MCU Showrunner Kevin Feige Once Considered Leaving Marvel For DC Universe

Many people have contributed to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is without a doubt the centerpiece of the media giant's rise to the top of the film industry.

Feige steered Marvel's move to create a shared universe for some of the superhero characters in their collection, which led to the debut of "Iron Man," the "Avengers," and other spinoff films and series that have thoroughly enthralled fans over the years.

According to a new claim, Feige may not have been present to help continue Marvel's recent cinematic triumph because he was on the point of leaving the firm to join DC due to some internal conflicts. While the issue seems to have been forgotten, at the time, things were very dicey, and many of the Marvel film fans now know today may never have existed.

During Phase 2, it was no knowledge that Feige was dissatisfied with Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter, whom he reported to at the time. Feige wanted a less restrictive rein on the kind of movies he could push forward and the characters he could feature. Perlmutter, on the other hand, was unwilling to make such a compromise, prompting a disgruntled Feige to seriously consider leaving Marvel for their archrivals, DC.

According to a recent Puck News piece (Via Screen Rant), Insider Matthew Belloni mentioned the prospective move that didn't materialize when discussing DC's future with Warner Bros. Discovery, citing how showrunner C.E.O. David Zaslav was moved to steal Feige.

"Zaslav could make another run at Feige, who, I'm told, talked pretty seriously with Warners a few years ago when he was angling to escape the oversight of Marvel's then-madman C.E.O. Ike Perlmutter," said in the report.

Feige's displeasure with the run of affairs at Marvel could not have been easily batted away by simple words and unfulfilled promises; thus, keeping him was a challenge. At the time, everything was on the line, and either party might have played any hand to get their wishes.

During the internal struggle at the top, some of the actors in the franchise were aware of it all. In a past interview with The Independent, Marvel actor Mark Ruffalo stated that Feige lobbied for more diversity in the MCU, especially a female-led Marvel picture.

He said: "When we did the first avengers, Kevin Feige told me, 'listen, I might not be here tomorrow.' and he's like, 'ike does not believe that anyone will go to a female-starring super movie.' so if I am still here tomorrow you will know that I won that battle.'"

Even the fans regarded Perlmutter as a divisive character who was extremely frugal with budgets to a fault. He has also been rumored to make ugly racist remarks in the past, which may have led to his blocking of more diverse Marvel projects.

Feige eventually triumphed in a long-running ideological struggle with Perlmutter once Marvel Studios was absorbed into Walt Disney Studios. Other showrunners, notably as then-Disney CEO Bob Iger, worked hard to persuade Feige to put his outside interests aside and stick with Marvel.

Iger described in his book The Ride of a Lifetime how he was key in persuading Perlmutter to enable the development of diverse films such as "Black Panther" and "Captain Marvel." In October 2019, Iger also oversaw the elevation of Feige to Marvel's Chief Creative Officer alongside his then role of Marvel studios president, reducing Perlmutter's control over the MCU and other aspects of the Marvel brand.

Feige is no longer in a disadvantaged position, as he no longer reports directly to Perlmutter. He lived to fight another day for the MCU's diversity and finally ensured it, which has put a more definite pause on his exit plan at least for the time.

With Kevin Feige at the leadership of Marvel's creative direction, the media conglomerates have experienced a surge in not just popularity but also profitability. "Black Panther" and "Captain Marvel," two films that may never have seen the light of day, have made billions of dollars and are among the top ten most successful Marvel films of the last decade.

In addition, the Avengers franchise, which was founded on Feige's concept of a shared universe, has outperformed numerous big-budget films in terms of box office receipts, even inspiring DC to produce their own crossover movies.

Feige has helped the MCU pride itself on its tremendously wide field of characters and stories and is now considered an indispensable leader for Marvel Studios as it enters Phase 4. As a result, the notion that he was on the verge of quitting Disney/Marvel due to his differences with Perlmutter seems like the biggest mistake that never happened.