Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige Addresses Worries Film Theaters Are Dying Out

The landscape of movies has undergone some major changes in the past decade, a lot of which were only accelerated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With social distancing measures briefly making the theatrical experience difficult, there’s been a lot of speculation about when and how things could get “back to normal” — and if they were even destined to to begin with. In a recent appearance on The Movie Business Podcast, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige addressed that conversation, and took a more optimistic outlook.

“I was talking to somebody, and I will not namedrop, but I was on a Zoom with a group of people and I sort of shared this, ‘Is it gonna go away? Is the movie business gonna go away?’ And this very smart person said, ‘It’s not.’ He said, ‘It’s gonna take a few years,’ and this person said three years, and this was almost three years ago [around 2020]. [They] stated, ‘It will take about three years to get higher.’ And I believed, ‘That is horrible. I need it to take six months to get higher.’ And this very sensible particular person turned out to be proper.”

“However this particular person additionally stated, I am not a sport fan, however this particular person stated, ‘Look, anyone can watch any soccer sport they need on tv. However each week, a whole lot of 1000’s, hundreds of thousands of individuals nonetheless go into stadiums in freezing chilly, within the rain, with a ton of individuals, driving, parking, overspending for a beer and a hotdog, as a result of that shared expertise is critical for humanity. And that if sooner or later, you begin to see stadiums empty at sporting occasions, then you can begin worrying about theatrical. However, that is not gonna occur, since you want this shared expertise.’ So, my prognosis for the long run may be very constructive, and there will be numerous change and plenty of disruption, however folks nonetheless wanna be in a theater, and cry, and cheer, and snicker collectively. And also you’re seeing that this vacation season and hopefully we’ll see it proceed to construct and develop subsequent 12 months. It is unbelievable and I’ve seen quotes that individuals current in regards to the fall of theatrical, considering, ‘Oh sure, this can be a new scorching take.’ And then you definately understand, it is from Selection from July of 1928.”

Will Secret Wars finish the MCU? 

The continued debate over superhero film fatigue comes after the affirmation that Marvel is working on an Avengers: Secret Wars film, main many followers to surprise if that multiverse-shattering story could end or reboot the MCU altogether, and the way which may coincide with a kind of “superhero fatigue” felt by audiences.

“I have been at Marvel Studios for over 22 years, and most of us right here at Marvel Studios have been round a decade or longer collectively,” Feige defined in the identical interview. “From most likely my second 12 months at Marvel, folks had been asking, ‘Effectively, how lengthy is that this going to final? Is that this fad of comedian ebook films going to finish?’ I did not actually perceive the query. As a result of to me, it was akin to saying after ‘Gone With the Wind,’ ‘Effectively, what number of extra films may be made off of novels? Do you assume the viewers will bitter on films being tailored from books?’ You’ll by no means ask that as a result of there’s an inherent understanding amongst most individuals {that a} ebook may be something. A novel can have any kind of story by any means. So all of it will depend on what story you are translating. Non-comic readers do not perceive that it is the identical factor in comics.”

“There’s 80 years of essentially the most fascinating, emotional, groundbreaking tales which have been instructed within the Marvel comics, and it’s our nice privilege to have the ability to take what now we have and adapt them,” Feige added. “One other means to try this is adapting them into completely different genres, and what kinds of films we wish to make. I discovered that if we inform the story proper, and we adapt them in a means that the viewers nonetheless — knock on wooden to this point — is following us alongside 22-plus years later… we will [make] any kinds of films that share two issues: the Marvel Studios emblem above the title and a seed of an thought from our publishing historical past.”

What do you consider Kevin Feige’s new feedback in regards to the theatrical expertise? Share your ideas with us within the feedback beneath!

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