it.
Why is this news? Marvel movies are designed to get butts in seats, kids and adults alike. There’s a reason why Endgame was (temporarily) the highest grossing movie of all time. By Seth’s metric, any high grossing movie is a kid’s movie. Jurassic Park? Kid’s movie. Avatar? Kid’s movie.
I wish people would stop insinuation that family friendly means “made for kids”. Just because something doesn’t drop an F-bomb every scene, and contain several liters of various bodily fluids every episode doesn’t mean it’s “for kids” This is the kind of stale thinking that’s preventing all the different forms of narrative media from truly evolving into something new. Into something better.Seth Rogan makes movies that are technically rated for “adults”, but I would argue they’re not actually MADE FOR adults. They’re made for teenagers and those that hang on to their adolescent immature sense of humor. Don’t get me wrong, I think Seth can be funny, but while The Boys might present the content differently, it still appeals to the same demographic (as a whole) that the MCU does.
I agree in the sense that g ratings or animation as a medium immediately signal to people that something’s childish or for kids, and that if we expand our palates we can encourage artists to color outside the lines and all collectively level up in the art we produce and consume.I just don’t see the MCU as an engine or signal for that change; they’re specifically held back by being action-packed but not violent, kid-friendly but lacking either childish *or* mature perspectives, jokey but not funny, filled with peril but not actual tragedy or emotion. I find them hindered by their friendliness towards all four quadrants.The answer lies in supporting independent cinema, not defending corporate products.
All cinema is “corporate products.”I’d rather just evaluate the art. Just as the identity of the publisher has zero effect on the quality of a novel, the contingent history behind the making of a film doesn’t matter when evaluating its quality. Money, connections, etc. can help realize a vision or they can hinder it, but the only thing that should really matter is the final film. A great film made by a major studio is no less great, and an independent production creating a bad film still made a bad film.
“All cinema is “corporate products.”” is the bleakest fucking thing I’ve read online. You do realize people make films independently? That many films distributed by corporations/studios are made outside the system, then acquired for distribution? Outside the US, there are actual state-funded arts programs which find individuals’ cinematic pursuits. I’m not saying a studio-developed film is any lesser, but capitalism has a chokehold on distribution, leading to this sort of lack of distinction between individualistic art and corporate art. I think both the pro-Marvel and anti-Marvel side of this debate make the mistake of expecting a corporate product specifically engineered to appeal to all four quadrants to stand up to analytic scrutiny.
It’s only bleak because you have framed things in, respectfully, a bogus manner.
If you want art created by individuals, explore other media (novels, music, comics, even). “Outside the system” means outside the major studios. Films require casts, crews, editors, distribution, marketing, etc. They are inherently corporate products.In film, this is not a binary; it’s a question of degree. And more often than not, it’s a lazy form of criticism or rationalization or simply part of that thing where it’s cool to disdain the popular thing and champion the unknown. I get that urge, and it’s certainly valid in some cases (particularly when corporations intersect with minority cultures), but there are as many bad films that could have been fixed with some more money, experience, and oversight as bad films that were ruined by those.
You can work with casts, crews, the entirety of the production process, outside of studios; the work of producing a film does not necessitate a studio (as I mentioned before, many – though progressively fewer and fewer – movies are made outside the studio system, then distributed by studios). It’s the marketing/distribution part where the gigantic hurdle of money comes into play, that’s where the necessity for corporate/studio cashflow truly comes in.Making a film is a collective effort, not a corporate one. It’s capitalism and the state of the theater distribution model (as well as streaming, which has taken the middle and bottom out of the market) which remove the democratization of the whole thing and turn film from a personal effort (just because many voices go into a film doesn’t mean it’s inherently devoid of individualistic vision, just as a studio movie can still reflect said vision) into a respectfully, bogusly-framed “inherently corporate product.” To me, that’s what’s at the heart of the issue: since the theatrical distribution model necessitates a high initial investment that’ll only pay out via blockbuster performance, you end up with broader projects made to please many rather than delight a few.
I agree that your last point is a shame, but it’s also tangential to this issue. In a different market, studios did just fine with a total range of budgets and types of films. The explosion of other forms of media definitely choked out all but blockbuster films, but on the bright side, it created tons of other forms besides cinema, many of which can actually be non-corporate.
