If you haven’t heard yet, Kevin Feige is the new King of Marvel, and we couldn’t be happier. He’s been working hard on the franchise for years now – more than just that Kevin comes from a film dynasty. His maternal grandfather Robert E. Short was producing TV in the 1950s. Robert worked in a very different genre as a part of the early days of television soap operas like As the World Turns and Guiding Light. Young Kevin must have been enchanted by film and inspired by his grandfather’s role in helping bring it to life.
Know Where You’re Headed
Whatever his formative experiences were, it’s clear that Kevin knew where he wanted to go in life from a relatively early age. As soon as he graduated high school, he applied to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. It wasn’t a random decision. In fact the school is where three of his favorite directors, George Lucas, Ron Howard, and Robert Zemeckis, were educated. Following in the footsteps of your heroes is a great way to get into the same business where they gained their acclaim. However, his application was rejected.
For many people, a rejection is the end of the story, and they set their sights elsewhere, but Feige was undaunted. He applied four more times and received four additional refusals. Finally, on his sixth application, the school accepted him to one of its programs. We admire a man who knows what he wants and is not afraid to follow through any way he needs to in order to get it. That level of perseverance and clear vision has doubtless contributed to his success. After all, you don’t get to work somewhere like Marvel without talent and clear goals. More importantly, you don’t become a leader by accepting rejection and slouching off to do something else.
Know Your Stuff
Among other early jobs, Kevin worked as the assistant to executive producer Lauren Donner on a couple of films, including You’ve Got Mail. However, by the time 2000 rolled around, he’d already been hired by Marvel. Donner didn’t just work on rom-coms. You may have noticed her name on the X-Men franchise, and she was happy to bring her former assistant along. Kevin displayed a depth of knowledge about the Marvel Universe that impressed her enough to make him an associate producer on the first X-Men movie. From there, he was set to work his way up through the ranks. From 2000 to 2007, Kevin worked on numerous Marvel films, ringing his innate drive and vast knowledge of the universe to bear in helping make the franchise the success it is today. In early 2007 he was named President of Production for Marvel Studios. His contributions and capable leadership helped build the MCU.
More Than a Leader, A Forward Thinker
In addition to his phenomenal work on over twenty Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Keven has always excelled at understanding how to promote those films to audiences. When he received the Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award from the ICG Publicists Guild Awards in 2013 chairman Henri Bolinger commented about his success. In his estimation, it was Kevins’ “understanding and appreciation of publicity and promotion in the role of a movie’s success,” which led the MCU to its “series of blockbusters” spanning a decade. We’re not ignoring the incredible accomplishments of the late and ever-amazing Stan Lee, nor the rest of the outstanding people who have worked to create and uplift the MCU and make it what it is to millions of fans worldwide today. This just isn’t their story. Moreover, even a fantastic concept can fail without the proper leadership and publicity. Kevin’s contribution was a huge part of what made modern Marvel movies into the vastly popular franchise we love today.
Seeing The Future
In addition to understanding how people respond to promotional materials, Kevin has his finger on the pulse of the movie-watching world. He displays a unique ability to see and contribute to the creation of films that people want to see. When no one else was letting superheroes swear, Kevin was a significant influence on the company that let Deadpool, “the merc with a mouth,” do what he does best. That mostly involves talking smack, breaking the fourth wall, and killing whoever he decides isn’t good enough. Kevin and Marvel weren’t afraid to give the people what they wanted, which was a grittier, more real and relatable superhero experience in some cases, and plenty of comedy.
Deadpool isn’t the only incredibly groundbreaking advance Marvel has made in the way they write and promote characters. Bringing in Captain Marvel as a female butt-kicking superpower was undoubtedly a bold move. The history of the character led some naysayers and whiners to complain that Marvel should have been male, but the All-Boys superhero ship has sailed. A considerable part of that fantastic change and others has to do with Kevin Feige’s leadership.
Recently at Comic-Con, he made a huge announcement. Not only is Valkyrie getting an LGBTQIA friendly love story in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder movie, but she’s not alone. The MCU’s Phase 4 has a lot in store for us, but one of the most exciting advances is that Marvel will be openly including more LGBTQIA characters from now on. We’re glad to see inclusion is a big part of Marvel’s direction, thanks to Kevin. From overweight sidekicks (Deadpool 2) to women leaders, LGBTQIA characters, and the next Captain America not being a white guy, we love the direction Marvel is headed. Bringing more comic lovers together and including everyone in the fun is precisely why Kevin deserves his crown.
Final Thoughts: Kevin Deserves His Crown, Just Like Valkyrie
Disney and Marvel couldn’t have picked a better Chief Creative Officer for the Marvel Universe. Kevin literally worked his way up from a kid who liked TV and got rejected from film school to the man responsible for a massive and still-growing list of blockbuster films that have been breaking down stereotypes and bringing people together to share their love of all things comic-based. Kevin is officially the King of Marvel. We’re sure he’s feeling the heady rush of his power. Fortunately, we’re also confident that if anyone understands how much responsibility comes with power, it’s Kevin. Are you looking forward to Phase 4, or do you yearn for a simpler time when comics were something you could get with your pocket change? Let us know in the comments below.
Follow Us
