Spielberg: Superhero movies will go the way of the Western

Fed up with the incessant smut Hollywood rolls out on the big screen, industry legend Steven Spielberg two years ago predicted Hollywood was headed toward an "implosion." It hasn't happened yet, but the legendary moviemaker still feels the same way. Asked during an recent interview if he still feels the same way, Spielberg answered, "I do."

"I still feel that way," he said, going so far as to predict the downfall of superhero movies. "We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western. It doesn't mean there won't be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns."

"Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving," he continued. "I'm only saying that these cycles have finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us."

Now I'm not one to argue with Spielberg on the issue as he has far more knowledge of the industry than I, but if superhero movies do go the way of the Western, it doesn't appear to be happening any time soon. If the reaction to films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Deadpool, and Captain America: Civil War are any indication, superhero movies still have a long, healthy life ahead of them.

Heck, Spider-Man is about to be rebooted for, what, the third time — and people are still just as excited to see Tom Holland as the webslinger on the big screen as they were with Tobey Maguire. Sure, fans didn't respond as well to Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man, but the box office numbers were certainly there.

Granted, not every superhero is enjoying roaring success. While Ant-Man was adored by critics and fans, box office numbers for the movie, while not terrible, did not live up to Marvel standards. It proved that moviegoers won't pay to see any ol' superhero on the big screen. They want to see the A-listers — Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Batman, etc. Until those movies start underperforming, and I don't see that happening any time soon, then expect to see superhero movies continue to be paraded around Hollywood.

[Yahoo]