How the heck is that only tangential to the issue? How does the state of the market have nothing to do with the state of the market??…I’m also super curious to know what other forms of media have choked out all but blockbuster films.
Well, perhaps because all of the states of this market have existed in the context of corporate studios. So it seems weird to blame the current moment on the system that has always existed.And, are you really super curious to learn about the explosion of, I don’t know, television itself, premium television, the internet, streaming video, YouTube, etc., and how there is a correlation between the existence of alternatives to movie theaters in the fall from dominance of movie theaters. Was that really a sincere question?
It may surprise you to hear that while there have always been studios in Hollywood operating for profit in a capitalist capacity, they don’t run the same way now as they used to, just as capitalism is pretty different today than 25, 50, 100 years ago.And yes, it was a sincere question: I thought you were inferring that streaming video has been good for independent cinema or that streaming services are somehow not corporate/capitalist, but wanted to clarify before I said that’s an incredibly ignorant take.
So there are probably some factors external to capitalism itself that have changed both capitalism and the theatrical market over time, huh?Probably a good idea, when writing a sentence that includes the phrase “incredibly ignorant,” to verify that all the words in that sentence mean what you think they mean.
I double-check every word I use against Merriam-Webster and New Oxford, but my Webster’s currently in the shop. What the hell’s your excuse?
I don’t normally call people out for bad use of the language, but it’s hard not to when they are condescending and mangling the language in the same sentence.
Okay, then. What word were you calling me out for misusing?
I’ll let you puzzle that out. Enjoy the reductivism!
Ah yes, “it’s your job to understand what I’m failing to articulate.” Classic troll shit.
‘Lacking mature perspectives’?
Haven’t seen either Black Panther movie, have you?
Two outta thirty ain’t bad!
My favorite Meat Loaf song. RIP.
No one who likes Black Panther has an adult brain. If you knew anything about the history of Africa you know how deeply offensive it is for the racist fascists at marvel to pretend the CIA are good guys and want what is best for Africa. Read a history book for once in your life babybrain.
People who think insult = argument hardly are qualified to define ‘adult brain’.
Sheesh.
Read a history book once in your life dumb dumb. I know you know nothing about Africa because you focused on the name calling and not the factual points I made. It’s annoying how say stupid racist things while knowing nothing.
Bobby Peru, who has changed his handle and operates several alt accounts to avoid notice, is a known racist troll. Better to just not engage with them.
I have no problem with the MCU until people start acting like it handles mature topics in a nuanced, mature way. Then I’m happy to invite your fan boi rage when I say “Uh, not really.”
Black Panther is too boring for kids.
I would never associate “mature perspectives’ with either BP movie, if anything there is almost an absence of any perspective in those movie.
I like your take, especially the closing line. We need more voices, especially those not backed by massive corporate machines, to help push the form (and art, in general) forward. I will add: Marvel movies to me are bland and over-processed and over-focus grouped, and too perfect looking (from actors to effects). The stories themselves are interesting, but all pretty similar in a fundamental way. The are also quite clearly designed as a merchandising vehicle. I don’t think they’re necessarily made explicitly for kids but their blandness and simplicity make them seem childish to some. Finally, “adult” animation rules! Simpsons, LD&R, Akira are all some of my favorite animation.
Those were a lot of attempts to make distinctions that don’t exist. It sounded great like most “deepities”, but it meant nothing. They’re action-packed and often violent. They’re kid-friendly and offer both child’s and mature perspectives. They’re filled with peril and tragedy and emotion.The whole reason people like them is that they offer emotions and good characters you can empathize with.
The answer lies with not crapping on movies unfairly in order to seem cool and not drawing an arbitrary distinction between independent and corporate cinema. The MCU movies are great. Some other big-bidget movies are great too. A lot of independent movies are also great. No need to be elitist about it.
I checked out of the series after Civil War, which has a premise that’s both politically charged and character driven, but the actual story is all silly shit like brainwashing, underwater superhero jail, and the Secret Real Villain in the last act.
The word is FUCK. You can say it and/or write it.
lol The Boys absolutely does not appeal to the same demographic as Marvel films that’s crack-headed.
