"He's never made one": Tom Holland fires back at Martin Scorsese over Marvel criticism, triggers raging Twitter debate

On Christmas Eve, Spider-Man: No Way Home star Tom Holland brought the heat to the ongoing debate on whether Marvel movies can be considered cinema or art.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter regarding potential Oscar nominations for MCU films, the 25-year-old actor expressed his disagreement with Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese.

Tom Holland stated:

"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."

The Irishman and Taxi Driver director had made a statement regarding his consideration of MCU movies not being 'cinema' but rather 'theme parks,' which sparked the entire debate in 2019.

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Tom Holland's opinion on Marvel films and Oscar nominations

Tom Holland told THR that he has also been in non-MCU films that have received Oscar buzz. The British actor elaborated that the only difference between such films with Marvel movies is the massive budget with which they portray CGI and stunts.

The london-native added:

"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."

Tom Holland later referenced other MCU co-stars like Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., and Scarlett Johansson, all of whom have acted in 'Oscar-worthy' films. He iterated that they would agree with his points about Marvel films being on a different scale than the Oscar-shortlisted films.

Later, Tom Holland jokingly added,

"There's less Spandex in 'Oscar movies."

Back in 2019, Martin Scorsese spoke to The Empire Magazine and spoke about his opinion about Marvel movies. He said,

"Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks."

The Wolf of Wall Street director also added that those films are 'not cinema.' This ignited a massive debate over the franchise, and multiple Marvel stars and directors responded to his comments.

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Twitter reignites the debate on about Marvel movies

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Tom Rothman, and NWH producer Amy Pascal have committed to campaign for the film with an eye on the upcoming Oscar season.

However, this received mixed feelings on the internet, which sparked the controversial topic of comic-book movies winning Oscars in the primary categories. The heated debate also drew tangents from renowned directors' comments on Marvel movies.

Previously, Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola also expressed his opinion about Marvel films. In 2019, The Godfather director referred to them as 'despicable.'

Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve recently told The Direct that multiple Marvel movies are a 'cut and paste' of each other.

Despite the comments, Marvel Studios have recently worked with Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao for Eternals and Black Reel Award winner Nia DaCosta for the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.