Kevin Feige Worried He Might Be Out of a Job When He Went To Pitch Marvel Female Superhero Movies To Disney
As you know, Marvel Studios is looking to be very inclusive with the future films they make. They are now developing solo female superhero movies as well as introducing LGBT characters into the MCU. While the studio has been criticized for taking too long to get to this point, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been trying to push this for years.
According to Mark Ruffalo, Feige even put his job on the line at one point during the first Avengers movie to push for these changes. He went in to stand up to Disney's biggest shareholder Ike Perlmutter, who did not believe that female superhero films would work. Feige wanted to prove him wrong, though.
Ruffalo said that Feige wasn't sure if he'd have a job after making his pitch for female superheroes to Disney. It's not clear whether he would've quit if they said no or if he thought the studio might fire him for standing up to them. During an interview with the Independent, Ruffalo said:
“When we did the first Avengers, Kevin Feige told me, ‘Listen, I might not be here tomorrow.’ [He was going to talk to Disney about the issue of why there were no female superhero movies.] And he’s like, ‘Ike [Isaac Perlmutter, Disney’s largest shareholder at the time] does not believe that anyone will go to a female-starring superhero movie. So if I am still here tomorrow, you will know that I won that battle.’”
As you know, Feige won the battle because he’s still around making Marvel movies! It was a long road to get to where he wanted to be, but after 21 films, Marvel finally got Captain Marvel made, their first solo female movie. Feige speaking up for where he wanted to see the franchise go in the future was the turning point for Marvel, Mark Ruffalo continued:
“Because Kevin wanted black superheroes, women superheroes, LGBT superheroes. He changed the whole Marvel universe. We now have a gay superhero on the way, we have black superheroes, we have female superheroes – Scarlett Johansson has her movie coming out, we have Captain Marvel, they are doing She-Hulk next. No other studio is being that inclusive on that level. [Smiles] They have to, though. This is the fucking world.”
At the end of the day, regardless of race, gender, or how a person identifies themselves, the most important aspects of these films is the story. If Marvel continues to tell great stories with great characters then people are going to show up to watch their films.
Ya gotta give Feige respect for sticking up and fighting for his convictions.