I enjoy both MCU movies and The Boys, and I can see the more adult, serious themes in it. But then I can also see the haha look he got strangled by a giant dick isn’t that hilarious that isn’t “mature”. I’d prefer The Boys more if we weren’t walking into penises and exploding them. Or whatever insane thing they have cooked up for the new season that they claim is even worse than the dick and herogasm. Like this is what you consider for “adults” Seth? I’ll take my MCU movies then.
I have no problem if someone decides Marvel movies are “not for them”, but I do kinda find it annoying when people affirm that something is specifically “for children”. It’s kinda like what the last Disney CEO said regarding animation. Just because something can be enjoyed by a wide age range, doesn’t mean it’s inherently ONLY for children.If the “adult” alternative is The Boys…honestly, I’ll take the MCU. I enjoy The Boys for what it is, but if “for adults” means “endlessly gratuitously violent and bleak” then maybe that’s not so much for me. I enjoy it in small doses but once I get through a season of The Boys, where all the characters are essentially in the same place as they were last season, with nothing gained, I think “okay that’s enough for now.”
If you are an adult who has read a book or watched a piece of cinema made by an actual artist then you realize marvel movies are movies for babies. The stories are stupid CGI bullshit made for little kids. No movie with commercials in them qualify as adult entertainment.
I mean, maybe if you’re some hipster who hangs out in bookstores very obviously showing off the cover of the book you’re reading, while you wear glasses with non-prescription lenses to make yourself look smarter.Take it from someone who went to art school – whatever people enjoy is what they enjoy. I’m long past the point where I can judge a piece of media as “movies for babies”. Maybe shitting on peoples’ tastes gets you points at like, the Pitchfork offices or something, but most people are fine just letting people like things.
hey eat shit
I love how all the MCU fans think the thing that makes The Boys “for adults” is swearing and violence.What in the themes of MCU movies is for a grown up?
What relationships (romantic or otherwise) are depictions of grown up relationship?Violence is the solution to almost every problem. Is that “grown up”.I have no problem if someone likes MCU movies or YA novels or the kids menu, but I do kinda find it annoying when people claim that tots and fishsticks is the dinner of an adult palette.
I dunno why people are putting so many weird words in my mouth, but I never said the “violence and swearing” was my issue, I said it was the bleakness, as well as the fact that after three seasons, almost NOTHING has changed.The themes, or rather theme, of the Boys has been hammered home again and again over 3 seasons, and the characters are pretty much exactly where they started, from an emotional and maturity standpoint, with few notable exceptions (Frenchie and the Kimiko, mainly, and also Starlight). I think The Boys has some interesting ideas. Its satire is indeed biting and astute. However, its premise is razor thin, and over three seasons, the only real “growth” in the series seems to be how much they can top the previous season’s violent spectacles.I never said fishsticks and tots was dinner “of an adult palette [sic – do you mean palate?]”. But YOU, as well as Rogen and others, seem bent on hammering home that Marvel type movies are ONLY for kids.It also strikes me as weird when people turn to The Boys as like, the only “adult” alternative. Which is what I was saying in my initial comment. The Boys is a lot more juvenile and childish than people who turn to it as “high art” seem to think. It’s definitely “deeper” than your typical MCU fare but please, everyone needs to stop pretending it hasn’t been thematically spinning its wheels. I’m not trying to specifically shit on The Boys, I’m just saying that like, given the choice between the two, The Boys is a place I am less likely to want to revisit often.
This certainly helps explain why all the genre satire in The Boys feels a decade or two out of date, especially regarding Aquaman.
yeah, it seems like he should at least watch all of them for his job so he doesn’t remake the same jokesthat said, Gunn and Peacemaker still thought it was worth it to make the Aquaman Fucks Fish joke AFTER The Deep existed.
https://www.vulture.com/2016/09/alan-moore-jerusalem-comics-writer.html
I thought we all moved on from the notion that racy content aimed at older teens is more sophisticated than content intended for all audiences.As a full adult, both my children and I enjoy Marvel movies. I think I’m about 20 years too old for the Boys, though.
“A full adult” lmao, sure buddy
Cool contribution, champ.The demographic for “The Boys,” everyone.
