In a recent interview, director James Cameron said he has no desire to direct a comic book movie but added that he was once interested in making a Spider-Man feature.
Speaking in a video interview with Comicbook.com about Avatar: The Way of Water, the filmmaker began by saying, "I just want to say ahead of time that I'm not going to diss the Marvel or DC Universe. OK? Love those movies. Let's just get that off the table."
Cameron, who has helmed such blockbusters as Titanic and Terminator, then offered his frank opinion on how the VFX (visual effects) for his coming Avatar sequel compare to those of Marvel films. The director said his movie's effects are not only better, but the comparison is "not even close."
As for the possibility of Cameron stepping behind the camera for a DC or Marvel film, he said it's not likely.
"I have no interest in directing a comic book film. I was very interested in Spider-Man, but that was a unique thing," Cameron said. "I had a personal love of Spider-Man, and then that ground has been kind of well-served by other people."
Cameron did offer praise for the VFX work of superhero pictures when Comicbook.com reporter Brandon Davis asked if any breakthroughs coming from the comic book movie world had motivated him "to continue raising the bar or even a challenge to meet it and exceed it."
"Obviously the big comic book films have been driving the sheer volume of the industry, right? The rising tide of technique raises everybody together," Cameron said. "It gives you higher quality artists, more tools and plug-ins and code [to use]."
Cameron then said he feels the effects he made with Weta FX for Avatar: The Way of Water look superior to recent Marvel Studios movies. He directly called out Industrial Light & Magic and its motion capture work for the character Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
"Industrial Light & Magic does great work, but when it comes to the kind of emotive facial stuff that we're doing ... Thanos? Come on. Give me a break," Cameron said. "You saw this movie. It's not even close. It's what Weta did."
The comments Cameron made to Comicbook.com are not the only time he's publicly criticized comic book-inspired films.
In an October interview with The New York Times, Cameron said superhero franchises tend to feature characters who lack a certain degree of maturity.
"When I look at these big, spectacular films—I'm looking at you, Marvel and DC—it doesn't matter how old the characters are, they all act like they're in college," Cameron told the newspaper. "They have relationships, but they really don't."
Newsweek has reached out to Cameron for further comment.
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