Seth Rogen says Marvel films are 'legitimately funny,' explains impact on comedy genre

Seth Rogen recently expressed his views on how Marvel movies are a 'comedy' and about receiving appreciation from the audiences. The actor is known for his comic performances in films like Superbad, Pineapple Express, 50/50, This is the End, and more. He mentioned how Marvel films have a huge budget for a comedy.

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Seth Rogen on Marvel films being a comedy 

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Seth Rogen opened up about Marvel films. He said that something that he and his partner in production Evan Goldberg talk about a lot is how Marvel movies are comedies. The actor stated that Thor: Ragnarok (2017) is a comedy and Ant-Man (2015) is a comedy at its core. So that is what's out there for the audiences. Citing the budget of the films, he said that there are $200 million comedies out there, and so that is something, as a comedic filmmaker, he has to be aware of.

That is the benchmark that people expect, he stated. The Fanboys star said that if someone is going to make a big-budget comedy, they had to know that their competition is like Marvel. He clarified that he is not saying that one should make big-budget comedy films, but they should know that is what audiences are seeing. He mentioned that when people see Marvel movies in theatres, they are playing like comedies. They are “legitimately funny and star comedy stars,” he noted.

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Seth Rogen added that Marvel comedy films are something they talk about a lot, just to be aware of as filmmakers. He stated that these “huge budget” films function like comedies. The actor mentioned that audiences still love comedy, and they want that, citing Deadpool as an example, and adding that the scope of them is huge. He explained that when someone is not offering them that scope, they have to think, 'What am I offering them?' and that is why something like Good Boys (2019) does well. He added that what they are offering is pure comedy and emotion and relatability and nostalgia. That is the trade-off. The audience does not get to see the God of Thunder being hilarious, but they get to see something that maybe represents their actual life, and that is “very gratifying” in another way, he noted. 

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Speaking further, Seth Rogen mentioned that movies like Sausage Party (2016) and Blockers (2018) have managed to do “really, really well,” even though they are the exact types that people say does not do that well. But then, every once in a while we all have a movie like Neighbors (2014) that does “really, really, really well,” he stated. The actor noted that it allows them to keep making that kind of comedy films.