Kevin Feige can do no wrong in the eyes of some Marvel fans, but yesterday was a reminder that this is about money, power and big business.
Fiege has taken over the film division of Marvel and now directly reports to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn, wresting oversight of the film division away from Marvel Entertainment COO Ike Perlmutter, according to Deadline. Television and other Marvel endeavors remain under Perlmutter’s control.
Fiege was apparently frustrated with Perlmutter’s micromanaging, and brought his concerns to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
“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,” said a spokesperson for Disney.
Feige was named President of Marvel Studios in 2007, remaining in the job when the company was sold to Disney at the end of 2009. He has been the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has generated $8.9 billion since May of 2008.
Up next for Marvel Studios:
Captain America: Civil War – May 6, 2016
Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017
Untitled Spider-Man – July 28, 2017
Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017
Avengers: Infinity War Part I – May 4, 2018
Black Panther – July 6, 2018
Captain Marvel – November 2, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War Part II – May 3, 2019
Inhumans – July 12, 2019
