The movie Stephen King didn't watch but still defended
Most folks would assume not seeing a movie instantly invalidates an opinion, but Stephen King clearly disagreed when he leapt to its defence.
(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Film Âť Cutting Room Floor
Fri 31 January 2025 3:30, UK
Thanks to the internet, everyone with a social media account can say whatever the hell they want about any movie or TV show, and it doesnât even matter if theyâve seen it or not. Stephen King found himself among that number, but he was at least leaping to defend a film that was being attacked from all sides.
The prolific author has used the technological age to become a constant fountain of recommendations, with King frequently passing judgment on the features or series he deems worthy of publicly praising to his millions of followers. He doesnât shit all over things too often, but neither will he stand idly by and let others do the same, especially when there is a heavy whiff of misogyny in the air.
In terms of sequels falling off a commercial cliff compared to their predecessors, few flicks in cinema history have ever fared worse than the dip between Anna Boden and Ryan Fleckâs Captain Marvel, which earned over $1.1 billion at the box office and Nia DaCostaâs follow-up The Marvels, which barely cleared $200 million.
Thatâs an eye-watering shortfall, with the comic book adaptation suffering the ignominy of becoming the Marvel Cinematic Universeâs first certified bomb and its lowest-grossing release ever. Caught in a perfect storm of terrible people being terrible people, there was a wave of backlash and resentment towards the movie long before it reached theatres, with Samuel L Jackson mounting a passionate defence of his friend and co-star Brie Larson.
Because thereâs always a vocal minority who shout loudest on social media, there was an outpouring of joy among The Marvelsâ detractors when the superhero blockbuster, which happened to be directed by a woman and billed four women first in its ensemble, crashed and burned at the multiplex.
King, who holds absolutely no interest in Marvel Studiosâ output and wasnât rushing to his nearest screen to catch The Marvels, caught wind of what was happening and felt compelled to weigh in. âI donât go to MCU movies, donât care for them, but I find this barely masked gloating over the low box office for The Marvels very unpleasant,â he wrote. âWhy gloat over failure?â
He also suggested that perhaps some of the joy being derived from watching the studioâs massively expensive investment wither and die on the theatrical fine was driven by nothing other than âadolescent fanboy hate.â Was he wrong? Maybe, maybe not, but itâs hard to say without a shred of doubt that it wasnât a factor.
Of course, there were other issues in play, which included the actorsâ strike restricting the movieâs stars from promoting it, the general post-pandemic downturn at the box office, and the MCUâs flagging reputation among casual cinemagoers, but Kingâs assessment of âYuck! Girls!â was hardly wide of the mark.
Related Topics
MarvelStephen King