Kevin Feige Leaving Marvel Studios After Behind-The-Scenes Troubles?
Kevin Feige has been the creative force behind Marvel studios since their first Disney-owned outings popularized the modern cinematic universe. Now, according to a recent interview with Joanna Robinson on Matthew Bellini’s The Town podcast, the esteemed producer’s tenure with the studio may finally be coming to an end.
Robinson, who co-authored the recent MCU tell-all book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, explained during her podcast appearance that Feige has been spread incredibly thin in recent years, and may be looking for a change of pace as Marvel films continue to underperform at the box office.
Nearly Two Decades At Marvel
This should come as no surprise to most fans, as no great thing in life can last forever. Kevin Feige has been employed at Marvel Studios since 2007, meaning the acclaimed producer has been working in the same position for nearly two decades, through the good, the bad, and the box office disaster.
After recent news that Feige’s planned Star Wars installment had been officially scrapped due to Disney budget cuts and scaling back large franchises, insiders have speculated that Feige will soon be ready to pack up and move on from the massive corporation in favor of helming his own films.
Not As Much Hands-On Work
As Joanna Robinson explained during her appearance on The Town, Kevin Feige’s dream was always to make movies and be involved in filmmaking in a hands-on capacity with Marvel. While his experience at Marvel has surely been the opportunity of a lifetime, the producer may be preparing to step away from massive franchise oversight to focus on the day-to-day minutiae of writing and directing. This is also a likely case for why Feige didn’t step up to the role of Disney CEO back in 2021 when Bob Iger retired, as the position would likely cement Feige in a fully non-creative role.
Marvel Continues To Suffer Under Feige’s Command
Of course, Iger would come to reclaim his position of CEO shortly thereafter, resulting in the studio making massive cuts to upcoming Marvel and Star Wars projects. In the time since then, Kevin Feige has navigated Marvel through some of the most tumultuous experiences in the studios’ history, with outings such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Wars, and The Marvels each underperforming and drawing critical ire.
This, in conjunction with Feige’s Star Wars project being officially canned, seems to point toward the visionary producer packing up his desk for good and moving on to a career in directing elsewhere.
Will Kevin Feige Leave Marvel For Star Wars?
Of course, Kevin Feige’s success helming the Marvel Cinematic Universe in previous years cannot be overstated, with many fans demanding that Feige take the reigns of Star Wars from Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy. According to Robinson, this move would be unlikely at this point, as she imagines Feige would be more likely to stick with the cinematic universe he’s spent the last two decades of his life crafting, rather than taking on a position straightening out the chaos of the expanded Star Wars pantheon.
For now, there has been no direct confirmation that Kevin Feige plans to leave Marvel behind. Of course, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before the producer decides to pack up and explore other avenues with his creative direction, or simply pack a suitcase and enjoy some time away from the chaos of a massive studio machine.
