Kevin Feige Responds to Smack Talk From Warner Bros. and DC

The rivalry of Marvel vs. DC has meant big business for both companies in their long histories, and that rivalry has continued into the modern film landscape. I've seen a lot of people complain about media coverage that makes it appear as if the two companies are battling it out, and for the most part, I'm sympathetic to those claims: I think some of these stories can get over-hyped and recontextualized to fit into that established narrative, just to fuel the fire of the rivalry.

But in this case, Marvel's Kevin Feige directly responds to a statement made by Warner Bros.' Greg Silverman, and I'm just going to post his response to THR below:

Warner Bros.' Greg Silverman told THR that the difference between the DC/Warners movies and Marvel movies is that Warners allows directors to fulfill their visions. How do you respond?

FEIGE My response is: Look at the movies. Iron Man and Iron Man 2 are as Jon Favreau films as you can see. Kenneth Branagh has his stamp all over Thor. Captain America: First Avenger is very much a Joe Johnston film. The greatest example of that, look at Guardians of the Galaxy with James Gunn. And the one I always point out is Avengers. We knew the general structure when we sat down with Joss [Whedon]. But I don't want you to think we gave him a story. We gave him a "Here's where we think the movie should start, here's where we think this character should come into it; it would be fun if something like this happened in the middle and in the end a hole opens up and aliens pour out into Manhattan." So arguably, there were many pieces in place, and yet now that everyone has seen the movie, it's completely a Joss Whedon film. He was able to take all the elements that were handed to him – that were studio-imposed, if you want to look at it that way – and make it his own. We wouldn't have hired any of the filmmakers we've hired if we just wanted somebody who would do what we say.

Marvel has certainly been on the receiving end of complaints about all of the movies looking and feeling the same, it's clear from the studio's huge success that Feige has found a filmmaking formula that works well for him. And I can see where he's coming from with this response: Iron Man 3 very much feels like a Shane Black movie, for example, even though it has a lot of the same visual sheen as the rest of the MCU films.

What do you think? Does Silverman still have a point? Are you satisfied with Feige's response?