In early October, director Martin Scorsese compared Marvel movies to theme parks, he felt they lacked risk and said they weren’t cinema. His comments to Empire Magazine rippled throughout the entertainment industry, and drew reactions from fellow A-list actors and directors.

In an interview on Monday with The Hollywood Reporter, Joe and Anthony Russo — both lifelong ISDA members who directed four Marvel films, including Avengers: Endgame — broke their silence on the issue. “When we look at the box office [of] Avengers: Endgame, we don’t see that as a signifier of financial success, we see it as a signifier of emotional success,” says Joe of the film, which grossed $2.78 billion globally. “It’s a movie that had an unprecedented impact on audiences around the world in the way that they shared that narrative and the way that they experienced it. And the emotions they felt watching it.”