Kevin Feige hails Martin Scorsese's Marvel criticism 'unfortunate'

Kevin Feige has responded to Martin Scorsese's Marvel criticism, describing his attack on the franchise as "unfortunate".

The legendary filmmaker sparked a debate last month by describing Marvel films as "not cinema" and comparing them to "theme parks".

And now the 'Goodfellas' helmer's remarks have been dismissed by the President of Marvel Studios.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter's 'Awards Chatter' podcast, Feige said: "I think that's not true. I think it's unfortunate. I think myself and everyone who works on these movies loves cinema, loves movies, loves going to movies, loves to watch a communal experience in a movie theatre full of people."

Scorsese, 76 - who has also helmed blockbusters including 'The Irishman' and 'The Wolf of Wall Street' - recently expanded on his criticism, suggesting that films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe lack "genuine emotional danger".

He wrote: "Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures. What's not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes."

However, these claims were rejected by Feige, 46, who believes that the definition of art is subjective.

He said: "Everybody has a different definition of cinema. Everybody has a different definition of art. Everybody has a different definition of risk.

"Some people don't think it's cinema. Everybody is entitled to that opinion. Everyone is entitled to repeat that opinion. Everyone is entitled to write op-eds about that opinion, and I look forward to what will happen next. But in the meantime, we're going to keep making movies."

He also insisted that Marvel have taken risks with their films, and cited 2016's 'Captain America: Civil War', which pits Chris Evans' Captain America against Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man, as a prime example.

He explained: "We did Civil War. We had our two most popular characters get into a very serious theological and physical altercation. We killed half of our characters at the end of a movie (Avengers: Infinity War). I think it's fun for us to take our success and use it to take risks and go in different places."