Chris Hemsworth on hearing Marvel movie criticism from Scorsese, Coppola: “It bothers me, especially from heroes”

We’ve seen several high-profile directors take shots at Marvel movies over the years, including Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, but Chris Hemsworth isn’t standing for it.

While speaking with The Times, the Thor actor opened up about how it feels to hear such harsh criticism from filmmakers he looks up to. “It felt harsh, and it bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space,” Hemsworth said. “Those guys had films that didn’t work too — we all have. When they talked about what was wrong with superheroes, I thought, cool, tell that to the billions who watch them. Were they all wrong?“

Hemsworth added, “Cinema-going did not change because of superheroes, but because of smartphones and social media. Superhero films actually kept people in the cinemas during that transition, and now people are coming back. So they deserve a little more appreciation.“

Chris Hemsworth will next be seen in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as Dementus. Joining the Mad Max franchise has been a long-time goal for the actor. In fact, he told Entertainment Weekly that he wanted to audition to play Max Rockatansky himself in Mad Max: Fury Road but couldn’t get his foot in the door. “[I] couldn’t even get a call or a meeting or anything,” Hemsworth said. “I just hadn’t done enough to warrant that.” When Fury Road was finally released, Hemsworth got his agent on the phone immediately. “I was completely absorbed and taken for the adventure and the ride. I said, ‘I’ve got to work with this guy, he’s a genius,’” Hemsworth said. “And then, the rest is history.“

The official synopsis for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: “As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by the Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.“ Furiosa will hit theaters on May 24th.