The boss of subversive superhero TV show The Boys says he enjoys the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but reckons the movies are "dangerous" and helped get Donald Trump elected as US President.
Eric Kripke is the showrunner of the Amazon Prime Video series which stars New Zealanders Karl Urban and Antony Starr and is based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis.
He mused about the Marvel movies in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR), saying their the products of "impeccable" filmmaking - but ultimately problematic.
"I sort of believe it's dangerous, not to overstate it or be overdramatic, but it's a little dangerous to train an entire generation to wait for someone strong to come in and save you," Kripke told THR.
"That's I think how you end up with people like Trump and populists who say: 'I'm the only one who can come in, it's going to be me.' And I think in the way that pop culture conditions people subtly, I think it's conditioning them the wrong way - because there's just too much of it.
"I'm actually a fan of the Marvel stuff... they're snarky and fast and glib and I like that style. My issue with them are not the movies themselves, but that there's too many of them overall."
The Boys season two finale was released earlier this month and a third season has been ordered, while a spin-off series is also being developed.
It's mostly been a hit with critics and Kripke puts its success down to it being a commentary on the state of the modern world.
"We write a lot about what frankly frustrates us. We're living in the world's dumbest dystopia - and we happen to have lucked into a show that is the perfect metaphor for this exact moment. Not by design. I think we discovered it."
The Boys is streaming in Aotearoa on Amazon Prime Video, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is streaming on Disney Plus.
