When industry folks talk about Marvel Studios, it’s normally about “the formula” that the studio has cracked in terms of superhero films. Or you hear how Kevin Feige’s company is a well-oiled machine that shows no signs of slowing down. And now, with the movie side of Marvel Studios pretty well figured out, for now, it appears the head of the superhero studio is putting his focus on TV.
According to a report from THR (as part of the recent “Black Panther 2” announcement), Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, is said to be focusing the energy of the studio on making sure the TV side of the business launches strong, since the film side is pretty much in cruise control at the moment.
The report quotes an insider that said, “The series are the priority. Ramping them up takes a lot of focus. The movie machinery is well established.”
Now, depending on how you read that statement, you could be in total agreement with that idea and understand what Feige’s plan is for the series. Or, if you’re somewhat of a pessimist, you can see this as Marvel Studios taking its eye off the ball to focus on TV, and perhaps this might mean there’s a misstep on the film side coming soon. Obviously, there are alarmists that will flood social media with the latter, but it’s fairly clear the real thrust of what is being reported is the former.
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Marvel Studios is betting big on Disney+. That is to say, Disney is betting BIG on its streaming platform and is hoping that its most popular production company under its umbrella can flood the service with fan-favorite content that is exclusive to Disney+. And so, that means Feige has to adjust his mindset to not only think about his grand film plan that has, thus far, included two dozen films and a ton of A-list actors in superhero costumes, but he also needs to figure out how to translate that sort of Marvel Studios formula to a medium that is arguably very different than film and needs some extra special attention.
And it’s clear from the announced TV projects that Marvel Studios isn’t paying it safe with its TV shows. Sure, the company is banking on star power with “WandaVision,” “Loki,” “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and “Hawkeye” feature established, fan-favorite characters that should immediately draw interest when they debut. However, Marvel is also launching shows like “Ms. Marvel,” “She-Hulk,” and “Moon Knight,” which all are brand-new characters and big swings for the company. “Ms. Marvel” aims to tackle the idea of “legacy” in the MCU, with one character taking inspiration from another (Captain Marvel) to become a hero. “She-Hulk” is hoping to show that Mark Ruffalo doesn’t have the monopoly on super strong, green heroes. And “Moon Knight” is a psychological thriller with shades of Batman that is far from a no-brainer. (Though, the latter has the added benefit of starring Oscar Isaac.)
All this to say, it might be scary to think that Feige and his Marvel Studios crew are focusing on TV more than films, at this point. However, it just goes to show how much confidence the folks at Marvel have in the film side of the business that they can make TV the priority for now.
The Marvel Studios on Disney+ experiment begins with “WandaVision” on January 15, 2021.
