Kevin Feige Says Audiences Will Never Get Tired of Superhero Movies
While it might seem like some people are getting burned out on superhero movies, Kevin Feige seems to think the moviegoing public at large will never get tired of them. The main selling point of his argument is that there’s a rich history of comics. Given that fact, there are innumerable stories to adapt into a variety of genres.
He was recently featured on an episode of The Movie Business Podcast where he argued his point at length...
I’ve been at Marvel Studios for over 22 years, and most of us here at Marvel Studios have been around a decade or longer together from probably my second year at Marvel, people were asking, ‘Well, how long is this going to last? Is this fad of comic book movies going to end?' I didn’t really understand the question. Because to me, it was akin to saying after Gone With the Wind, ‘Well, how many more movies can be made off of novels? Do you think the audience will sour on movies being adapted from books?‘ You would never ask that because there’s an inherent understanding among most people that a book can be anything. A novel can have any type of story whatsoever. So it all depends on what story you’re translating.
Feige added that with 80 years of Marvel comics to adapt — and many different genres of comics — there is a lot left to do. He claimed a Marvel movie needed only two things: “The Marvel Studios logo above the title and a seed of an idea from our publishing history".
There's really nothing wrong with Feige's argument, but comic book movies do still carry a certain stigma with them. Between Martin Scorcese’s comments about how they're “not cinema” and some people's general distaste for “nerd culture,” the movies don’t appeal to everyone. A lot of people just consider them popcorn movies with no depth. While there may be superhero movies with flavors of other genres, they’re largely just action movies. At the end of the day, only time will tell if they can change their reputation.
[H/T Variety]