Jon Favreau says veteran filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola 'have earned the right to criticise' Marvel films

In the raging debate about whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe films qualify as true cinema, Jon Favreau is the latest name to speak his mind, with the director saying legends like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have “earned the right” to express their opinion, whatever it might be.

Favreau, the director of Marvel’s Iron Man and Iron Man 2, said the two filmmakers were his “heroes”, who inspired him to write Swingers.

“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,” he told CNBC .

It was 1996’s critical and commercial hit Swingers that propelled the careers of its writer Favreau, director Doug Liman, and star cast Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, and Ron Livingston.

Scorsese had likened the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to “theme parks” experience rather than true cinema, sparking a controversy in Hollywood with noted names Coppola and Ken Loach joining him in criticising the superhero dramas.

Favreau also discussed the rapidly changing entertainment landscape, which he said is creating “a great deal of uncertainty” but also “a lot of opportunity”.

Citing the upcoming The Irishman as example, the filmmaker said, “You see Scorsese with The Irishman, I don’t know that that would have been possible, with that budget level, and the technology required to tell that story, in a more traditional model.”