Director Ridley Scott is renowned for his diverse body of work, from sci-fi ("Alien," "Blade Runner," "The Martian") and historical drama ("Gladiator") to war drama ("Black Hawk Down") and crime thriller ("Hannibal"). Yet after nearly 40 years of filmmaking, he's yet to tackle a superhero movie -- with good reason.

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"Superhero movies are not my kind of thing -- that's why I've never really done one," he told a group of journalists, including Digital Spy."[I've been asked] several times, but I can't believe in the thin, gossamer tight-rope of the non-reality of the situation of the superhero. I've done that kind of movie -- 'Blade Runner' really is a comic strip when you think about it, it's a dark story told in an unreal world. You could almost put Batman or Superman in that world, that atmosphere, except I'd have a fucking good story, as opposed to no story!"

If you read that as a jab at Zack Snyder's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," you're probably right. However, Scott doesn't limit his scorn to the capes-and-tights contingent, adding that "cinema mainly is pretty bad."

Scott is serving as executive producer of "Taboo," the new BBC miniseries starring Tom Hardy, as well as the upcoming "Blade Runner 2049." His next film, "Alien: Covenant," arrives in theaters May 19, 2017.