The demographic for “The Boys,” everyone.???What makes you think dronesensor is a fan of The Boys?
Okay, maybe a leap, but the people who insult someone for mildly criticizing some form of media are often fans of that media.But you’re right, I don’t know that. He could be a white power troll who stalked me over from the Root, like Bobby Peru down there.
I thought the insult was about your enjoying Marvel movies, not about your criticism of The Boys.
Yes! Entrench yourself in your opinions by baiting people on the internet and then making them a strawman! YES!!!
“I disagree with the weirdly snobby assertion made by this celebrity” is baiting now?
I mean, you plainly stated that a series which satirizes the adolescent appeal of superhero films is less sophisticated than the subject of its satire. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher. But hey, you’re a whole entire full adult, so who am I to judge?
Clearly, Mad Magazine is the height of erudition.And if what the Boys is meant to satirize is “the adolescent appeal of superhero films,” it’s doing a terrible fucking job. None of the other people flipping out because I said it’s not that good agree with you on that one.
Damn, you don’t fare well under heat, huh?
If by “heat,” you mean a bunch of teenagers who are really sure their bro content is super sophisticated, I think I’m doing just fine.Jesus, fragile boys. King neckbeard made a claim. I suggested that, to me, the opposite is true. Then, a confederacy of dunces lost their fucking minds.A show with a character called Herogasm, in which like half the fucking audience didn’t get that the fascist uberman was meant to be a bad guy for what? A year, more? Peak culture.
He’s a bully and an asshole. If you say anything he doesn’t like he bullies and harasses. Glad to see people owning him completely for his bullshit. He does everything he can to shut down discussion and chase people away form this site.
He’s definitely a 12 yo edgelord masquerading as one. The dudes a troll with his head permanently lodged up his own ass.
Gently and politely correct some overcompensating dude’s stupid mistake one time and he will follow you around and call you a troll forever.
Lmfao, follow you around? Gently and politely? Don’t flatter yourself asshole.
Dude, you literally came here to talk shit and call me a troll because one time I civilly pointed out that the fact that one space alien having an American-based name in a movie about space aliens who all have English earth names wasn’t the massive plot hole you thought it was. And you lost your goddamn mind and have come for me every time you’ve seen me since.This is a longstanding grudge because you’re too fragile to take even the lightest, evidence-based disagreement.
This is a longstanding grudge because you’re too fragile to take even the lightest, evidence-based disagreement.I take it you haven’t bothered reading your own comments because the hypocrisy is astounding. It’s rather amusing watching you try to spin this in a way that makes you look like a victim while using phrases like “gently and politely” or “civilly” to describe yourself. Do you really believe that?For the record, I fully admitted the mistake I made to the people that actually responded to me “gently and politely”. You’re just an asshole. There is no “feud” as you put it, as it’s pretty clear I’m not the only person who feels this way about your objectively asshole behavior. I didn’t respond to you on this thread, you made that choice.
Yeah, I couldn’t have been more polite in my initial response. It wasn’t until you lost your fucking mind and started whining about how unfair it was to point out that your take made no sense that I changed my approach appropriately. And my dude, you jumped into a conversation you weren’t in just to insult me and invalidate my take. Consider just fucking the fuck off with your overcompensating, insecure ass. I won’t comment on your stupid takes or your need to tell random strangers what kind of little dick car you drive; you stay out of my threads. Grow the fuck up and stop trying to maintain long-term vendettas on fucking comment sections.Have a blessed day.
what kind of little dick car you driveSee, this is exactly what I’m talking about, this is why you’re a massive piece of shit. Keep feigning innocence, I really don’t care, you’ve already proven my point with your responses. I’ll continue to agree with anyone I see call you out.
He conflates disagreement with persecution and descends into greasy troll behavior under the scrutiny.
Wow, you sure proved the point that when you behave needlessly aggressive and obnoxious online, people treat you similarly.But, dickhead, you are the one who just formally announced your intentions to be a fucking troll and keep my name in your mouth. Knock yourself out, although, given this admission, consider finding something else to call me other than troll. Because that would be just colossally stupid, even for someone so averse to self-awareness as yourself.You must have a really fulfilling life full of people who value and appreciate you!
