Simu Liu Fires Back at Tarantino and Scorsese’s Marvel-Bashing: “Golden Age” Was “White as Hell”

Simu Liu has had enough of the Marvel-bashing from big-name directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star penned an impassioned reply on Twitter to the filmmakers, where he blasted the industry vets just one day after Tarantino shared his “ax to grind” about the “Marvel-ization of Hollywood movies.”

Liu, who played the titular character in the 2021 MCU film Shang-Chi, did not hold back in his Tuesday (Nov. 23) Twitter thread, where he promoted Marvel’s diversity efforts and fired back at the “gatekeepers” putting down the superhero powerhouse.

“If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie,” Liu wrote. “I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs. But they don’t get to point their nose at me or anyone.”

Liu, who said he is “proud” to work with Marvel, pointed to the company’s push for diverse stars and characters in its projects, writing in a second tweet, “No movie studio is or ever will be perfect. But I’m proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere. I loved the ‘Golden Age’ too.. but it was white as hell.”

His comments come shortly after Tarantino’s appearance on Tom Segura’s podcast 2 Bears, 1 Cave earlier this week, where the director said Marvel movies “are the only things that seem to be made.” The director said Marvel releases are the “only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base,” which, according to Tarantino, means “there’s not really much room for anything else.”

The Django Unchained director also criticized actors who star in these films, claiming that “they’re not movie stars.” Instead, he said, “Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star.”

Before Tarantino’s comments made waves, Scorsese came for the franchise in a 2019 interview with Empire, where he claimed MCU movies are “not cinema.”

“Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks,” he said at the time. “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”