Matthew Vaughn Says People "Have Had Enough" of Dark Superhero Movies

When the man who directed X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass talks about the state of superhero movies, you know people are going to perk up and pay attention. But Matthew Vaughn's recent comments about the kind of dark superhero films perhaps best embodied by Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy may have some fans up in arms.

In a recent interview with SFX Magazine (via THR), Vaughn spoke about the current desire of audiences:

People want fun and escapism at the moment. Look at the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. I think [Christopher] Nolan kick-started a very dark, bleak style of superhero escapism, and I think people have had enough of it.

The idea of audiences preferring lighter films has become popular again in the wake of Guardians' massive success last year, but I don't agree with Vaughn's sweeping generalization. For me, you still have to look at these movies on a case-by-case basis. Sure, Guardians was a great summer blockbuster that had a ton of humor and heart, but look at Marvel's other 2014 release, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That movie isn't nearly as lighthearted — some may even call it "bleak," considering how it's about government corruption and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. — but it still turned out to be a fantastic film.

As an audience, we should be open to letting filmmakers dictate the tone and style of the films they're working on, since, after all, they're the ones who are supposed to know the story they're telling better than anyone else. Creating art based solely on what's popular right this second sounds like a boring, limited way of doing things, so hopefully people don't put too much stock into Vaughn's comments. His next film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, hits theaters on February 13th.