Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese has come under fire recently for his negative comments about Marvel movies, and Avengers star Robert Downey Jr. has offered his response. Despite his status as one of history's most notable filmmakers, Scorsese had made Marvel fans irate when he boldly claimed he didn't watch the movies as they are "not cinema."

Speaking with Howard Stern, Downey has since responded to the comments, and while he clearly doesn't agree with Martin Scorsese, he takes the diplomatic approach and says he appreciates the difference of opinion. Here's what Downey had to say on Stern's radio show about Marvel and their place in cinematic history.

"It's his opinion. I mean, well, it plays in theaters. I appreciate his opinion, because it's like anything, we need all of the different perspectives so we can come to center and move on."

Feeling Downey is being too kind, Howard Stern presses him on the issue. From his view, Stern feels a movie like Iron Man definitely is cinema. Downey agrees with that notion, using Stern's status as a radio show host to demonstrate how nonsensical the statement seems to be.

"It would be like saying Howard Stern isn't radio. It makes no sense to say it."

Downey goes on to explain how phenomenal the rise of Marvel movies has been in Hollywood, rising to tremendous heights by surpassing the competition in a "demonstrative" way. While the actor isn't convinced Scorsese is genuinely upset about the success of the Marvel movies, Stern doesn't agree, theorizing the director is unhappy with the way superhero movies have changed cinema after getting used to movies being a certain way for so many years. Still, Downey reiterates how much he appreciates Scorsese's different point of view on the Marvel movies, even if he doesn't necessarily agree.

The interesting conversation on Stern's show led to another revelation from Downey. After praising Downey's performance as Tony Stark, noting how his performance is excellent. Stern asks if Downey has ever been nominated for an Academy Award for the role, to which Downey confirms he hasn't. However, the actor says "there was some talk about it," referring to a campaign to get him an Oscar nomination, but his response to the suggestion was simply, "Let's not." Whether he officially gets a Best Actor nod at the event or not, most anyone who's seen Avengers: Endgame will know that he deserves it.

Downey isn't the only Marvel name to respond to Scorsese's controversial Marvel comments. Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn said he was "saddened" to see the legendary director judge his movies without even watching them. "I'm not fond of people judging things without actually seeing them," the filmmaker wrote in a follow-up tweet. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse director Peter Ramsey also stepped in to call for peace by tweeting, "Martin Scorsese is a god. Marvel movies are fun and good. Chill."

Scorsese remains one of Hollywood's all-time biggest names, but he's definitely not popular with those in the Marvel community right now. For what it's worth, it seems most people don't agree with him. In any case, we can see Scorsese's vision of what cinema is when The Irishman hits Netflix on Nov. 27. You can watch the clip of Downey's response to Scorsese below, courtesy of The Howard Stern Show on YouTube.