Let’s find out the secret to building the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

After nearly a decade of incredible success, Marvel Studios is at a pivotal moment: The impending farewell of some of its pioneering superheroes, and the rise of a new generation of heroes. Kevin Feige, the creative force behind the $13 billion blockbuster franchise and a roster of Marvel superstars, talks about his uncertain early years, his downfalls, and an empire that continues to grow.

Eighty-three faces who have brought Marvel comic characters to life over the past decade met and interacted in Atlanta – Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), getting to know Vin Diesel (Groot). Angela Bassett, the mother of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) appears alongside Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brie Larson, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Laurence Fishburne, and Stan Lee, famous comic book author. famous and co-created Iron Man, Spider-man, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four, and even X-men.

They were here to take photos to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Marvel Studios, which kicked off with Iron Man in 2008, has now released 17 movies and collectively grossed more than $13 billion from around the world; Another 5 movies are gaining momentum over the next 2 years. This long-term brand has revived the career of one person (Downey), turned another into a star (Tom Hiddleston), and continuously attracted a group of A-list names and Hollywood veterans (Anthony Hopkins and Robert Redford), and all three handsome men named Chris (Hemsworth, Evans, and Pratt).

It’s all thanks to Kevin Feige, who took Marvel Studios from its humble beginnings to the cinematic empire it is today that other studios envy. Feige’s comic book style of filmmaking – having one hero participate in another hero’s film – changed not only filmmaking in particular but also popular culture in general. Other studios, most notably Warner Bros., have also tried to build their own network of connected characters with Justice League.

Before Feige, Marvel Studios couldn’t even make its own movies. Founded in 1993 as Marvel Films, this company simply sells its character rights to other studios, and makes money mainly from selling spin-off products. Feige was among those who fought for the studio to retain ownership of their treasure trove of treasured characters.

After Avengers 4 is set for release in 2019, there will be some veteran members of this billion-dollar superhero team who will have to retire. Part of the reason is because of the Marvel contracts of these actors – Evans (Captain America), Ruffalo (Hulk), Downey (Iron Man), Johansson (Black Widow), Hemsworth (Thor), and Renner (Hawkeye) – is coming to an end.

Disney assures that Marvel has enough characters for at least another 20 years and different worlds to explore – starting with the fact that the company already has films with main characters who are women and people of color. Audiences who love movies up to this point have no choice but to trust Feige. Luckily for them, this 44-year-old studio leader is also one of them, a fanboy.

Fanboy

On the opening day of Thor: Ragnarok – Kevin Feige sat in his office on the second floor of the Frank G. Wells building, on the Walt Disney estate. Next to it is a shelf of his favorite baseball caps, and the walls and desk are filled with notes and memos about the characters, stories, and modern-day legends he brought to life on screen. wide.

Feige briefly talked about his biography: Childhood in Westfield, New Jersey, late 70s and 80s, immersed in blockbuster movies (Superman, Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future), traveling I have bad grades in school and go to the movies every Friday at the cinema near my house. He doesn’t talk about comics, but he especially likes movies. Later, he entered the University of Southern California, only to be rejected from film school 5-6 times before being accepted. All he wanted, all his life, was to make movies.

That wish began to come true when Feige worked as an intern for director Richard Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After that, Feige decided to follow Shuler’s wife and determined to become a producer.

Shuler was the producer of X-Men, a Fox movie with Marvel characters released in 2000. She and Avi Arad, then-heads of Marvel Studios, witnessed Feige demanding to spray hairspray on Hugh Jackman is even taller to resemble Wolverine’s hairstyle in the comics. Feige’s enthusiasm and attention to detail won Arad over. He hired Feige to Marvel Studios to protect the company’s intellectual property, and became Marvel’s “ambassador”.

The moment Arad decided to invest in producing his own movies for Marvel, Hollywood turned its back on superhero movies. But Marvel Studios still bets everything on the first move. By borrowing everywhere, Feige and Arad finally hired three directors to make movies for Marvel Studios: Favreau for Iron Man, Louis Leterrier for The Incredible Hulk, and Edgar Wright for Ant-man.

This gamble paid off big when Iron Man achieved incredible success both economically and critically. But just as Marvel’s position began to rise in the market, Avi Arad resigned and appointed his successor. At just 33 years old, Feige officially took control of the most notable independent film studio since the founding of DreamWorks.

The birth of an entire Universe

The Walt Disney Corporation acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion

Feige said that he still has faith in connecting Marvel’s superheroes together, and bringing the Marvel Universe into reality. Samuel L. Jackson’s brief appearance in Iron Man as Nick Fury, director of SHIELD, was initially just an Easter Egg for die-hard fans. “We put this at the end of the movie so it wouldn’t be distracting,” Feige said of the post-credits scene that launched a decade-long trend. But after witnessing the audience’s reaction, Feige knew his idea was feasible.