Wow, you sure proved the point that when you behave needlessly aggressive and obnoxious online, people treat you similarly.I’m genuinely surprised you’re capable of understanding this, since the only reason why we’re even here is because you’re needlessly aggressive and obnoxious. your intentions to be a fucking trollAgreeing with others about your dogshit attitude makes me a troll? Lmfao. Once again you’re playing victim instead of maybe, just maybe, reevaluating how you respond to people. Because that would be just colossally stupid, even for someone so averse to self-awareness as yourself.Speaking of reevaluating your responses, you should probably stop responding to me using phrases and sentences which perfectly encapsulate yourself. Actually, you should probably just stop responding. Maybe go see your kids, I’m sure they’d be proud knowing what type of person you are when anonymity is available.
“I think you’re a troll, so I’m going to troll you.”–> Some lonely loser who might have a car he hopes makes him a man in some anonymous commenter’s eyes.
“I refuse to accept responsibility for what I’ve said and how I’ve acted”—> You, failing to teach your children a valuable life lesson.
Why the fuck are you talking about my children now, you stalky weirdo? How void of human contact are you that you think that is the way to gain the upper hand? Get your one last whatever the fuck in, loser, but then I’m going to kindly ask you the same thing women have asked you your whole life: just leave me alone, creep.
As a full adult, both my children and I enjoy Marvel movies. I think I’m about 20 years too old for the Boys, though. – IContainMultitudesYou literally brought them up in your very first comment you stupid fuck. just leave me alone, creep.It must be tough being the victim all the time, especially when you’re the one who responded to me.
hey eat shit
I see every Marvel movie opening night and have been reading comics for decades, but The Boys is much more sophisticated than the Marvel movies. It’s not super deep but the Boys dabbles in critiques of corporate culture, American foreign policy, religion, toxic masculinity, gender politics etc etc. It has a lot of dick jokes but there’s way more to it than superheroes with swearing. (Unlike the Boys comic which was mostly that, with a nod to Bush and Iraq every 3 issues)
Meh. I got bored with it, as I did the original comic series, since it felt like warmed over edgy comics from the previous decade, which themselves were just a cycle of rehashing the original deconstructionist comics of the late 1980s, and so on. It’s possible that it became more sophisticated over time, but just being critical of something for which criticism has been widespread for ever without having anything new to say about it doesn’t do much for me. Again, if it introduces young people to some new ideas, that’s cool. I’m not speaking for anyone but myself, but at this point in my life, there are plenty of other sources of more nuanced takes on all of those other things, and I’m coming to superheroes for that joy and wonder and aspirational archetypes and optimism stuff that they were created for.
To defend the MCU while pretending to be bothered by recycling material is a weird tandem of takes to share in close proximity to each other.
Not sure I was defending the MCU so much as saying that, as an adult, I find it easier to enjoy content targeted at families than content targeting teens. If it helps, I don’t think “recycling material” is necessarily bad, but the same edgy Mad Magazine takes on things doesn’t do it for me.
First, congratulations on winning the notice of our trolliest troll here in AVClub. I won’t tell you what the trophy looks like, out of preservation of sanity, though.Second, it’s interesting to me that The Boys was originally a DC property (Vertigo, I think), before the decision-makers decided that it was going in too far of a direction for them.
I think Butcher was written with a younger Michael Caine in mind.
I must have missed when getting flamed for mildly disagreeing with someone’s bold statement and then defending oneself from the flames became “trolling.” Man, this is not how the AV Club used to work.
I meant this one. He comes after folks randomly. It’s like a badge of honor these days.
Bobby Peruhomerbert the 1st2/03/23 12:55pmIcontainmultitudes
is a dork who throws tantrums about Avatar 2 on every story posted
about it. It’s beyond hilarious he considers himself a full adult. I
promise you he has never watched The Boys just like he has never
watched Avatar 2. He’s just an asshole.
My bad! Yeah, that dude is the worst.
First, congratulations on winning the notice of our trolliest troll here in AVClub.You’re referring to Icontainmultitudes, right?
Icontainmultitudes is a dork who throws tantrums about Avatar 2 on every story posted about it. It’s beyond hilarious he considers himself a full adult. I promise you he has never watched The Boys just like he has never watched Avatar 2. He’s just an asshole.
