In August 2023, on the TV channel ABC the show of the series ended “Agents of SHIELD“(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) – a very strange project, which became a clear demonstration of the civil war inside Marvel… However, it is too early to forget about it.
Now the studio’s success is associated with Kevin Feigewho got the laurels of the architect cinematic universe… But initially he obeyed another person – the head Marvel Enterprises Ike Perlmutter…
How toys saved Marvel
The entrepreneur has had a huge impact on Marvel. In the 90s of the last century Marvel Group went through bankruptcy. And it was Perlmutter who won the battle for assets by transforming the company (by merging with Toy biz) in Marvel Enterprises…
Some of Perlmutter’s decisions were highly controversial and problematic, though understandable in the context of a business rescue. His stinginess, pettiness, racism and misogyny are legendary in Hollywood. And the strangest feature of a businessman was his hatred of “X-Men“(X-Men) and “Fantastic Four“(Fantastic Four).
In the face of bankruptcy, Marvel began selling licenses to film studios to use characters from its comics, while retaining the rights to produce merchandise. Given Perlmutter’s core business, the production of movie-based toys became an important source of income, but Marvel received mere pennies from collecting pictures.
Film Brian Singer “X-Men“was released in 2000, but many doubted the success of the project. In addition, the leapfrog with the date of the premiere created problems for Marvel Enterprises, which was preparing to launch a line of toys.
Ultimately, the film turned out to be a great success for everyone involved. Fox, which owned the rights to the film versions of the characters, made tons of money, and the toys were literally swept off the shelves. In addition, a significant event took place – a young producer Kevin Feige joined the Marvel team, who was working on X-Men.
Everyone was happy … except for Ike Perlmutter, who wanted more. So the TV series saw the light “Mutant X“(Mutant x). The idea was to get around the restrictions imposed by the Fox contract. All references to comics about the X-Men were removed from the series, the main characters received mutations thanks to genetic experiments, and so on.
However, that didn’t stop Fox from filing a lawsuit against Marvel. In response, she prepared a counterclaim. In the end, the judge sided with Marvel, but the latter had to make changes to the show, because too many elements were reminiscent of the X-Men movie.
The series received three seasons, which were well received by the audience. But it had to be closed after the third season due to financial problems of the production company. Fireworks Entertainment… In addition, Marvel managed to quarrel with its partner. Tribune Entertainment… The parties accused each other of fraud and violation of agreements, and the case was settled only in 2005.
Birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Just in 2003-2006, a new plan began to form at Marvel – to release movie comics on their own. The studio became a partner Paramount, and the first film was dedicated to Iron Man… Cause? Children liked the character, and toys based on motives would quickly be swept off the shelves. In addition to the studio, just in 2006, the rights to the character returned, which were originally sold to … Fox.
Perlmutter saved every penny in production, striving to minimize losses in case of failure, because in the project for 140 million dollars, few people believed in Hollywood. That is why the director was chosen Jon Favreau – his previous film “Zatura: Space Adventure“It failed miserably at the box office, so the flexible filmmaker was inexpensive. In addition, at the time of production, the project did not have a ready-made script, which frightened people off.
The main role went to Robert Downey Jr., who at that moment gradually came to his senses after the drug intoxication that destroyed his career and marriage. Although other actors auditioned for the role, it was Downey Jr. who best portrayed the billionaire playboy philanthropist. In addition, he improvised a lot on the set, which helped with the raw script.
The film released in 2008 “iron Man“(Iron man) became a blockbuster and a starting point for the MCU, turning Robert Downey Jr. into a superstar and Jon Favreau into a respected filmmaker. But not everyone knows that even then the X-Men could become part of the MCU.
In 2019, Kevin Feige showed a cut-off post-credits scene in which Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) tells Tony Stark about the initiative “Avengers“(Avengers), along the way mentioning “radioactive beetles” (in the early version of the script it was assumed that the tentacles Doctor Octopus from the movie “Spiderman 2” Sam Raimi has developed Stark Industries) and “all sorts of different mutants.”
Negotiations between Marvel and Fox about the use of characters were really carried out, only the studios quarreled over money, and the Easter egg was cut out. The culprit was Perlmutter, who underestimated the company’s financial performance.
In 2009 Disney buys Marvel for four billion dollars. For this money Mickey Mouse house received a film comic strip production conveyor with a clear roadmap. However, this complicated the dialogue with Sony and Fox.
Inhumans against mutants
The next major conflict over mutants dates back to 2013, when the movie was in production. “Avengers: Age of Ultron“(Avengers: age of ultron) exhausted Joss Whedon… Ike Perlmutter and his so-called creative committee, which dictated the rules of the game to directors (it was he who ruined the films “Thor 2: The Kingdom of Darkness“and”Iron Man 3“).
The stumbling block was the children of the super mutant Eric Lehnscher (Magneto) – Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Pietro Maximoff (Mercury). They were mutants and also had comic book connections with the Avengers. As a result, two versions appeared Mercury: character played in the MCU Aaron Taylor-Johnsonand in cinematic universe Fox – Evan Peters… It’s pretty funny, because in dilogy “Kick-ass“the first played the main character, and the second played his school friend and imitator named Tryndets…
The nuance was that Marvel could not mention mutants: Wanda and Pietro were the result of the experiments of the Nazi organization “HYDRA“(HYDRA) with one of the stones of infinity. And at Fox, Mercury changed his name (he is not Pietro, but Peter).
2014 was a turning point. That’s when Marvel launched a crusade against Fox. The company did not want to advertise a competitor’s projects, which was expressed in downplaying the value of mutants and Fantastic Four, the cancellation of entire series of comics, as well as a moratorium on the production of toys and video games based on. According to insiders, in the office of the company, in principle, any posters with superheroes from the “black list” were banned, and artists at exhibitions were not allowed to draw thematic art.
As an alternative to mutants, Nonhumans – the result of experiments of the alien race of Kree on people with the use of terrigenous fog, which gives them special abilities. The characters were invented back in 1965, but under Perlmutter, they literally found a second wind.
The main trump card was supposed to be the film announced in the same 2014 “Nonhumans“(Marvel’s Inhumans). They made their debut in the second season of the series “Agents of SHIELD”, and the emphasis was on the main character Daisy “Skye” Johnson (Chloe Bennett), which received the ability to cause earthquakes using vibration waves, for which she received the nickname Shiver…
Civil War in Marvel
It is unknown where the plan of the people of Perlmutter would have led, but in 2015 civil war broke out in Marvel. Kevin Feige went against his boss, tired of Perlmutter’s petty tyranny. According to insiders, the head of Marvel wanted to fire Robert Downey Jr., who began to demand an expansion of his role in the MCU, and Feige sided with the actor, who had a key role in the further development of the franchise. Moreover, the producer threatened to resign if the company’s strategy did not change.
The rift was fertile, as Disney’s senior executives were fed up with Ike Perlmutter’s toxicity, too. And these are not empty accusations of the 2023 sample. The Palestinian native earned a bad reputation for his racist and misogynistic speech and behavior, which resulted in a series of legal proceedings.
Thanks to the hacker hacking of Sony servers, it became public that it was Perlmutter who, in principle, blocked the production of films about female superheroes who allegedly would not collect the box office. Separately, it is worth noting the replacement of the player who played Rhodey in “Iron Man” Terrence Howard on Don Cheadlabecause the second was cheaper, and “all blacks look the same.”
In the summer of 2015, Feige organized a putsch against the Perlmutter faction. The producer began reporting directly to the chapter Walt disney studios Alan Horn… Marvel was conditionally split into two parts – Marvel Studios gave Feige full control, and Perlmutter was left to be torn apart by television series (Marvel television) and merchandise.
This was the beginning of the defeat of the eminent businessman. Gradually, Kevin Feige’s team began to squeeze out Perlmutter’s people, minimizing their impact on the franchise. Marvel cinematic universe freed from the influence of the “creative committee” headed by the writer Brian Michael Bendis… The last one in 2017 fled to Dc comics…
The next milestone was the failure of the Inhumans project. Initially, it was about a full-fledged theatrical release. With Feige’s strengthening, the plan was revised, which turned the film into a TV series, two episodes of which were played in cinemas. IMAX…
The end result was not appreciated by critics or audiences. “Inhumans” were scolded for mediocre visuals, disgusting script, leaky logic and wooden acting. Given the poor box office, nightmarish ratings and low ratings, the project was sentenced to close.
Capcom “unlocked”
The consequences of the conflict were rather twofold. On the one hand, Feige cut the ties between the MCU and TV series, which made the latter stew in their own juice. On the other hand, completely absurd problems have arisen in the video game market.
Just in the second half of the 2010s, Marvel offered third-party companies to obtain licenses for the production of superhero games or to republish time-tested projects. The activity was associated with the closure of the unprofitable studio Disney Interactive…
Marvel has a relationship of trust with Sony – founder of Marvel Studios and Perlmutter’s business partner Avi Arad acted as the producer of all Spider-Man films. The partnership resulted in the release of the game in 2018 Marvel’s Spider-Man from Insomniac Games, which has become a powerful exclusive Playstation 4…
But Capcom bad luck. In the wake of the hype in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Japanese publisher decided to revive the cult fighting game series Marvel vs. Capcom… Remastered on Xbox One and PS4 in March 2017 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and the main dish was supposed to be a new part of the series, which was called Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite…
However, Capcom’s brainchild began to smash even before the release. Someone scolded the poor graphics, but the meager list of available fighters became the key problem. The fact is that there was not a single mutant in Infinite, although Wolverine, Magneto, Deadpool and the other X-Men have long been an integral part of the franchise.
As a result, the sales of the fighting game disappointed the publisher. And the controversial decision on the fighters is associated precisely with the pressure on Capcom from Marvel and the negative influence of Ike Perlmutter.
Nobody officially admitted this. But it is known that Capcom employees wanted to add members Fantastic Four back in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. In response, Marvel invited them to pay attention to Skrulls who could copy the abilities of their opponents. The Fantastic Four never appeared in the fighting game; Doctor Doom…
The end of the Civil War and the return of the Inhumans and X-Men
Marvel Civil War ended in 2019 when Kevin Feige came under control Marvel comics, Marvel Television and Marvel animation… The transfer was simplified by the fact that Ike Perlmutter never joined the Disney board.
The last bastion of resistance was Marvel Television, which was controlled by an associate of Perlmutter – Jeff Lobe… He was betting on more diverse content for the streaming service Hulu…
In particular, the top manager developed the initiative “A journey into fear“(Adventure Into Fear), which planned to release darker TV series based on Marvel comics. Only survived until the release “Helstrom“(Helstrom), which was closed after the first season.
And in 2019, Disney announced the purchase of the Fox Film Division for $ 71 billion. This allowed us to solve the problem with the rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men once and for all.
Now Kevin Feige has concentrated in his hands full control over the production of TV series and films about superheroes. Even Sony’s Spider-Man deal has been scrapped towards expansion. The MCU Phase 4 focuses on developing the concept of the Multiverse, making it easier to integrate Inhumans and X-Men.
In the next few years, the updated Inhumans should return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The premiere of the series is scheduled for 2023 “Miss Marvel“(Ms. Marvel), wherein Iman Vellani will play a Muslim schoolgirl Kamalu Khan, which, after the Terrigenous Mist incident, gains the ability to deform its body.
And in 2023 on Disney + the series will be released “Secret invasion“(Secret Invasion), which is associated with the Skrulls and Nick Fury. According to Giant Freakin RobotChloe Bennett will play Daisy Johnson again.
In the finale of Agents of SHIELD, a girl is sent into space to fulfill some secret mission. Fans believe that through the Shiver of Inhumans they will be connected to the organization “SWORD.“(S.W.O.R.D.), which faces the task of combating extraterrestrial threats.
Moreover, the chief editor of the portal Geekosity Mikey Sutton states that the studio is currently discussing the possibility of a new season of Agents of SHIELD on Disney +, which will be more closely associated with the MCU.
Attention! Spoilers for the WandaVision series will follow!
As for the X-Men, Kevin Feige personally announced the start of production film “Deadpool 3“(Deadpool 3), which will receive an R rating. The sisters are responsible for the script. Lizzie and Wendy Molyneuxwho are famous for the animated series “Bob’s Diner“. The actor supervises their work Ryan Reynoldswho can’t wait to return to the role of a chatty mercenary.
However, mutants have already appeared in the MCU. On February 5, Disney + released a new episode of “Wanda Vision“(WandaVision). At the very end of Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) opens the door behind which is her brother – Pietro Maximoff. But it was not Aaron Taylor-Johnson who played it, but Evan Peters.
According to fan theories and statements by a number of insiders, Peters is not playing Mercury, but a man who “plays a mutant.” Presumably, we are talking about the demon Mephisto, which in the series is rather “bold” hinted at.
However, there is also an alternative version, which was recently analyzed by Mikey Sutton. According to a fresh insight, Evan Peters plays not a demonic doppelganger, but an alternative version of Pietro, who was dragged into her reality by Wanda, obsessed with the desire to find a family. The Scarlet Witch is not capable of resurrecting killed people, so she is looking for their replacement in other universes (what happens to the corpse of the Shintoid Vision is not yet completely clear).
The insider claims that the presence of mutants in the series will not be limited only to Mercury. Recently Elizabeth Olsen hinted that a cameo is expected in future episodes comparable to the appearance Luke Skywalker in “The Mandalorian“.
Many believe that it was about Peters, but Sutton writes that this is not the case. According to preliminary reports, during the production of WandaVision, Marvel contacted Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbenderby inviting them to play Magneto again.
However, Sutton’s source does not know if any of the actors gave their consent. It is possible that the producers could change their plans, so while the above should be taken with skepticism.
Conclusion
Despite the civil war in Marvel, Ike Perlmutter should not be belittled. It was thanks to the efforts of his team that the company climbed out of the financial crisis and became the flagship film studio in Hollywood.
Some may draw parallels between Perlmutter and Chapter Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedythat nearly destroyed the legacy George Lucas, which is why the management of Disney threw in to save the franchise Jonah Favreau and Kevin Feige himself. You can also recall the existence of an analogue of the creative committee in the form of a script group, and the ban on X-Men in Marvel echoes the posters hanging in the Lucasfilm office with crossed out with red felt-tip pen Luke Skywalker’s face.
In our opinion, this is not entirely correct. Ike Perlmutter most resembles the current head Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Tom Rothman… Until 2012, he headed the Fox film division and oversaw the X-Men franchise.
Rothman was extremely careful about allocating money and never understood the reasons for the popularity of movie comics. In particular, he is credited with the decision to sew a mouth Deadpool in film “X-Men: The Beginning. Wolverine“, as well as stubborn blocking of subsequent attempts Ryan Reynolds to launch a solo album about a chatty mercenary.
The situation changed only after the transfer of the manager under the wing of Sony, and Rothman should be thanked for saving the Japanese company’s film division from collapse.
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