Paul Thomas Anderson has weighed in on the Marvel debate, admitting that he likes the film franchise.

The Licorice Pizza director spoke to The New Yorker about his perspective, months after Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese skewered the franchise’s popularity and received backlash for their critiques.

“Boy, it warms my heart to be able to tell you that I feel happier than ever working in this business. I’ve got my own little corner of the sandbox and am working with people that I really admire, like at MGM. I’m incredibly happy right now. But that’s me. There’s no end to the kind of sky-is-falling questions that always surround films and, and what’s going to happen,” Anderson told the publication.

Speaking about the Disney-owned superhero franchise, he explained that the filmmaking market has gotten “more complicated” due to streaming services and the “overabundance of superhero movies”.

“I mean, it seems that there is a bit of a preoccupation with superhero films,” he continued. “I like them. It seems to be something that’s popular these days to sort of wonder if they’ve ruined movies and all this kind of stuff. I just don’t feel that way.”

Anderson added that if the films get theatregoers back in front of the big screen, that’s all that matters, stating, “Look, we’re all nervous about people getting back to the theatre, but you know what’s going to get them back in movie theatres? Spider-Man. So let’s be happy about that.”

Spider-Man: No Way Home is released in cinemas this week.

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