Rachel Brosnahan Fires Back at Dakota Johnson’s Superhero Snark
Welcome to Hollywood’s latest self-inflicted circus—Dakota Johnson takes a swipe at cape-clad blockbusters, and Rachel Brosnahan, freshly cast as Lois Lane, steps in to throw some cold water on the complainers. In a March interview with Empire magazine, Johnson quipped that superhero films are “all capes and testosterone,” lamenting that they feel like endless CGI reruns designed purely for the male gaze. She went so far as to call the genre “predictable cash cows,” prompting a collective eye-roll from comic-book fans everywhere.
Enter Brosnahan, who sat down with Variety on April 2 and served up a no-BS smackdown. The Oscar-nominated star reminded everyone that it takes armies of artists—VFX wizards, stunt coordinators and costume designers—to pull off those gravity-defying feats. “If your biggest gripe in Tinseltown is capes and CGI, maybe try theatre,” she deadpanned, underscoring that dismissing superhero movies is basically grumbling about a money-printing ATM with zero queue. Brosnahan also cited box office receipts—these pictures don’t just break records; they rewrite them. She pointed out that griping about a guaranteed hit is like insulting your own bank statement.
The new Lois Lane didn’t stop at industry mechanics. She argued that Superman: Legacy (slated for July 11) promises fresh storytelling beats, teasing fans with “unexpected emotional layers” in her take on the iconic reporter. Brosnahan’s comments echo peppier endorsements from other A-listers—Henry Cavill lauded director James Gunn’s fresh vision in a recent Hollywood Reporter feature, while Zendaya championed superhero sagas as modern mythmaking in a cover story for GQ.
Critics of the genre will undoubtedly point to ‘fatigue,’ but Brosnahan shut down that angle too: “When audiences keep buying tickets, it’s not fatigue—they’re hungry.” She emphasized the thrill of communal theater experiences, adding that nothing beats the roar of a crowd when that theme music hits. If you’re bored, she suggested, maybe shift your complaints from Marvel to your next script choice.
And let’s be honest: is it really so scandalous to want well-crafted spectacle? Brosnahan made it clear that superhero flicks aren’t vapid popcorn fillers—they’re collaborative art pieces with millions of adoring fans to prove it. So that scene-stealing diva from Fifty Shades might want to rethink her stance before Netflix releases her next dramatic turn.
So there you have it—a classic Hollywood skirmish cooked up in 280 characters or less. That’s today’s dose of celeb reality. You’re welcome.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Empire magazine, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
