Sebastian Stan Defends Marvel Movies From Critics Who Panned Them It’s “Comfortable to Pick on Marvel Movies”

Veteran Marvel Actor Sebastian Stan has been a member of the MCU since 2011, when his character Bucky Barnes debuted alongside Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First AvengerHe went on to reprise the role in many other Marvel films, as well as the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He is expected to return in the highly anticipated supervillain alliance film, Lightning*and still has a lot of love for the franchise that contributed greatly to its success.

During a recent interview with Variety, where Stan sat down to discuss his upcoming role as Donald Trump in the film, The ApprenticeThe actor spoke a bit about the criticism that Marvel movies have received from the entertainment industry, especially from prolific directors. Also Lightning*which is scheduled for release on May 2, 2025, has come under fire for strike delays and last-minute cast changes, and has come under scrutiny for these niggles, with the film being preemptively called a flop. Stan said of the situation:

“It’s become really convenient to take it out on [Marvel films]. And that’s fine. Everyone has an opinion. But they’re a big part of what contributes to this business and allows us to have smaller films as well. That’s an artery that runs through the system of this whole Hollywood machine. It feeds into more ways than people recognize.” He adds, “Sometimes I get protective of it because the intention is so fucking good. It’s just so fucking hard to make a good movie over and over again.”

Not every movie is going to be as great as the best Marvel movies. They’ve definitely taken a hit, but I think things are looking up. They’ve slowed down production and the quality of the footage we’ve seen for a lot of the upcoming movies looks really promising.

Which Marvel movies are you most excited to see next year?