Taylor Sheridan, the writer and co-creator of ‘Yellowstone’, has voiced sharp criticism of Marvel films and the executives overseeing modern studio productions. Sheridan articulated his frustrations with contemporary filmmaking practices and contrasted them with an earlier era of Hollywood storytelling.Taylor Sheridan explained his approach to screenwriting and what he believes separates quality storytelling from the shortcuts he sees prevalent in today’s entertainment landscape. His comments specifically targeted the storytelling methods employed by Marvel Studios, the company behind major film franchises.
Taylor Sheridan’s fundamental storytelling philosophy
Sheridan described his approach to screenwriting when he was beginning his career. “What everyone else was doing was taking shortcuts. Essentially, breaking all the very basic, fundamental rules of storytelling. Because they couldn’t figure out their story,” he said on the Bill Simmons Podcast on Sunday. Rather than follow industry trends, Sheridan focused on what others were not attempting in their work.He outlined the core principle that he believes should guide filmmaking. “With a movie, you’re supposed to show me what’s happening. The camera is supposed to move the story. The dialogue is supposed to tell me how the people in this world feel about what’s happening or what they hope to do or what they wish they hadn’t done or had done. So, if you stick to that one basic rule from the beginning, never have a character tell me something that the camera could show me,” Sheridan explained.
Sheridan suggested that many modern executives lack storytelling experience and interfere too heavily in the creative process.Image credit (Instagram)
Taylor Sheridan’s critique of Marvel’s storytelling approach
The conversation turned to how major studios execute their films, and Sheridan was unsparing in his assessment. “All these Marvel movies do it, ad nauseam. Where they will just have information dumps that you have to follow to get to the action rather than actually moving plot with action,” he said of the approach taken by the superhero studio behind franchises including ‘Captain America’, ‘The Avengers’, and ‘Spider-Man’.According to Sheridan, this represents a departure from how the film industry operated during previous decades. “It didn’t used to be this way when Steve McQueen was a movie star at Paramount, and Bobby Evans ran the studio because writers were turned loose. Directors were turned completely loose,” Sheridan reflected on the studio system of earlier eras.
The impact of executive involvement on creative work
Sheridan described the differences in how creative decisions were made during the earlier period he referenced. “There weren’t endless rewrites. There weren’t meetings with executives about tone and mood and all this nonsense,” he said, contrasting past practices with current studio operations where multiple layers of approval and revision occur.
The writer argued that many superhero films depend on lengthy information dumps instead of allowing action and visuals to drive the plot.Image credit (Instagram)
Taylor Sheridan’s assessment of modern studio executives
Sheridan offered a pointed critique of the backgrounds and qualifications of contemporary studio leadership. “The studio executives and the network executives — these are marketing executives, for the most part. Or maybe they studied law or whatever. Then they came, got a job in the mailroom at a talent agency or another major agency, and hated that. So then they ended up as an intern at some network. Then, through attrition, they find themselves the head of development. Well, what do you know about developing a story? You know nothing,” he said.According to Sheridan’s assessment, this lack of storytelling expertise results in decision-making driven by fear rather than artistic vision. “So they get terrified, panicked that the audience won’t get it because they actually have no storytellers”, he concluded, suggesting that executive insecurity about narrative comprehension drives the information-heavy approach he criticised.Sheridan’s remarks reflect broader concerns within the creative community about how major studios balance commercial considerations with storytelling integrity in contemporary blockbuster filmmaking.
