Iman Vellani Says Gen Z Hasn’t Quit Superheroes: “They’ve Just Stopped Feeling Obligated to Show Up”

Iman Vellani disagrees with the idea that Gen Z has stopped paying attention to superhero movies. She rebutted a statement on leagueofcomicgeeks.com claiming that “Gen Z doesn’t care about superhero films.”

“I don’t agree that Gen Z has stopped caring about superheroes,” Vellani said. “Maybe they’ve just stopped feeling obligated to show up.”

Vellani said that the reason people are watching in a different way could be because of the familiarity of the genre, not its exhaustion.

“Our generation has grown up with an abundance of superhero stories, so perhaps the novelty has worn off — which is natural,” Vellani said. “The bar is higher now.”

She added that people expect more from superhero stories, particularly considering the emergence of AI.

“We’re looking for stories that feel specific & emotional — especially in the age of AI,” Vellani said. “We want honesty from our storytellers. We want our intelligence respected.”

According to her, Gen Z remains interested in superheroes as long as they are portrayed as humans.

“If anything, I think Gen Z responds incredibly well to superheroes when they’re treated as people first,” Vellani said. “The themes of grief, identity, legacy, belonging — they’re timeless & will never age out.”

Vellani draws parallels between today’s superhero genre and changes observed in other movie genres throughout history.

“Every genre goes through cycles. Westerns did. Musicals did. Romcoms did,” Vellani said. “So the answer isn’t to abandon the genre, but to find new stories that only be told through THIS genre.”

Vellani argues that the genre’s future depends on how well it adapts to viewers’ expectations.

“At the end of the day, I think we just want these films to evolve & grow alongside their audience,” Vellani said.