Quentin Tarantino Describes Marvel Directors As “Hired Hands” & Says He Won’t Join The MCU: “I’m Not Looking For A Job”

Once upon a time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino nearly directed a “Star Trek” movie. But don’t expect him to sign up for the MCU anytime soon. Variety reports (via the Los Angeles Times) that Tarantino had some choice words for directors who work with Marvel Studios on his press tour for his new book “Cinema Speculations.” And in his diagnosis? They’re nothing but “hired hands.”

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“You have to be a hired hand to do those things,” Tarantino told the Los Angeles Times about Marvel movies. “I’m not a hired hand. I’m not looking for a job.” Tarantino’s comments follow up similar ones he makes in his new book, where he writes that filmmakers today “can’t wait for the day” superhero movies decline in popularity, similar to how 1960s directors celebrated the demise of the studio musical. The filmmaker described his comments to the L.A. Times as “snarky little asides out of the corner of my mouth.”

“The analogy works because it’s a similar chokehold,” Tarantino said, comparing the dominant superhero movie genre to big-budget studio musicals. But Tarantino also elaborated that Marvel might not be his forté because the big-budget movies that are his “type of film” are so rarely made in Hollywood. The director compared two great blockbusters from the 1970s, “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters Of The Third King,” to make his point.

“Of course, I liked “Star Wars.” What’s not to like?” started Tarantino. “But I remember — and this is not a ‘but’ in a negative way, but in a good way. The movie completely carried me along and I was just rocking and rolling with these characters….When the lights came on, I felt like a million dollars. And I looked around and had this moment of recognition, thinking, ‘Wow! What a time at the movies!’”  

If Tarantino sees himself making a blockbuster in the style of Marvel Studios, he wants it to be more like Steven Spielberg‘s 1977 film than George Lucas‘. “Now, that’s not necessarily my favorite exact type of film,” Tarantino continued. “At the end of the day, I’m more of a “Close Encounters” guy, just the bigger idea and Spielberg setting out to make an epic for regular people, not just cinephiles. Few films had the kind of climax that “Close Encounters” had. It blew audiences away.”

So, how about a “Close Encounters” remake for Tarantino’s tenth, and reportedly final, film? Or if not a remake, something original that’s in the same vein? Honestly, who knows what QT has in mind for his last movie at this point? He’s previously said he’d retire at age 60, which he turns next March. If he sticks to that plan, he’ll need to drop news about his next film project after the press tour for “Cinema Speculation” wraps up.

“Cinema Speculation” is available now, from HarperCollins.