Robert Downey Jr. Responds To Quentin Tarantino's Bashing of Marvel Movies

Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. has weighed in on the conversation about Marvel movies after acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's criticism.

Tarantino had stated in an interview that Marvel stars like Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans are not real movie stars, explaining that fans go to the theaters to see their characters, not the stars who embody them.

In response, Downey Jr. stated that the argument was pointless and that a character is only as good as the actor who plays it. Other Marvel stars, like Simu Liu, have previously reacted to the comments made by Tarantino.

Read on to learn more.

Speaking with Deadline, Downey Jr. shared his thoughts about Tarantino's recent criticism of the Marvel franchise.

 "We are in a time and place that I unwittingly contributed to, where IP has taken precedence over principle and personality," the actor said, acknowledging that many Marvel fans tend to be more interested in the characters represented by the stars.

But he went on to say that if the right performers hadn't put in so much effort to provide their finest performances for the part, viewers would never have had the chance to appreciate such characters.

 He added, "A piece of IP is only as good as the human talent you get to represent it, and you can have some great IP even if it's coming from an auteur or a national treasure of a writer-director, and if you don't have the right kind of artist playing that role, you'll never know how good it could have been."

After sharing his view, the "Sherlock Holmes" star concluded that arguing about whether the characters had more relevance than the personalities that played them was pointless. 

"I think that creatively it is a waste of time to be at war with ourselves. I think this is a time when everything is so much more fragmented now," Downey Jr. said.

He also reflected on how he used to get pissed off at such criticism in the past but no longer sees it as something to worry about.

The two-time Oscar nominee continued, "Throwing stones one way or another … and I've had my reactions in the past when people said things that I felt were discrediting my integrity … I go, "You know what? Let's just get over it. We're all a community. There's enough room for everything…. That's all I have to say."

Downey Jr.'s comments come after Tarantino said during an interview on the "2 Bears, 1 Cave" podcast that stars like Evans and Hemsworth, who portrayed Captain America and Thor across different Marvel movies, could not be deemed as true movie stars.

"You have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters," Tarantino said at the time per Deadline. "But they're not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I'm not the first person to say that. I think that's been said a zillion times."

The "Kill Bill" filmmaker added that Marvel movies appear to have monopolized Hollywood and are "the only things that seem to be made," while also noting that he neither loves nor hates their work.

Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" star Liu has spoken out against Tarantino's views after the filmmaker's remarks went viral. He said that the presence of seasoned directors like Tarantino and Martin Scorsese as the sole decision-makers in Hollywood would have precluded him from playing the lead role in a big-budget picture.

"If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie," the actor wrote on Twitter. "I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs. But they don't get to point their nose at me or anyone."

Liu then lauded Marvel's "sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere."