Kevin Feige Was Nearly Booted From the MCU After Age of Ultron
Kevin Feige is one of the most well-known executives in the film industry, being the architect behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Feige was almost fired from his role in 2015 until Iger stepped in.
Iger spoke with CNBC about his clashes with former Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter, specifically about Feige's ever-growing role toward the end of the MCU 's Phase 2.
When Iger and Disney bought Marvel in 2009, Perlmutter was running all of Marvel Entertainment. Feige had been in a producer role since 2000's X-Men before taking an expanded role with 2008's Iron Man – the start of the MCU.
By 2015, Feige was running all of Marvel Studios, the section of Marvel that created the films and series. Iger said that Perlmutter was intent on firing Feige from that position after 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron as Feige's role was continuing to expand.
Iger realized that was a mistake and stepped in, preventing Marvel and Disney from losing the mind behind their most profitable franchise.
He moved the movie production side of Marvel away from Perlmutter and Marvel Entertainment, allowing Feige's Marvel Studios to report directly to Iger and Marvel.
Since then, seven of Marvel's ten $1 billion films had been released, including two that hit $2 billion. Feige was promoted to Marvel's Chief Creative Officer in 2019, giving him even more creative power in the studio.
He's also earned Emmys for the Disney+ series WandaVision, and even a Best Picture Oscar nomination for 2018's Black Panther.
Iger only recently returned to his role as Disney CEO, having first retired in 2020. Upon his retirement, Bob Chapek took over before being dismissed last year following anti-LGBT funding and lost profits. His exit package was reportedly north of $20 million.
Promising to hold down the fort until Disney found a suitable replacement, Iger stepped back in as CEO upon Chapek's dismissal.
Keeping on the visionary producer Kevin Feige might be Iger's best decision to date, but it wasn't the only success he's had as Disney's CEO. During his first run from 2005-2020, he oversaw the acquisitions of Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox, and – of course – Marvel Entertainment.
After buying those IPs, Disney now owns a whopping 32 of the 52 films to hit $1 billion at the box office, including the only six $2 billion movies.
As for Feige, his MCU is the highest-grossing franchise of all time with $28 billion earned, almost triple the box office gross of second-place Star Wars.