Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, has fired back against recent Marvel criticism from filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, saying their comments seem "so disrespectful."

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Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's Tech Live event on Tuesday, Iger weighed in on the ongoing debate over the cinematic value of the MCU (originally incited by Scorsese sharing his opinion that Marvel movies are "not cinema" ).In his defence of the franchise, Iger specifically addressed Coppola's use of the word "despicable" to describe Marvel movies "When Francis uses the words, 'those films are despicable', to whom is he talking?" he quizzed, reeling off a list of names, including Kevin Feige, Marvel's newly-promoted Chief Creative Officer , directors Taika Watiti and Ryan Coogler, as well as MCU stars Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, and Robert Downey Jr, as examples.

Check out our definitive ranking of every MCU movie:

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Iger then went on to discuss the success of the Marvel franchise, saying that they are obviously making movies that people enjoy going to because "they're doing so by the millions", as he explained how a strong box office performance can actually help to fund a smaller movie.

Find out what director James Gunn had to say about Scorsese:

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"Frankly, the motion picture distribution business or the theatrical exhibition business worldwide has relatively thin margins," he said. "When those theaters run movies, not just like ours because there are other blockbusters out there too, they do exceedingly well for them and they make a lot of money on them. That actually gives them the ability to run other films that might not be as successful, but there are people in different places that want to see them."He added, "We're in the business of making money; we're in a profitable business. At the same time at Disney, we're trying to balance that with telling great stories to the world and infusing them with great values, and supporting an employee base of well over 200,000 around the world with great care and, frankly, respect."Iger revealed that, while he doesn't take the criticism personally, he finds the remarks to be "disrespectful" towards the teams of people who are putting their hearts and souls into creating these movies.

See what Samuel L. Jackson had to say about Scorsese's comments:

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"It doesn't bother me, except I'm bothered on behalf of the people who work on those movies," he explained. "It seems so disrespectful to all the people that work on those films, who are working just as hard as the people who work on their films, and are putting their creative souls on the line, just like they are."He continued, "You tell me, Ryan Coogler making Black Panther is doing something that is, somehow or other, less than what Marty Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola have ever done on any one of their movies. C'mon. There, I said it."Iger admitted that he perhaps ended up sounding "a little bit more defensive" than he wanted to since ultimately he doesn't feel the need to defend Marvel movies to the likes of Scorsese and Coppola, as they are both "entitled to their opinions.""You know, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese are two people I hold in the highest regard in terms of the films they've made, the films I've liked, the films we've all watched,” he said before concluding later, "If they want to b*tch about movies, that's certainly their right."The controversy originally started when Scorsese, the legendary director behind Netflix's The Irishman , reportedly told Empire Magazine that the MCU is "not the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."Scorsese's comments elicited reactions from both MCU fans and stars who joined the debate. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn revealed that he was "saddened" by the remarks while Samuel L. Jackson put forward a counter-argument and Robert Downey Jr. shared his own take

Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter