LOL: The Time In 2003 When A Movie Studio Head Said Superhero Movies Were A Fad
There are almost two dozen superhero movies scheduled in the next four years. Not all of them will happen, but even that tentative schedule shows Hollywood’s massive continued commitment to the genre that continually brings in hundreds of millions of dollars for studios like Disney, Sony and 20th Century Fox.
That’s a stark contrast to a decade ago when comic creatorRob Liefeldtook at meeting at Paramount. Liefeld was pitching a film based on his Image ComicYoungblood, and was told by then president of the studioJohn Goldwynthat the superehero genre was a fad.
Below, read Liefeld’s account of the meeting where the head of one of the most famous movie studios in the world missed the mark so completely.
Thanks toBleeding Coolfor alerting us to Liefeld’s great story. Here it is.
No denying super hero films are a massive business. Funny considering John Goldwyn, President of Paramount, circa 2003, told me it was a fad
— robliefeld (@robertliefeld)August 08, 2025
“This is a bell curve….by the time we put a comic book film in production, the curve will be in the wrong end” told John he was wrong. WIN
Paramount has yet to finance and produce a super hero film of their own. Distributing Marvel doesn’t count.
I told Mr. Goodwyn what was obvious to me, FX depiction of super powers is the new candy. Super Heroes are the action films of this gen. Duh
Did I mention that Mr. Goldwyn showed me a chart? Mapped out that by X-Men 3 and FF1, the fad would be finished.
At the time the position was that they did not want to be on the “wrong end” of producing a super hero film.
And there’s your Hollywood story of the day.
A Paramount based producer had brought one of my comics to them, it was a go, then the backtrack due to “fad”. Now Transformers/Trek/Joe =$$
According to Bleeding Cool, Goldwyn left the studio later that year. He continued to independently produce films there, and helped create the TV showDexter. Last year, he producedThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty.No superhero movies though.
