Isn’t it true that superhero movies adore a multiverse story? So, let’s take a page from the movie industry and journey into the multiverse, where up is down, left is right, and DC Films has surpassed Marvel Studios in terms of success. How did this bizarre planet come to be? This is what would have happened if Kevin Feige had left Marvel Studios a few years ago to help create the DC Film world, which is reportedly something that could have happened.
Kevin Feige “spoke fairly seriously” with the top brass at Warner Bros. about quitting Marvel Studios and joining the rival company to help construct a distinct superhero universe, according to a new story from Puck. According to the article, this potentially huge change in studio structure was on the table since Feige was embroiled in a conflict with Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter at the time.
For those who don’t recall, Marvel was embroiled in its own pseudo-civil war prior to “Captain America: Civil War,” with one side led by Perlmutter and the other by Feige. According to rumours, Perlmutter and Feige couldn’t agree on much in terms of the films’ artistic aspects. Perlmutter is believed to be on the fence about diverse superhero films (such as “Captain Marvel” and “Black Panther”) and to desire to minimise expenses (famously refusing to pay for Robert Downey, Jr. to appear in “Civil War”). Frictions arose, and Feige eventually triumphed, ceding entire control of Marvel Studios to him and reporting exclusively to Disney’s top executives.
According to Puck, at the time, Feige was being courted by Warner Bros. to come help the superhero picture studio, which was in the midst of developing the DCEU. You may recall that this was around the time that Warner Bros. introduced its massively ambitious slate of upcoming films, which included titles like “The Flash,” “Cyborg,” “Green Lantern Corps,” and others. However, with the failure of “Justice League,” the slate was wiped clean, and several of those projects were severely retooled or cancelled entirely. You could say that WB hasn’t entirely recovered from this period and is still figuring things out right now. (Though, to be fair, you can’t argue that there have been some huge hits during that time, such as “Aquaman,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Joker.”)
Since the end of the Perlmutter/Feige feud, Marvel Studios has grown to become the world’s largest film studio, releasing some of the most successful films of all time and establishing itself as a box office powerhouse. Kevin Feige’s influence and leadership have played a significant role in this. While we don’t know how “serious” the talks between Feige and WB were at the time, it’s evident that Disney did enough to keep the superstar producer pleased, and thus the Marvel Cinematic Universe on its record-breaking path.According to the Puck article, WB has approached some of Feige’s “deputies” at Marvel Studios, including Louis D’Esposito, about joining the rival company over the years. Those probes, however, have yielded no major results. So far, it appears like WB will need to choose someone from outside the Marvel Studios bubble to manage the company if it hopes to emulate its competitor’s success.