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Do it the Marvel way or leave it alone

Marvel’s first decade of filmmaking was not without its stumbles and disappointments. Both Iron Man 2 in 2010, and Thor: The Dark World in 2013 received poor reviews. Two famous directors – Edgar Wright and Joss Whedon – publicly parted ways with Marvel after disagreements with the studio over creative perspectives. In interviews, both men have said that they had to sacrifice their personal views to serve Marvel’s needs.

Feige doesn’t deny that directors have to follow certain rules when they join Marvel, especially since the concept of a consistent Cinematic Universe is no longer up for debate.

But at this point, the studio seems increasingly willing to let directors freely experiment and create in different ways. “Guardians is probably the best example of audiences accepting even our craziest ideas,” Feige said. The undeniable “silliness” of the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Taika Waititi’s bizarre style in Thor: Ragnarok show a big change.

Director Ryan Coogler’s upcoming Black Panther movie also marks an important transformation for Marvel: The first film with a black lead actor, Chadwick Boseman. Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson as a female Air Force captain with extraordinary powers, will also premiere in 2019.

Living with Ike

Marvel’s progressive move coincided with a 2015 management shakeup at Disney that gave Feige full control of the studio and gently placed chairman and notorious former executive Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter on the board. one side. This 75-year-old tycoon saved Marvel Entertainment Group from bankruptcy in 1998, but today, he has too many outdated views about the film industry that go against the tastes of popular culture. For example, Perlmutter cut back on toy products related to Black Widow in 2015 because he thought products for women would not sell.

Director James Gunn shared that his conflicts while making Guardians of the Galaxy were with Perlmutter and Marvel’s “creative council”. Gunn said, “They’re a bunch of people who make comics and toys” and gave him “random” suggestions. It was this board that asked Guardians to remove the 70s music that the main character in the film loved. An inside source said, “Ike Perlmutter doesn’t discriminate against anyone, and he doesn’t care about cultural diversity, he only cares about things he thinks will make money.”

In August 2015, Disney confirmed that they had completely changed Marvel’s system: Feige would work directly under Alan Horn, president of Walt Disney Studios, in a move to merge Marvel into the giant family. Disney movies. Perlmutter remains president of Marvel Entertainment.

In fact, Feige announced the Captain Marvel and Black Panther projects back in 2014 – during Perlmutter’s tenure. But no matter what, Marvel missed the opportunity to make the first female hero movie of the modern era. When asked if he regretted not being able to get ahead of Wonder Woman in time. “Yes,” he answered carefully. “I think it’s fun to be at the forefront of anything.” “Everything will be fine,” he said cheerfully. “Captain Marvel is a completely different movie.”

The Avengers, and everything after

A week before the 10th anniversary photo shoot, on the set of Avengers 4, Chris Hemsworth said: “Can someone take a photo here? This will be the last time we get together in such a large group.” here it is”.

True to Marvel tradition, members of the first Avengers team will lay the foundation for new teams. The most recent Captain America movie introduced Black Panther while Tony Stark tutored Spider-man in Spider-man: Homecoming. Spider-man returning to Marvel is a spectacular magic show that Feige has achieved through this unique deal with Sony.

According to Disney director Bob Iger, this studio has copyrights to more than 7,000 different characters, and can go anywhere creators can think of. “We’re looking at worlds that are completely separate – both geographically and temporally – from the worlds we’ve been to,” Iger said.

Both Iger and Feige teased that the franchise will expand into different borders, with James Gunn working closely to create spin-off movies for a number of extraterrestrial characters. Marvel already “has almost 22 movies, and we have 20 more in the pipeline that are completely different from what’s been seen before,” Feige said.

Although Feige declined to reveal further details about the unannounced films, he promised there would be a clear end to the Avengers – the franchise that created Marvel. “Avengers 4 will bring something you’ve never seen in a superhero movie: An ending,” he said.

This will most likely mean the death of many Avengers members at the hands of villain Thanos, who has appeared everywhere since the first Avengers movie in 2012. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe will continue to live on. forever. “There will be two completely different periods. Everything before Avengers 4 and everything after. I’m sure it won’t be what people imagine,” Feige said.

“Everything after that,” without the current veteran names, will be a huge challenge. The studio will constantly have to hire new actors, develop new stories, and risk a bit of goofiness – like Feige did with Wolverine’s hair – all under the scrutiny of the studio. Millions of viewers are following every step of this studio.

However, Feige is still not worried about Marvel’s longevity: “On opening day, when people asked Mr. Walt Disney if Disneyland had been completed, he said, as long as people’s imagination around the world is still flying high, until then Disney is not yet perfect.” And as long as people are willing to pay for superhero movies, Marvel – and Kevin Feige – won’t be finished.