You know people can just look at comment histories and see this is made up, right?
“Things I like and find appealing are sophisticated. Everything else is garbage.”Cool take.
That was Seth Rogen’s take. I was demonstrating that other people feel the opposite way.Jesus, did not know that we weren’t allowed to disagree with Seth fucking Rogen in 2023.
I’m not wading into this argument, but I’m definitely cribbing the term ‘full adult’ going forward.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here: there is no safe way to wade into Marvel vs. Cinema discourse. The topic is designed to ruffle feathers and provoke outrage. All of this, ironically, over a bunch of kids movies—at least that’s how Seth Rogen sees them.“Ugh, why does everyone keep bringing up this silly, outrage-inducing Marvel vs Cinema discourse?” asked the clickbaiting article clickbait-ily.
Dear lord, I miss the days of the AV Club before they went all in on the Outrage Industrial Complex. But then again, so did literally every other website on the internet.
Agreed. But recent events have shown that we’re a nation of adult children, so that explains their success.
Jesus Christ no stars? This should be the top comment. This is the unifying theory.
Haha!
“Rich man yucks people’s yum”
Bold talk for a dude who couldn’t pull off a Preacher TV series.
This would have been a better comeback before he went and made The Boys a hundred times better than its source material.
Wasn’t exactly a heavy lift though, was it?
Definitely not. But still.
No, it’s pretty appropriate talk. The Preacher is hard to adapt. Meanwhile, Superbad and Undeclared shit all over 90% of capeshit.
Marvel isn’t a kids product, and you can tell because they never sell toys.
I thought Seth Rogen was smarter than this, but here he sounds real naïve.
when these movies work, the appeal to me is that they make me feel like a kid again. like, the adult in me knows that spider-man is going to be okay…but i do like when i get that brief spark of childlike ‘oh geez i hope spider-man gets out of this one okay’ moment.
The Boys is geared towards edgelords, so whatevs.
I’m sure the Marvel stans in these comments are reacting to him with maturity, thus proving him wrong.
I do enjoy “The Boys” but it’s definitely geared more towards high school aged kids.I don’t know what a fully “adult” superhero show would look like. Maybe something like Daredevil but it’s mostly lawyer parts, and they cut out all the ninja fights and back alley brawls with corrupt real estate developers.
Must be professional jealousy…who knows. The movies might be surface level obvious, theres still alot more subtext to these movies than given credit. The MCU creators are very deliberate and aware of what they are creating without much pretentions (generally speaking). I like that it shows a certain respect for the audience for what it is.
a celebrity doesn’t like Marvel movies and I don’t know how to cope with that
He’s right, but The Boys and Rogen’s general oeuvre are also for kids (albeit slightly older).
This is maybe the least controversial statement ever. Obviously they’re for kids. That’s like being upset that somebody says Lunchables are for kids. I don’t care if you eat one, but they’re for kids.
i mean Rogen clearly has a pretty strong affinity for adolescent humor, so not really surprising he would reject movies that don’t have the same sensibilities. he’d probably like the marvel movies if they had more farting and weed jokes
Also, I’m not sure “really likes comics written by Garth Ennis” translates into “loves superheros” given that Ennis despises superheroes (aside from Superman, inexplicably)
Maybe Rogen has an inflated view of the moviegoing public, or of american adulthood, but I think this take is just inaccurate. It very well might not be for him, and that’s fine. And think about what is geared towards adults: look at the source material for James Bond or Jack Reacher and how incredibly stupid and puerile it is, but we don’t say those films are aimed at 13 year-olds who will never ever ever get laid. They’re aimed at actual adults who have children and property, which is pretty terrifying. This take is a little similar to Alan Moore’s recent take where the person seems not to have seen any of the films and reads any subtlety and craftsmanship whatsoever out of them, as if it’s just Captain America winning every battle with a flag flying behind him and fucking the prom queen at the end of each installment (ahem james bond source material). I mean, I watch The Boys and it is often good, but it is also often puerile, unsubtle, and retreads extremely well-trod ground…its commentary on Hughie and masculinity is also pretty regressive and basic, it often feels like it is aimed at 18 year-olds, why is that so much better?