Matt Damon Slams Hollywood’s Obsession With Superhero Blockbusters
Matt Damon voices his dismay over Hollywood’s fixation on massive superhero films, mourning the loss of the mid-budget, character-driven stories that defined his early career.
For most, being a top-earning actor and producer in the film industry would seem like a dream gig with little to grumble about. Yet, Matt Damon has never shied away from sharing what really gets under his skin about the business. It’s not just a passing gripe, either—he’s been vocal about it for years, even if he’s not entirely innocent himself. Damon’s own filmography includes a few of the very blockbusters he’s criticised, but he’s quick to point out that sometimes you do a favour for your mates, and that’s just how things go in the industry.
His big break came with Good Will Hunting, but it was The Bourne Identity that truly cemented his place in the spotlight. Damon himself has said that Doug Liman’s spy flick pulled him back from the brink of fading into obscurity, setting him up for a career that’s spanned decades. Since then, he’s followed a familiar pattern: working with respected directors for the creative buzz, popping up in the odd cameo, leading mid-to-large budget genre films, and joining ensemble casts. It’s a formula that’s kept him in the public eye, but he’s been worried for a while that the industry is changing for the worse.
Big Budgets, Simple Stories
Back in 2016, Damon was already sounding the alarm about where things were headed.
“I think nowadays I’m so depressed about things because films have changed since I was where you are,”
he told The Tech.
“Because of these bigger influences on the business, now they’re making these giant, giant films that are these $300 million behemoths.”
He didn’t hold back, taking aim at the endless parade of caped crusaders dominating the box office. Ironically, he later made appearances in Deadpool 2 and a couple of Thor films—his highest-grossing projects until Oppenheimer came along. Still, Damon’s frustration is clear: the types of films that made his name—think Good Will Hunting or The Informant—have all but disappeared.
He lamented,
“I’d say what irks me the most right now is that the films that were my bread and butter, the Good Will Hunting-type films, or The Informant, or films like that, have just evaporated. They’re just gone. They’re not being made anymore. They’re either being made for television, or they have to be made for extremely low budgets.”
Damon’s not just having a whinge—he’s noticed a real shift in the kinds of stories being told, and he’s not alone in feeling a bit nostalgic for the old days.
Scripts Getting Simpler, Audiences Less Engaged
It’s not just the budgets that have ballooned; Damon reckons the quality of scripts has taken a nosedive too.
“The one thing that bothers me about modern cinema is that the scripts have become so simple, and the stories have become so simple and predictable, and we’re not getting tired of them yet.”
He’s watched as the industry has moved away from nuanced, character-driven tales to formulaic blockbusters designed to rake in cash but not much else.
Fast forward to 2026, and Damon’s still in the thick of it. He co-starred and co-produced The Rip with Ben Affleck, under their Artists Equity banner. The catch? The film was made with the understanding that the plot needed to be repeated several times in the dialogue, because streaming platforms like Netflix expect viewers to be half-distracted by their phones. In the end, Damon seems to have accepted that if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them.