While Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has been the face of the studio to many – if not most – fans, it wasn’t hard to feel the presence of CEO Ike Perlmutter always close behind. For those unaware as to who Perlmutter is, if you’ll recall, the Sony leaks brought forth an e-mail that he sent in which he famously listed the female led comic book films that had been a “disaster”. He is also famous for being incredibly cheap, and he nearly let Robert Downey Jr. walk away from Captain America: Civil War last year over salary negotiations. To say that Perlmutter was a problem for Feige would be putting it nicely.
So when news broke late last night that there’d been some restructuring at Marvel Studios, freeing Feige of Perlmutter’s control? It felt like a very good thing for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Marvel Studios is taking the next logical step in its integration with The Walt Disney Studios, joining Pixar and Lucasfilm in centralizing many of its film-related functions in Burbank, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito continuing to lead the Marvel Studios team reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn,” a Disney spokesperson tells THR in a statement.
What does this mean for the MCU? It’s hard to say. Chances are it won’t affect the films, but it’ll definitely affect the television side of things. With Perlmutter retaining oversight of Marvel Television, it’ll be interesting to see what this means for Agent Carter. Unlike Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Netflix shows, Feige has been actively involved in Agent Carter from day one. I’d assume he’d continue to be involved with the second season, which officially began production yesterday, so it’s hard to tell what role Perlmutter will play in regards to that show.
It also means that the gap between Marvel Television and Marvel Studios is sure to widen even more. While Feige has been steering the cinematic universe, Jeph Loeb has been focusing on the television side of things. There was always sort of a divide between both Marvel TV and Marvel Studios, and with Loeb now set to report to Perlmutter, that divide can only get worse.
As for the film side of things, this should allow for more wiggle room for Feige – more creative control over the upcoming Phase Three, and possibly Phase Four should he stick around ’til then.
Phase Three of the MCU kicks off next year when Captain America: Civil War hits movie theaters on May 6th, 2016.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
