Summary
- Marvel boasts the most theatrical releases in 2023.
- The MCU owes its success to its visionary executive producer.
- Before Marvel's current phase, he had plans to make a Star Wars movie.
As 2023 has almost come to a close, we can conclude that the year has been pretty significant for the film industry. It has seen a plethora of high-profile premieres, and there will be a few more big movie releases in the coming weeks.
Barbie and Oppenheimer are arguably the titles most associated with 2023 – after all, these two films were the most anticipated films to hit theaters this summer. More importantly, they've collectively earned the industry nearly $2.5 billion at the box office. Still, 2023 will most likely be called the year of Marvel, as the studio will have released four big-screen installments by the end of tonight.
The Man Behind Marvel
As controversial as it may be, Marvel owes its success to one person who has been creating the MCU as we know it for the past two decades. Kevin Feige, the studio's top executive producer, seems to have worked on every Marvel movie starting with 2000's X-Men. But the filmmaker has other interests as well.
For instance, Feige is an avid fan of the Star Wars universe. So much so that in the late 2010s he pitched a new movie for the franchise to Disney, which owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm.
'I love that world and I love the notion of exploring new people and new places in that universe,' Kevin Feige said in an interview back then.
Unfortunately, the filmmaker no longer has such plans.
The Resurgence of Marvel
Recently, Kevin Feige was interviewed by reporters at the premiere of The Marvels. Among many other questions, he was asked if he was still producing the Star Wars movie he had talked about several years ago. Seemingly taken aback by the question, the Marvel executive gave a short but very comprehensive 'No.'
While this news is sad for any Star Wars fan, Feige can be excused as he has been and will be very busy with the multiple Marvel productions we've seen in recent years and will be seeing in the near future. Since 2019, when the filmmaker teased a potential SW installment under his production, the studio has released a whopping ten movies, not to mention numerous TV shows for Disney+.
What's more, Marvel already has seven more films scheduled through 2027, so Feige simply doesn't have enough time to invest in side projects.
The Marvels are set to make their big theatrical debut tonight.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter.