Matt Damon Comparing His Most Expensive Flop to Kevin Costner’s Oscar-Winning Movie Was Even Dumber Than Refusing James Cameron’s $250 Million Avatar Offer

Matt Damon made a surprising comparison between his failed 2016 monster film and Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves.

Matt Damon knows exactly when his films will break the box office or bomb heavily, and perhaps this is one of the true marks of being an actor.

He had his fair share of successful franchises such as the Bourne movies, although he could not forget one pricey project that almost cost his career.

Credits: Matt Damon in The Great Wall / Universal Pictures.

Over the years, Damon has lived a quiet life away from the hustle and bustle of media, and he only emerges to the surface when he’s got something on his plate.

But, in the past, he made some rash decisions taking lacklustre roles that ended up becoming the target of criticism.

Matt Damon Believed The Great Wall is in the Same Vein as Dances With Wolves

In 2016, actor Matt Damon notably starred as the Irish mercenary William Garin who was imprisoned within the Great Wall of China by imperial Chinese forces.

While the film was a spectacle to watch and truly action-packed, it received so many negative reviews.

Even Damon knew prior to its release that The Great Wall was going to fail, but he was contractually obliged to finish it.

The actor believed that the financial setback affected the storyline thus forcing them to compromise.

In his conversation with WTF with Marc Maron podcast, he confessed:

I was like, this is exactly how disasters happen.

It doesn’t cohere.

It doesn’t work as a movie.

It was the moment of truth for him as an actor, and he had to push through and live through several months filming it.

He admitted to cheering himself up while trying to accept his fate and the possible outcome of the movie.

At the time, Damon hoped never to get that negative feeling again.

Credits: Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves / Orion Pictures.

One of the biggest faults found by critics was the white savior complex used in many Hollywood movies. Surprisingly, the actor was aware of this as soon as he read the script, and he even compared it to some of the biggest classic films of all time.

“I saw the movie as the exact same plot as Lawrence of Arabia, Dances With Wolves, [and] Avatar.”

These three titles have been accused of perpetuating the white savior complex, but it’s quite a bold move from Damon to mention Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning Western movie in the same breath as his critically panned monster film.

Matt Damon Rejected a Massive Payday and a Chance to Star in Avatar

Credits: James Cameron’s Avatar / 20th Century Fox.

While Damon’s comparison of The Great Wall and Dances With Wolves is indeed a shocking statement, he’s also had another career blunder that still haunts him to this day.

James Cameron offered him a role in Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time, and he declined it for the opportunity to star in the Bourne movies.

According to a report from Variety, this project would have earned the 54-year-old Massachusetts native a $250 million payday.

Released in 2009, Avatar grossed over $2.9 billion worldwide. Hopefully, it’s a lesson learned for this A-list actor.

The Great Wall is currently available to watch on Netflix.