Kevin Feige Reportedly Changing His Strategy on MCU Director Hiring

A new rumor suggested that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is now changing his strategy when it comes to hiring behind-the-camera talent for the MCU.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe hired plenty of established talent in the past, it's previously been successful in discovering lesser-known talents. The biggest example of this would be the Russo Brothers, who previously only directed sitcoms for television before going on to handle two of the biggest films of all time.

A more recent example would be WandaVision director Matt Shakman, who is now leading the charge on Fantastic Four. The hit Disney+ series' showrunner, Jac Schaeffer, was even been hired again by Marvel Studios to be involved in two other projects.

Despite wins like those, however, Marvel Studios continues to struggle when it comes to the reception of many of its recent projects. This includes 2023's Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which was penned by Jeff Loveness, a talented writer with a limited filmography outside of Rick and Morty.

Now, a new report suggested that Marvel Studios might start veering away from hiring more unknown talent.

Kevin Feige Adjusting His Hiring Strategies?

A new rumor from insider Jeff Sneider, while speaking on The Hot Mic, potentially revealed that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is looking to adjust how the company hires some of its biggest creatives.

Sneider noted how he was told that "Feige does want to hire more established talent behind the camera."

Back in June 2022, sources told Deadline's Justin Kroll that "after not having to worry about" watching over Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness every moment of its production, Feige was hoping for more of the same for Fantastic Four.

“Kevin [Feige] doesn’t want to oversee the entire shoot, and after not having to worry about that with [Sam] Raimi, he is very game to the same outcome with [the 'Fantastic Four''s] shoot.”

Will Marvel Studios Adjust How It Picks Creatives?

Even if the rumored changes are true, it's hard to believe that Marvel Studios would be completely against working with lesser established talent. Discovering those types of creatives has been a staple ever since the MCU was created—Marvel Studios wouldn't completely turn its back on those options.

But it's easy to see Marvel taking those bigger risks a little less often than before, especially when it comes to its more notable properties.

The company's out-of-the-box creative choice to bring Chloé Zhao on board as the Eternals' director resulted in the MCU's first rotten branded movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

Many fans believe that two new on-the-scene writers, Michael Waldron and Jeff Loveness, both of whom were involved with poorly received MCU projects, will be next in line to be replaced with more experienced and proven talent.

After all, the duo both have an upcoming Avengers movie to their name, and many fans don't see it staying that way. This is especially true when it comes to Loveness and The Kang Dynasty, as the writer's recent Quantumania film did not sit well with many.