‘Scorsese has earned the right to criticise', says 'Eternal' star Kumail Nanjiani

Nanjiani who became a part of the MCU after essaying the role of Kingo in Chloé Zhao's directorial discusses why people shouldn’t get upset over criticism from the filmmaker

Pakistan-origin actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani is a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to his role as Kingo in Eternals, but that doesn’t mean he is in an uproar over directors Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino criticising the ongoing film franchise. “I obviously love the movies Tarantino or Scorsese make. I may disagree with Scorsese’s opinion on superhero movies, but who else has earned the right to have an opinion?”Nanjiani questioned, adding, “If Scorsese hasn’t earned the right to have an opinion on movies, then none of us should [either]. It’s so strange that people get upset about it.”

Scorsese later clarified that his criticism of Marvel has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with exhibition. The Oscar winner expressed worry over how the dominance of Marvel and comic book movies is pushing out smaller movies from being screened in movie theatres. Francis Ford Coppola supported Scorsese’s claims and said Marvel films “lack risk.”

Also Read: Kumail Nanjiani: We haven’t seen superheroes who look like us

Saying Scorsese has “earned the right” to criticise Marvel, Nanjiani echoes similar statements made by Jon Favreau in the immediate aftermath of Scorsese and Coppola’s original comments. Favreau launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe by directing Iron Man and Iron Man 2. He also has a recurring role in the franchise as Happy Hogan. “These two guys are my heroes, and they have earned the right to express their opinions. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if they didn’t carve the way. They served as a source of inspiration, you can go all the way back to Swingers. They can express whatever opinion they like,” Favreau told in interviews at the time.

As for Nanjiani’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is still waiting on the studio to call him about the Eternals sequel. 

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