Matthew Vaughn Slams Batman Director Christopher Nolan's 'Dark' Superheroes: Talks New Colin Firth Movie 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'

Kick Ass and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn has taken a swipe at Christopher Nolan, saying that with his Batman trilogy, his fellow superhero movie-maker tired people out of 'dark' superhero films. Ahead of the release of his new Colin Firth-starring spy action-thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service, Vaughn — who is married to supermodel Claudia Schiffer — has said that audiences are craving more light-hearted fare like James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, rather than brooding, heavy films like in The Dark Knight Trilogy or Zac Snyder's Man of Steel, which Nolan was also involved with.

Speaking to SFX Magazine - as reported by The Hollywood Reporter - Vaughn explains that "People want fun and escapism at the moment. Look at the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. I think Nolan kick-started a very dark, bleak style of superhero escapism, and I think people have had enough of it."

As for the lighthearted, spy thriller grounding of Kingsman: The Secret Service — in which Firth plays a 'Kingsman', a Bond-esque agent who recruits ne'er-do-well 'Eggsy' (played by Taaron Egerton) to help him against an evil Samuel L Jackson — the director says "I was born in 1971, so they were very formative years for me growing up. I was inspired by all of it. The Avengers, Harry Palmer [the spy character played by Michael Caine], The Prisoner, The Man from UNCLE, In Like Flint."

"Of course," he adds, "there's a huge shadow of Bond - Bond is the monolith of spy movies - but it's not just about Bond; there were a lot of other things that influenced me."

As for Vaughn's upcoming movie, The Guardian say that "The overall vibe is sheer glee, as if no one involved in the production can believe they're getting away with making such a batshit Bond."

But, interestingly enough, Vaughn is given props in direct comparison to Nolan, with The Guardian saying "Kingsman's tone is about as far from the Christopher Nolan-style superhero film as you can get. Verisimilitude is frequently traded in for a rich laugh. The action scenes delight with shock humour."

What do you think? Are audiences 'over' dark, brooding, un-fun superhero movies? Or did the way Nolan reboot Batman after Joel Schumacher's dubious turns at the helm of the caped crusader change superhero movies for the better?

You can check out a trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service — out Feb. 13 — below.