Kevin Feige talks about CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE AVENGERS and IRON MAN 3

Marve Studios' Kevin Feige was recently interviewed by The Film Journal, where he talks about Joe Johnston's Captain America: The First Avenger, Joss Whedon's The Avengers, as well as Shane Black's Iron Man 3. He also talks a bit about properties owned by other studios, including his involvemment on The Amazing Spider-man. 

Feige stars off by talking about what sets Marvel Studios apart:

“Our movies surprise people who think they’re just coming to see a lot of special effects. We always look to find the balance of the epic and the intimate, whether we’re focusing on a scientist on the run because his affliction turns him big and green or a billionaire weapons designer who wouldn’t seem to be very relatable at all. The best compliment we can get on all of our movies is, ‘You know, I don’t usually like these kinds of movies, but I really responded to this.’”

He goes on to reveal his feelings about having both Thor and Captain America being released in the same year:

“Frankly, that’s what always excited me about these films,” Feige says, .“I liked the idea of putting two different kinds of comic-book movies into the marketplace this summer. We wanted to see if film audiences would embrace the unique nature of these particular heroes. Neither of these movies is your typical tale of a contemporary person who finds himself with extraordinary powers.”

He talks about how Marvel wants to make sure they avoid over-stuffing The Avengers:

“With The Avengers, we’re mimicking what comic-book publishers have been doing for years and years,” explains Feige. “We’re making a big crossover event that brings all of these characters together to face something incredible and epic.” 

“The first step in avoiding [over-crowding] was hiring Joss,” Feige says. “If you look at his body of work, he regularly writes for lots of characters. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ may be called ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ but it’s really an ensemble piece and none of the characters ever get lost in the spectacle of whatever is going on. We’re in the fifthweek of production on The Avengers and all of the actors have been very impressed with him. They all carry their own movies and I think everyone was worried about who would get the short end of the stick. But no one does because they’re all there servicing this larger story. The stuff we’ve shot is cutting together spectacularly and it’s just the character interactions that we’ve done so far—we haven’t shot much of the action sequences yet. I think the end result is going to feel very, very satisfying.”

Feige discusses Iron Man 3's developing script:

“Audiences will see that Tony Stark is going back into his own world,” “There will be acknowledgements to the events of The Avengers and the character journey he took there, but he’s not going to be having tea with Thor and calling Nick Fury every five minutes.”

He then talks about films owned by other studios and his involvement with The Amazing Spider-Man:

“Those movies are offshoots to the MCU—they exist in their own little sub-universes,” he explains. “The contracts are very old and very clear on who can do what when. So you won’t see the X-Men and the Avengers getting together anytime soon. But if you had asked me ten years ago whether we’d ever see an Avengers movie—especially after all of the lead characters had already starred in their own features—I would have said the chances were slim too. You never really know.” 

Be sure to check out the full interview at the reference link below. Captain America: The First Avenger arrives on July 22; The Avengers on May 4, 2012; Iron Man 3 releases May 3, 2013!