Terry Gilliam Admits to Hating ‘Black Panther' and Calls Its Cultural Impact “Bullshit"

If only Terry Gilliam could direct a superhero movie. His off-beat, humorous and surreal style just demands it, especially in a genre that has been repeating the same formula for more than a decade now. But, make no mistake about it, Gilliam is not a fan of the MCU and will likely never director an MCU installment.

In an exclusive interview with IndieWire, Gilliam spoke out against the towering reign of Marvel movies at the box-office, saying “I don’t like the fact they’re dominating the place so much,” he said. “They’re taking all the money that should be available for a greater variety of films. Technically, they’re brilliant. I can’t fault them because the technical skills involved in making them are incredible.”

Gilliam then went on to criticize “Black Panther,” which earned more than $1.3 billion worldwide, was critically-acclaimed and was seen as a culture touchstone for its diversity and inclusion. I didn’t buy the hype in 2018 when I saw “Black Panther,” much to the backlash I got for my negative take, and neither did Gilliam, who seems to despise Ryan Coogler’s MCU film.

“I hated ‘Black Panther.’ It makes me crazy. It gives young black kids the idea that this is something to believe in. Bullshit. It’s utter bullshit. I think the people who made it have never been to Africa,” he said. “They went and got some stylist for some African pattern fabrics and things. But I just I hated that movie, partly because the media were going on about the importance of bullshit.” He went on to add, “We’re in the era of the victim. We are all victims. It’s all somebody else, abusing us, taking advantage of us. We are powerless, except that we go out and do other things,” he said.

I don't want to delve again into the nitty-gritty about superhero movies, I've tackled this topic countless times on this site, but I will say this: Not every Marvel movie is the same. As much as I dislike some of the MCU releases, and do agree with Gilliam that ALL of these movies are predictable and are, basically, carefully assembled marketing packages, I do think there are exceptions to the rule. For example, I love how “Iron Man 3,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” tried to break the mold and set themselves apart from the others. These were worthy additions to a genre which should shake things up more often than they do.

Bless Terry Gilliam's rebellious heart, the director of such classics as "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Brazil," "12 Monkeys," and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is no fan of superhero movies, even going as far as to calling the whole genre “boring” in an older interview. In that same interview, he has expressed his enjoyment at watching, of all the possibly MCU films, “Avengers: Infinity War.”