Cillian Murphy reveals why he doesn't watch Marvel superhero movies

The Peaky Blinders actor played the Scarecrow in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed movies

(BBC)

Cillian Murphy might have starred as the evil Scarecrow to Christian Bale’s Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy but the actor will not be rushing to see Suicide Squad anytime soon.

The Peaky Blinders star was asked for his thoughts on the current spate of generally average superhero movies after David Ayer’s much-hyped supervillain film suffered a critical panning.

“Have they exhausted every single comic book ever? I don’t know where they’re coming from anymore,” he told Vulture in a recent interview. “It was a different time when we made Batman Begins. I think that Chris [Nolan] has to take credit for making that trilogy of films. I think they’re so grounded in a relatable reality.”

The Dark Knight trilogy (completed by The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises in 2008 and 2012 respectively) was received warmly by both fans and reviewers, with Heath Ledger winning a posthumous Oscar for his powerfully compelling performance as The Joker.

Notably, Murphy pointed out, Nolan’s movies did not rely on cutting-edge special effects and crazy superpowers to pull cinemagoers into their seats. They were simply great films.

“Nobody in those films ever had a superpower,” he said. “Do you know what I mean? It’s a slightly heightened level of storytelling where New York is Gotham and no one did anything magical. Batman in his movies just did a lot of pushups and was, like, British. So that’s what I loved about them.”

Murphy added that while his young sons “love” the seemingly endless Marvel movies, he doesn’t watch them. “I reckon they’re going to make a movie of Rice Krispies starring Snap, Crackle and Pop,” he joked. “I’m hoping to play Crackle.”