DC’s Movie Shake-Up Emphasizes Kevin Feige’s Importance of Admiration | Popgen Tech

A turbulent year for Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios continue as the new company tries to hold onto its superhero universe. Disney thanks its lucky stars, but not as much as fans might think. The House of Mouse should be very thankful that Marvel Studios has a leader like Kevin Feige because his job doesn’t seem to be easy to do.

The rivalry between DC Comics and Marvel Comics over the years has been bitter, but theirs is a symbiotic relationship. Indeed, Feige’s praise of James Gunn shows that he understands that Marvel Studios needs a capable DC Studios. As long as fans are fighting over whether Marvel or DC heroes are cooler, they’re not looking elsewhere for their fictional storytelling. Made three (and a quarter, gave his help to the Guardians in Infinity War and Endgame) films with Feige, Gunn has certainly learned some of the basic tricks of the trade. However, the chaos continues. The cancellation of marquee films like Wonder Woman 3 and the box office woes of Black Adam just highlight how hard Feige’s job is at Marvel. While Marvel Studios has also suffered from turmoil, nothing has happened quite like what is happening with the Distinguished Competition.

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Kevin Feige is Marvel Movie Man, Born and Bred

Kevin Feige’s start in movies didn’t come from Marvel but from a DC saga. He worked for the Donner Company, starting in Superman director Richard Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner. He worked as an assistant to Shuler Donner, who in 2000 signed on to produce X-Men movies. Due to Feige’s encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel Comics, he promoted him to associate producer. Avi Arad, Marvel’s original ‘Kevin Feige’, immediately hired him as second in command at Marvel Studios. He often provides script notes on licensed Marvel films at Sony or Fox. Then, he gets an idea for a shared universe of movies that leads to an Avengers team-up.

Feige had a front-row seat to the ‘superhero fad’ that almost killed Hollywood, but Marvel Studios’ plan paid off better than anyone expected. However, there are problems. Edgar Wright publicly parted ways with Marvel Studios over creative disagreements with ant man in 2014. After it was announced at SDCC 2019, Scott Derrickson and writing partner C. Robert Cargill left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, eventually replaced by Sam Raimi and writer Michael Waldron. Feige also frequently clashed with Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Pearlmutter, leading to Disney restructuring Marvel Studios so that Feige would report directly to one-time and future CEO Bob Iger. Then EndgameFeige was given creative control over all of Marvel.

However, despite any behind-the-scenes disagreements or feuds at the now-defunct Marvel Television unit, nothing has risen to the level of press drama that Warner Bros. is currently facing. Discovery. In fact, even with critical mixed reactions to the MCU’s woefully focused Phase Four, Marvel Studios is still delivering Disney’s biggest box office and streaming wins.

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Marvel Studios Is Not A One-Man Operation, Kevin Feige Has Help

WarnerMedia’s all-time problem and this latest iteration of the company show that what Feige and Marvel Studios did isn’t easily repeatable. Of course, Kevin Feige may be the face of Marvel Studios’ brain trust, but he’s not the only one on the mind of these stories. There was Louis D’Esposito, co-President, and Victoria Alonso, president of physical, post-production, VFX and animation. They are also assisted by the “Marvel Studios Parliament.”

This team of producers ensures that Marvel Studios’ massive production schedule stays on track. These are names familiar to Marvel fans like Brad Winderbaum, Trinh Tran, Jonathan Schwartz, Eric Carroll and Stephen Broussard. Nate Moore is another member of Parliament who has most recently led the press push for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Even though Feige is the Chief Creative Officer for all of Marvel, he’s not the only one making the moves and decisions. The decisions are Feige’s, in the end, no matter how many Marvel Studios creatives hear it, Feige always seems to err on the side of the “most creative” choice.

Perhaps Kevin Feige’s greatest superpower is confidence. Not his trust in storytellers, which is considerable. Instead, Disney seems to trust his leadership, if only because he has never failed. It’s a luxury that creative executives at Warners never seem to have.