How Kevin Feige Gets Marvel Studios the Industry’s Best Deals

According to industry insiders, Marvel Studios and its President, Kevin Feige, are able to sign advantageous deals with creatives because of the positive brand association with the MCU. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which Feige has overseen as the primary producer since 2007, has grown from strength to strength since Iron Man (2008), which acted as the launchpad that eventually took the MCU to record-breaking heights. Since then, actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland have been turned into global superstars, turning once lesser-known heroes like Iron Man into the most recognizable superheroes around.

However, with all of Marvel’s dominance over the box office came a backlash against the superhero genre in recent years. With 26 feature films under its belt and a wealth of supplementary TV shows, video games, and comics, some of Hollywood’s most esteemed filmmakers like Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese have criticized the oversaturation of the genre. Then there’s Disney, Marvel Studios’ parent company since 2009, who have swept up large swathes of the entertainment industry under their banner. The House of Mouse’s subsequent evolution into streaming has also brought new controversies around how their stars are paid, seen most recently with Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney+ following the hybrid release of Black Widow.

Despite the grey clouds that sometimes surround Marvel Studios, the filmmaking behemoth continues to attract the biggest names in the film industry. To understand the draw of working with Kevin Feige, former THR editor Matthew Belloni interviewed a number of Hollywood insiders for the What I’m Hearing newsletter. Clearly apparent was the sheer star-power of the Marvel Studios President, who has spent over a decade steering a very reliable and steady ship, and has cultivated an environment of creative collaboration and managed risk-tasking, especially with regard to using newer talent. More obviously is the kudos that comes from being associated with the Marvel brand, as stated below:

I checked in with some top talent reps to survey what it’s like dealing with Marvel these days. I expected tons of gripes—Marvel in the Permutter days was notoriously difficult on deals—but got only a few. (Agents, for starters, would very much like Feige to call them and not their clients directly.) Either Marvel has beaten the town into submission, or with great power has come a certain responsibility. Don’t get me wrong—at Marvel, Feige is the only true star, the deals are below market and the I.P. is what’s valued above all else. But much like the “HBO tax” that existed for years in TV, where talent would take less money just to be associated with the HBO brand halo, the “Marvel tax” seems to be thriving. And most creatives are fine with that.

With Phase 4 of the MCU underway, the train hasn’t slowed for Feige. The gravity of the studio is about to be exemplified with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which will re-introduce several of Spidey’s villains that previously sat outside of the MCU. Again, it was Feige who was instrumental in bringing back beloved characters like Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2.

Evidently, as long as Feige stands as the creative mind behind the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio will continue to expand its influence over the industry. A call from Feige is probably seen by many as a golden ticket to cinematic recognition and success, but more importantly, any actor, director or writer signing a deal with Marvel Studios also benefits from an unusual degree of creative control, relative to a major Hollywood studio, and multiple outlets in which to explore the superhero genre.