Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige almost quit due to conflicts with Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter, Disney CEO Bob Iger reveals. Before Feige gained autonomy managing the MCU, he was answering to Perlmutter. However, a series of unfortunate events, including very nearly resigning from his post, led to The Walt Disney Company CEO granting the producer extraordinaire creative and financial freedom from his former boss.

Notoriously known to be a private person, Perlmutter became the chairman of Marvel in 2001 and then the chief executive officer of Marvel Comics in 2005. He maintained his position at the company even after Disney’s acquisition in 2009. He, however, is no longer involved with Marvel Studios. Co-presidents Feige and Louis D’Esposito have been overseeing the entirety of the franchise starting in 2015, with the pair reporting directly to Walt Disney Chairman Alan Horn instead of Perlmutter. Several reports offer fans some insight on what led to this separation over the years, now Iger is sharing his story on what really went down.

In his new book The Ride of a Lifetime, Iger reveals that he himself had some disagreements with an unnamed Marvel executive in New York who was skeptical of Black Panther and Captain Marvel’s box office potential during the development of Captain America: Civil War. Feige was on the same side as Iger, and was so frustrated about the situation that he almost resigned from his post. Instead of letting him go, to deescalate the tension Iger decided to promote Feige so that he no longer needed to answer to Perlmutter and the New York-based Marvel committee.

Admittedly, Marvel Studios lacked diversity during their early years and Perlmutter’s creative involvement somewhat explains that. Once Feige was granted full control of the MCU, he didn’t waste time making amends with the relatively quick turn around for both Black Panther and Captain Marvel - both of which are billion dollar-earners. There’s still a lot of work left to be done to make sure that the MCU is all-encompassing, but it’s good to know that everyone is striving for proper representation in their movies.

“Kevin is one of the most talented film executives in the business, but my sense was that the strained relationship with New York was threatening his continued success. I knew I had to intervene, and so in May 2015, I made the decision to split Marvel’s movie-making unit off from the rest of Marvel and bring it under Alan Horn and the Walt Disney Studios. Kevin would now report directly to Alan, and would benefit from his experience, and the tensions that had built up between him and the New York office would be alleviated.”

It’s hard to imagine Marvel Studios without Feige. While there’s also D’Esposito, as well as the roster of great minds behind the MCU, Feige is arguably it’s primary creative force. He is hands-on with all their projects and also handles the franchise’s PR. Given how the film series shaped up the last few years since its split with Marvel Entertainment, it’s safe to say that Iger did the right thing for Disney. And the House of Mouse expands to streaming with Disney+, Feige will be one of the most pivotal personas in terms of content-creation as Marvel Studios dabbles with their small screen offerings.

More: Every Marvel TV Series Coming To Disney+

Source: The Ride of a Lifetime

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