Without the internet, not a single entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be able to continue its run in cinemas, despite being well-known for referring to Marvel films as "theme park" attractions, and then becoming the focal point in the debate about whether or not Marvel films are actually cinema, whatever that means.
Quentin Tarantino, Dennis Villeneuve, and Seth Rogen have all weighed in since then, and more often than not, such opinions don't paint the MCU in an especially desirable light, and it appears that we've reached the point where the term "comic book movie" has become a negative distinction.
Jonathan Majors, who will direct Kang the Conqueror to an epic new life in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania later this week, is completely void of it. Majors rejected the notion that comic book films are inferior to other genres of films in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, implying that there is a poetic style to them that is equally valid as Shakespearean.
We doubt that the Irishman will settle the debate, but seeing a voice like Majors intervene in a tired discussion is nothing short of refreshing, especially when some of the MCU's criticisms aren't exactly up against some scrutiny; Marvel films may take up an enormous amount of space in the cinema (as do most of all CGI-heavy blockbusters), but do we really believe that those audiences would flock to something like The Irishman if this were the case?
Quantumania, Ant-Man and the Wasp, will be released on February 17.