Ridley Scott’s latest movie The Last Duel seemingly had everything going for it, with an acclaimed director at the helm and a particularly strong cast. Reuniting Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in lead roles, the ensemble also featured Jodie Comer and Adam Driver. Set in medieval France, The Last Duel follows a knight, Jean, (Damon) who challenges his friend Jacques (Driver) to a duel in defense of his wife, Marguerite (Comer), after she accuses Jacques of raping her.

Unfortunately, The Last Duel was a box office bomb. It flopped with less than $30 million pulled in with a budget of $100 million. This was in direct contrast to what most critics were saying, along with those who actually turned out to see it, as the movie was acclaimed. Speaking about the dud on the Marc Maron podcast WTF, Ridley Scott theorized that The Last Duel bombing so hard was because young people are too distracted by cellphones and social media to have to learn something new.

“No. Disney did a fantastic promotion job. The bosses loved the movie — because I was concerned it was not for them — but they really liked the movie, so their advertising, publicity, et cetera, was excellent… I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these f**king cell phones. The millennian do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone. This is a broad stroke, but I think we’re dealing with it right now with Facebook. There is a misdirection that has happened where it’s given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think.”

Marc Maron also questioned why The Last Duel fell short, suggesting that the time period and action should have helped draw younger filmgoers. Ridley Scott concurs and adds that its stellar cast should have also attracted more people to show up. At the end of the day, Ridley is standing by the movie without a single regret, and that pertains to every other movie he’s ever made.

“I agree with you. Particularly with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver and this new girl called Jodie Comer. That’s the call you make. That’s the call that Fox made. We all thought it was a terrific script, and we made it. You can’t win all the time. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never had one regret on any movie I’ve ever made. Nothing. I learned very early on to be your own critic. The only thing you should really have an opinion on is what you just did. Walk away. Make sure you’re happy. And don’t look back. That’s me.”

Ridley Scott also calls back to Blade Runner, which was “killed” by the critics of the time. He specifically names the New Yorker’s Pauline Kael as one critic who wrote a “four page series of insults” about the movie. Scott says that bad review has been framed and is on display in his office, a constant reminder of just how wrong that critic was, as Blade Runner was indeed ahead of its time. As Scott puts it, “She was so wrong. I was just way ahead of her.”

The Last Duel is still currently playing in some movie theaters. While it didn’t make a big splash at the box office, perhaps the movie will get its recognition in due time. This news stems from Marc Maron’s WTF podcast with the quotes above coming to us from Variety.