Tom Holland Defends Superhero Movies, Says 'They're Real Art'

The debate on whether Marvel films qualify as art or not has been raging on ever since veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese labelled superhero movies as ‘theme parks’ and ‘not cinema’.

Holland weighed in on the debate and said as someone, who featured in both commercial blockbusters as well as indie movies, he believes the only difference between two is the budget allocation.

"You can ask (Martin) Scorsese ‘Would you want to make a Marvel movie?’ But he doesn’t know what it’s like because he’s never made one... I’ve made Marvel movies and I’ve also made movies that have been in the conversation in the world of the Oscars, and the only difference, really, is one is much more expensive than the other," the 25-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter.

"But the way I break down the character, the way the director etches out the arc of the story and characters — it’s all the same, just done on a different scale. So I do think they’re real art," he added.

Holland is a known figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), having featured in three Spider-Man movies – ‘Homecoming’ (2017), ‘Far From Home’ (2019) and ‘No Way Home’ (2021). He also starred three other MCU titles – ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2015), ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018) and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019).

Besides his work in the MCU, Holland is equally known for small-budget hits like ‘The Impossible’, ‘The Lost City of Z’ and The ‘Devil All the Time’.

"When you’re making these films, you know that good or bad, millions of people will see them, whereas when you’re making a small indie film, if it’s not very good no one will watch it, so it comes with different levels of pressure.

"I mean, you can also ask Benedict Cumberbatch or Robert Downey Jr. or Scarlett Johansson — people who have made the kinds of movies that are ‘Oscar-worthy’ and also made superhero movies — and they will tell you that they’re the same," Holland said. 

(With Inputs From PTI)