The Marvel Cinematic Universe remains one of the biggest powerhouses in the movie industry, largely thanks to the never-ending efforts of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. With nine new MCU entries in theaters and on Disney+ in 2021, which precedes six more to come in 2022, Feige isn't resting on his laurels after breaking the internet and the box office with Avengers: Endgame.
Although Feige can't be as involved as he used to be on a day-to-day basis, he's busier than ever as he ensures that the franchise flows smoothly and consistently through each new addition to the story. With everything from the Emmy award-winning WandaVision to the Mulitverse-shattering Spider-Man: No Way Home under his watch, Feige's job gets more extensive seemingly every year.
Even with so much responsibility, Feige continues steering the ship and pushing the MCU forward to new heights and success with each release. Recently, half of Endgame's directing duo shared his thoughts on what's made Feige and Marvel so successful in their ventures over the years.
Joe Russo on Kevin Feige's Secret to Success
Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo spoke with Deadline about what makes Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige so successful with the MCU.
When asked what Feige's secret to success is, Russo revealed that Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige's "secret sauce" is to make his films entertaining. The executive listens for how much the audience is laughing and enjoying the film, which indicates to Russo just how important humor is to the way Feige looks at his work:
"Well, Marvel’s secret sauce is that Kevin likes the films to be entertaining, right? And entertaining typically involves humor, and I think that Kevin’s very big on testing movies and I think he likes to sit in the test screening and hear the response. So the audience’s laughing, you can hear their response. You can understand, ’Okay, every 2 minutes [they] are getting some enjoyment out of the movie,' and that’s a strong way for him to gauge how the movie will perform with an audience, right? So I think humor is very important to him.”
Feige Bringing Entertainment to the MCU
Throughout the MCU's storied 14-year history, one consistent theme that stands true in every project is that they all have a sense of humor in some form or another. Whether it's Taika Waititi's off-the-wall brand of comedy in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder or the half-hour legal humor on the way in She-Hulk, the MCU knows how to make people laugh.
Even though many fans lament this style of filmmaking, Feige and his team remain adamant about making sure that viewers are entertained in the theater and while watching on Disney+. While other franchises thrive on telling a darker story that focuses on more thrills and suspense, Marvel has made its name on making sure that fans enjoy their time diving into the MCU's stories.
As Phase 4 continues to grow, it doesn't appear that Feige is changing his secret to success in any way, with more expectedly funny outings on the horizon. Of course, horror and action will take the spotlight in the coming months as well, but fans will be laughing and enjoying themselves all the way through.
