“Hollywood has run out of ideas, it’s the sequel business that’s pushing it,” said the director of Avatar more than 10 years ago.

Despite not being at their best at the box office, superhero films continue to regularly draw criticism from famous filmmakers and a few Hollywood stars. “Lifetime” directors like Martin Scorcese or Woody Allen have little sympathy for Hollywood’s insatiable desire for franchises, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with its 32 films and desire for more, is a good example of what to avoid.

Naval battle game movie

But in the early years of Marvel Studios, when they were still only a shadow of themselves, the heavyweights of the world found other sagas as references for the great evils of the profession.

James Cameron, who plans to direct five (or more) Avatar films, chose Harry Potter, which already had several editions under his belt, and the “ridiculous” interest in an adaptation of Battleship, a shipwreck game, which so irritated the Canadian who, according to him, his production “demeans cinema”.

“Hollywood is out of ideas. It’s ruled by the sequel business. That means filming a sequel to something that’s already successful, because everyone in Hollywood knows how important it is for a movie to become a brand before being released in theaters (. . .) These franchises are becoming more and more ridiculous”. – Statement to Spiegel.

Battleship was released theatrically in 2012. The film had a budget of $209 million and only managed to gross $303 million worldwide, becoming one of the failures of that year, although it offers an action-packed sci-fi war story with aliens, with little to do with the board game other than the odd reference, starring Liam Neeson and Rihanna.

It would also be interesting to ask James Cameron his opinion on the fact that Mattel still has up to 45 toys to adapt to cinema or television after Barbie.

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