'Dune' director Denis Villeneuve says too many 'cut and paste' Marvel movies have turned audiences into 'Zombies'

• Denis Villeneuve said Marvel makes too many "cut and paste" films.
• "Perhaps these types of movies have turned us into zombies a bit," he said of the MCU.
• Villeneuve praised Christopher Nolan and Alfonso Cuarón for making artistic blockbusters.

"Dune" director Denis Villeneuve said the Marvel Cinematic Universe is guilty of producing too many "cut and paste" jobs in a damning conclusion on the franchise's artistic merits.

The Canadian filmmaker, who is best known for making big-budget blockbusters like "Arrival" and "Blade Runner 2049," was asked about the MCU and whether he was pessimistic about the future of Hollywood blockbusters during an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

"Perhaps the problem is that we are in front of too many Marvel movies that are nothing more than a 'cut and paste' of others," Villeneuve told the publication. "Perhaps these types of movies have turned us into zombies a bit… But big and expensive movies of great value there are many today. I don't feel capable of being pessimistic at all."

Villeneuve continued to discuss his filmmaking process, and he praised Christopher Nolan and Alfonso Cuarón - directors who he said have been able to continue the tradition of big-budget filmmaking that is also artistically robust.

He added: "Just think of the golden age of Hollywood to see that commercial films can make a different artistic proposal and, therefore, political. I have never felt like a loss or an impediment to have a generous budget to do what I wanted to do. Upside down."

This isn't the first time Villeneuve has spoken critically about the MCU. Earlier this year during an interview with the French outlet Premiere, the director discussed what he described as the "mold" MCU films are created in and he likened the franchise to a factory.

"If we're talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mold," he said. "Some filmmakers can add a little color to it, but they're all cast in the same factory. It doesn't take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted."

Denis Villeneuve is the latest filmmaker to give the MCU a negative sound off since the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese first questioned the franchise's artistic merits and compared Marvel films to theme park rides during an interview with Empire magazine in 2019.

Villeneuve is also currently on the press run for his upcoming remake of the sci-fi classic "Dune." The film premiered at the Venice film festival and stars an A-list cast, including Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. In a review of the film, Insider said Villeneuve's film is "pretty much everything you would want in a high-concept big-budget blockbuster."

"It's loud, long, and entertaining," the review read.