Kevin Feige on the MCU's Money-Making Success and Why He Doesn't Think Much About It

As new MCU content releases on Disney+, the franchise continues to dominate. Loki's series premiere recently broke the record for first-week viewership on the platform, just surpassing The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

Those within Marvel have also opened up about this clear success, with Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso sharing her explanation that the franchise is global and representative. Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan also talked about why he sees Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige as so successful, citing his modesty, excitement, and willingness to surround himself with the best.

According to Feige himself, however, the studio has a much different way of looking at its accomplishments...

KEVIN FEIGE ON MCU FINANCIALS

Speaking to Deadline about the success of Marvel's Disney+ shows, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige shed some light on the internal perspective on the economics of the MCU. Feige bluntly stated that he "[doesn't] spend a lot of time thinking about numbers, either the budget numbers or box office numbers."

Rather than fixating on those numbers, the super-producer said that he "thinks[s] about them in as much as it allows us to do more work." 

Providing specific examples, he noted that "If Iron Man didn’t work, we wouldn’t have been able to make another movie," and that "If Avengers didn’t work, we wouldn’t have been able to make another Avengers."

According to Feige, commercial success is just a factor that allows you to "keep growing and keep evolving."

Feige also noted that Marvel Studios "[has] not and [has] never embarked on a project because research and analysis said we should. Sometimes, quite the opposite.”

INSIGHT INTO PHASE 4 OF THE MCU

While these comments don't shed new light on specific projects, they do offer some interesting insight into the man behind the MCU. This sort of insider's look helps to clarify certain decisions and directions for the franchise.

Feige's remarks explain a lot about Phase 4 of the MCU. While projects like Black Widow don't stray too far from the mold, the mind-bending narratives of WandaVision and Loki and the more clear-cut racial dialogue offered by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier seem like riskier ventures. However, they appear to have paid off so far, both critically and commercially.

Future feature films within the MCU look to also follow this philosophy. Even as projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home exist as sequels to existing films, they move the franchise in new, interesting directions. While it's unclear how far these movies will push, at this point, the MCU seems poised to expand into an exploration of the multiverse, something quite unfamiliar.

Fans looking for more strange and bold choices from the franchise should look no further than Loki, with the third episode of the unpredictable series releasing on June 23, 2021 on Disney+.