We're currently living in the superhero era of filmmaking. Just about halfway through the year, we've already had a ton of comic book movies released, but the latest release, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, just came out and producer Chris Miller has some interesting comments regarding the concept of superhero fatigue.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, the duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller spoke to them about Across the Spider-Verse. When the topic of superhero fatigue arose, Miller said, “I don't believe it's superhero fatigue, I believe it's ‘a movie that feels like a movie I've seen a dozen times before' fatigue.”
He expanded on those thoughts, saying, “If you're using the same story structure and the same style and the same tone and the same vibe as movies and shows that have come before, it doesn't matter what genre it is. It's going to be boring to people.
Phil Lord then chimed in saying, “And the audience in the theater cannot be sustained on Easter eggs and reveals. Or even these big, crazy multiverse stakes. They only care about, like, the relationship between Rocket Raccoon and Groot. And so this story [in Across the Spider-Verse] is just so rooted in parents and kids. And Miles and his family.”
In the case of Across the Spider-Verse, Miller has a point. While it's not the first film (or even Spider-Man film) to use the multiverse, its innovation comes in its groundbreaking visuals and tone.
However, Lord's comments lost me a bit. While yes, people do care about the characters, something like The Flash is a perfect example of a film that relies on cameos and Easter eggs to engage fans. The emotional arc of the film is strong, but it's secondary and an afterthought to the cameos and nostalgia. These studios and creatives are smart — they know how to engage their audience and get them to clap like seals.
And while superhero fatigue may or may not exist, there is an overload of content revolving around characters in spandex. Just this year alone we've seen Ant-Man 3, Shazam! 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Across the Spider-Verse just came out and then The Flash comes out later this year. This is before mentioning the various series on Disney+ and other feature films yet to be released.
Lord and Miller are an iconic filmmaking duo who have conquered both animation and live-action throughout their careers. Their feature debut came in 2009 with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and then they would proceed to direct The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street and its sequel. They're writers and producers on the Spider-Verse films (Miller was not a writer on Into the Spider-Verse but was on the second and third films).
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is in theaters now.
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