Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, has been helming movies for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since 2008 when the Robert Downy Jr.-led superhero movie Iron Man was released. Since then, being the primary producer of the MCU, the movies he has produced in the past fifteen years have made him the highest-grossing producer of all time.

The MCU happens to be one of the most beloved superhero franchises in the world. Before the foundations of the MCU were laid by Kevin Feige, other studios had the rights to Marvel characters such as the X-Men and Spider-Man. However, Marvel Entertainment did not have creative control over the characters which was something that Feige did not like.

Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige

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Kevin Feige Hated Not Having Control over the Marvel Characters

Superheroes have been an integral part of the entertainment industry for decades now. People’s love for these costumed heroes has always been there, and there is no bar to the age and ethnicity of these fans. Kevin Feige is one of these many fans, the only difference is that his interest in the production of films and vast knowledge of  Marvel has allowed him to have a key role in the making of these superhero projects.

Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige

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In the new tell-all book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (via The Direct), Kevin Feige was quoted saying that he did not like the fact that Marvel Studios did not have “control” over the pre-MCU movies such as Daredevil, Elektra, Hulk, Ghost Rider, and many other movies.

Producer David Maisel explained the problem about other studios owning Marvel characters, referencing New Line Cinema’s previous ownership of Iron Man, saying:

“Your character is in limbo and somebody else controls it. When you make a movie deal for a license, you’re freezing animation, you’re freezing a lot of other things. You’re handing over your babies to somebody, and nothing happens.”

Despite not having control, Kevin Feige and Avi Arad tried their best to impact the production of those movies to no avail because all of them were not ready to take their suggestions.

Kevin Feige Tried To Coax Avi Arad into Getting The Rights Back

Avi Arad and Kevin Feige
Avi Arad and Kevin Feige

Kevin Feige’s passion about the Marvel characters was such that he would not give up having control of them. He has proved himself worthy of having those rights as the movies made by him are some of the best ones of all time. So, he was right for trying to convince Avi Arad to get back those rights.

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Marvel writer Craig Kyle also confirmed that Feige was frustrated about having no control. Kyle said:

“From the moment I touched down in Marvel, Kevin had been telling Avi [Arad] we have to get the rights back. Avi was in a situation where he represented all of Marvel. He was the face of Marvel Studios. Kevin was in there to make great movies. That could never be a guarantee until we could actually control the process.”

It must have been a very difficult situation for Arad, but the current predicament of Marvel Studios proves that all the trouble of getting back the rights was worth it. However, it remains to be seen if Kevin Feige can successfully manage the vast number of Marvel characters without creating a mess.

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