Why Ridley Scott turned down offer to direct a superhero movie

Napoleon director Sir Ridley Scott recently explained why he declined the opportunity to helm a superhero movie.

Scott’s apparent disinterest in the cape-and-tights genre is particularly noteworthy because the English filmmaker’s lengthy filmography boasts a diverse range of subject matter. Over the course of his 46-year career, Scott has overseen everything from sci-fi flicks to biblical blockbuster, but to date, nothing headlined by a costumed crime-fighter.

Instead, the director’s output has increasingly skewed more and more towards period dramas. In 2021 alone, he brought two tales of yesteryear to the screen: The Last Duel and House of Gucci. His latest directorial effort, Napoleon, is likewise grounded in history, as is his upcoming sequel to 2000’s Gladiator.

As such, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Scott isn’t in any hurry to make a superhero film, although at least one studio has tried to bring him on board for one.

Why Ridley Scott turned down the offer to direct a superhero movie

Scott confirmed that he was approached about directing an unnamed superhero film in a recent interview with Deadline. What’s more, the four-time Academy Award nominee outlined in characteristically blunt terms why he passed on the project.

“Yeah, [I’ve] been offered, but just said, ‘No, thank you. Not for me,'” Scott said. “I’ve done two or three superhero films. I think Sigourney Weaver’s a superhero in Alien. I think Russell Crowe‘s a superhero in Gladiator. And Harrison Ford is the super anti-hero in Blade Runner. The difference is, the f*cking stories are better.”

Scott added that he’s “not a superhero fan,” despite reading comic strips growing up. That said, he also expressed appreciation for Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie and acknowledged “there’s a couple of pretty good Batmans,” too.

Despite this grudging praise, Scott was otherwise generally dismissive of the current crop of big screen superhero epics, lamenting what he perceives as CGI’s negative impact on the genre. “As we’ve enlarged upon our capabilities visually, I think funnily enough, everything gets less real and less real,” he said.

Ridley Scott claps back at complaints over Napoleon’s historical accuracy

While one of Ridley Scott’s complaints about superhero movies is their lack of verisimilitude, he has little time for similar criticisms of his own output. The director recently told critics of Napoleon’s fast-and-loose take on its titular protagonist’s real-life story to “get a life.”

Napoleon’s leading man Joaquin Phoenix previously addressed the upcoming blockbuster’s historical inaccuracies in a somewhat more diplomatic fashion. The star noted that Napoleon is “told through Ridley’s eyes” and invited viewers to do “[their] own studying and reading” after seeing the film.

Napoleon hits cinemas on November 22. For all the latest TV and movie news and updates, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.