How The MCU Got So BIG

7. Introducing Kevin Feige

Marvel’s horizons were wide open as they became a worthy filmmaking contender. Fortunately, Marvel had one man who was determined to make the most out of Marvel's box office breakthrough.

Let’s go back to the 1990s. Kevin Feige was an assistant working for Lauren Donner, teaching Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan how to use AOL in You’ve Got Mail.

Noting his deep passion for Marvel comics, Donner got Feige an associate producer role on the 2000 X-Men film, where he impressed Avi Arad with his Marvel knowledge. Arad took Feige on as his second-in-command.

In his newfound role, Feige oversaw all Marvel-related films, including the Fantastic Four series and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. Feige agreed with Maisel’s proposal that Marvel Studios should create their own movies. In 2018, Feige, reminiscing about Iron Man, said:

“We didn’t have anything to lose at that point, so it allowed us to just go with our instincts.”

Feige isn’t some corporate moneyman: he is exceptionally knowledgeable of Marvel’s world and characters. While Feige has stated that he never intended to make a cinematic universe, his expertise knowledge led to its conception.

When Avi Arad stepped down, Feige became the President of Marvel Studios, and since then, has worked on every major MCU instalment. In 2013, he won the Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award and is now the Chief Creative Officer for Marvel Comics, Television, and Animation.

Having one person supervise the franchise’s trajectory allowed for each film to flow into one another.

Feige’s creative vision has kept the MCU on-course by interweaving characters, stories, and important plot devices like the Infinity Stones. Feige's deep understanding of Marvel's lore is the MCU's backbone. As Jonathan Kuntz, a film lecturer, told TheWrap:

“Kevin Feige is doing the same thing Stan Lee did for the comic books in the ’60s; he keeps everyone on the same page.”