Martin Scorsese has made a few statements in recent times that caused an uproar in the film industry. Although he's the most influential director in Hollywood, it appears that his take on Marvel films and comic book movies, in general, wasn't met with mutual feelings. However, it turns out that at some point, he could've dove into the world of comic book films with Joker.
Scorsese recently sat down with BBC to discuss his new film, The Irishman but the conversation veered towards Scorsese's stance on comic book films. Scorsese revealed that he was involved in the production of the Joker to some extent over the past four years but ultimately, didn't commit to it.
"I know the film very well,” Scorsese said. “I know [director Todd Phillips] very well. My producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff produced it. I thought about it a lot over the last four years and decided I did not have the time for it. It was personal reasons why I didn’t get involved. But I know the script very well. It has a real energy and Joaquin. You have remarkable work."
He added that he was unsure whether he was able to go into the film completely due to the character development of Arthur Fleck.
"For me, ultimately, I don’t know if I make the next step into this character developing into a comic book character,” Scorsese said. “You follow? He develops into an abstraction. It doesn’t mean it’s bad art, it’s just not for me…The superhero films, as I’ve said, are another art form. They are not easy to make. There’s a lot of very talented people doing good work and a lot of young people really, really enjoy them.”