Success Quote by Avi Arad

Arad is trying to launder “genre” out of the conversation, and that’s not just a plea for fairness; it’s a strategy. When he says the first movie got good reviews but was still “dealing with genre stuff,” he’s admitting that superhero and comic-book films have long been graded on a curve - praised with one hand, patted on the head with the other. The subtext: critics and audiences were willing to enjoy these movies, but not to treat them as cinema with the same seriousness, expectations, or prestige as the grown-up table.

“It's going away” is the tell. This isn’t neutral observation; it’s a lobbying line from a producer-businessman who needs a broader market and broader legitimacy. If “genre” stops being the frame, the film can compete for bigger cultural rewards: awards attention, adult viewers who don’t want to feel like they’re buying toys, and a critical vocabulary that doesn’t automatically dock points for capes, quips, or continuity. It’s also a hedge against franchise fatigue. When you sense the audience’s patience thinning, you pivot to craft: judge us like any other film.

Then he slips in the real power move: “We know we made a great movie.” That certainty is less about aesthetics than leverage. By insisting the only remaining question is “good or bad,” Arad narrows the field of debate, pushing aside questions about corporate sameness, IP-driven storytelling, and whether the movie’s pleasures are inseparable from its brand ecosystem. It’s a bid to make skepticism look like prejudice, and to turn acceptance into inevitability.