Roland Emmerich is leading Earth’s fight against aliens once again as the director of Independence Day: Resurgence, but he doesn’t see that action-packed film (or any of this other movies) in the same category as another kind of summer movie staple.

In an interview with The Guardian, Emmerich shared his thoughts on superhero films, explaining why he’s not a fan of them.

“When you look at my movies it’s always the regular Joe Schmo that’s the unlikely hero. A lot of Marvel movies, they show people in funny suits running around. I don’t like people in capes,” he said. “I find it silly when someone dons a superhero suit and flies. I don’t understand it. I grew up in Germany, that’s probably why.”

Independence Day: Resurgence comes two decades after Emmerich’s original Independence Day — and he described this new film as “a continuation of the story rather than a sequel.”

“This is the story of a world that won a war as a total underdog,” he added. “And while they won, the aliens sent some kind of SOS signal out in deep space, so we know that one day they’ll come back. Imagine how the youth would feel. Everybody wants to be a pilot, everybody wants to be part of this defense against the aliens. Our two male leads are orphans, our other leads are the kids of famous war heroes. At the centre is this generational conflict. Have we promised our generation too much?”

Just don’t expect to see any of those characters in a superhero cape.

Independence Day: Resurgence opens June 24. Head over to The Guardian for Emmerich’s full interview.