Alan Ritchson, who stars as 81 in Netflix’s War Machine, claims that moviegoers are “over watching Marvel-type movies.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote his Netflix film, Ritchson was asked, “What is it about Mike Horton’s story that you both sparked to?”
He answered, “There are a lot of echoes and reverberations from 81’s journey. While [War Machine] is pure fiction, there’s a call to brotherly love that is something sacred and eternal, whether you’re male or female. It’s about sacrificing yourself for a brother.”
“The new film is based on Thornton’s true story near the end of his time in Vietnam as some of the first Navy SEALs,” he continued. “It features characters who wrestle with the prospect of total and utter annihilation but hold onto the flicker of hope. In a world gone terribly wrong and sideways, humanity survives. I am in awe of that.”
He then made his claim about moviegoers being over Marvel-like films, “We’re living through a period of cinema, especially with the Marvelization of a lot of theatrical tentpole movies in which the protagonists are almost invincible, we’ve reduced the stakes to something wholly unwatchable. There’s no secret that people are sort of over watching Marvel-type movies.”
In contrast, he says War Machine set out to “create a protagonist who is hanging on by a thread. Can we drag somebody to the brink of death and shoot it in a way that feels real and visceral so that people can actually relate to it on a human level?”
“People are suffering out there. Life is hard, man. By crossing the finish line at the end of the movie, we remind ourselves that we can get through another day,” he concluded. “As fun as this movie is, there’s something deeply human that we can connect to. ‘If 81 can get through that and get across the finish line, maybe I can too in my own life.’”
Ritchson’s assessment has some backing to it. 2025 was the first year where no major comic book movie or superhero film grossed more than $700 million globally. The highest grossing one last year was Superman, which only did $618.7 million globally. It was best by Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Lilo & Stitch, A Minecraft Movie, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, How to Train Your Dragon, and F1: The Movie.
The second highest grossing superhero film last year was Captain America: Brave New World and it only did $415 million. Thunderbolts* performed even worse with a global gross of just $382.4 million.
Additionally, a SSRS Opinion Panel found that 34% of individuals who had seen at least one Marvel Cinematic Universe film or TV show said that the company was making too many. The company argued “These 34% of MCU viewers are likely experiencing superhero fatigue. These fatigued viewers include 38% of men and 31% of women who are MCU viewers. Fatigued viewers are also 47% of those 18-29, 38% of those 30-49, 28% of those 50-64, and 26% of those 65+ who are MCU viewers.”
Additionally, it found that nearly a third (29%) of Americans “think the quality has gotten worse, and 45% think the quality has stayed about the same.”
Furthermore, it also states that “those aged 18-29 (47%) and 30-49 (38%) are significantly more likely to think Marvel has released too many movies and television shows compared to those aged 50-64 (28%) and 65+ (26%).”
Nevertheless, Ritchson has shared interest in playing Batman in James Gunn’s DCU. In April 2025, he said, “I would love to play Batman, there, I said it! Okay I’ll shout it from the rooftops, ‘I want to be Bruce Wayne!'"
He explained, “Here’s the thing about Batman — you know what his superpower is? Intelligence: The dude is the smartest superhero there is. He’s inventive and he’s got all the gadgets stuff, but he’s super smart. I want to be that guy and also to have like a cave with hyper cars, sports cars, and awesome motorcycles.”
He reiterated that desire to WIRED about a year later in March 2025, “I get asked every day if I’m playing Batman. Would I play Batman? Yes? Would I pay handsomely to be Batman? You wouldn’t even have to pay me to be Batman. Yeah, I’d don the suit.”
As he noted in that Wired interview, it’s unlikely that he will play Batman. However, Ritchson did tell Variety, in August 2025, “Words have been exchanged about Batman. But I strongly don’t think that Batman is in my future. I do think there is something in my future with DC. And I would like that to remain true.”
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I agree, but it is ironic that his movie is named after a Marvel character. Also, Alan Ritchson is a TDS homo.
The key here of course is what is meant by marvel-type.
Genres cannot truly die or be killed, they have to be consistently debased and then have nobody ever fund them.
There was superhero stories in film before marvel, there will be them after the zombie is finally laid to rest.
It's funny mind you, if the recent Superman had been genuinely genuine, heroism at most spotless, the light in the dark.
It would have been very well received.
At the least it would have been better than what we actually got.
Bottom line, they don't get people.