Will the Marvel super hero movies go the way of the Western genre? That’s pretty much what Steven Spielberg recently said, but guess what? That’s okay with Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige.
Feige recently took part in an Avengers: Age Of Ultron Blu-Ray event where he discussed Marvel’s Phase 4 plans, Infinity War, Marvel TV, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man. IGN caught up with Feige to get his thoughts on Spielberg’s comments as well as what Batman Vs. Superman director Zack Snyder recently had to say about Ant-Man and the Marvel movies not being iconic.
Regarding Spielberg’s comments, Feige offered the Western genre lasted almost fifty years, so what would mean Marvel is still in its infancy.
“The Western lasted 40-50 years, and they still pop up occasionally,” Feige said. “It’s been, what, eight years since Iron Man 1 if we count that, which I do, as the beginning of our MCU? Maybe [the superhero genre] will only last another 42 years.”
Feige also offered a rebuttal to Snyder’s comments that Marvel movies are the “flavor of the week.”
“I think we’ve been doing pretty well. I’m very confident in the films we’ve announced that we have coming forward that they’re going to be surprising and different and unique,” Feige offered. “They all happen to be based on Marvel characters and Marvel comics, but from a genre and a cinematic perspective, they’re all very unique. Civil War may as well be a different genre from Age of Ultron.”
Feige continued by offering an an example of comparing Spielberg and Snyder’s sentiments to movies that have adapted popular novels, as obviously the novel-to-movie industry is booming and won’t be going the way of the Western any time soon.
“The way Winter Soldier was a political thriller, I think there is a more emotional and more geopolitical and real world through line through Civil War than there was in the broader Age of Ultron with the killer AI Tony Stark invention,” Feige said. “I think it’s the same thing as saying: ‘I don’t know how many more movies can be made from novels. I think people are going to bored with novels being turned into movies. I don’t know how long it’s going to last.’”
Speaking of the Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan also recently fired a few shots in the direction of Zack Snyder defending the Marvel brand as well.
