LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Kevin Feige, Executive Producer and Marvel Studios President and Marvel Chief Creative Officer attends the Moon Knight Los Angeles Special Launch Event at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 22, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
DC reportedly tried to poach Kevin Feige from Marvel Studios after Justice League. Back in 2008, producer Kevin Feige, a guy who had worked on movies like Spider-Man 3 and X-Men, had a bold idea. He wanted to make a connected superhero movie universe which would all start with Iron Man. Despite a pretty messy production, the movie was a hit and was followed up by The Incredible Hulk later that summer, which helped plant the idea of crossover films thanks to a post-credits scene with Robert Downey Jr. Feige would go on to produce movies like Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and of course, The Avengers.
In just four years, Marvel became a Hollywood juggernaut and it only gained more steam in the subsequent years as Feige built out an expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe. Meanwhile, DC was struggling to replicate this success. Man of Steel was controversial, Batman v Superman was hated by critics despite making nearly $900 million, and studio executives began meddling on projects, leading to self-sabotage. All in all, it was a disaster and there wasn’t really a clear leader for DC like there was with Marvel. After Justice League was a catastrophic bomb, Warner Bros. began searching for someone who could pull things together. Of course, James Gunn ended up getting the job and helmed the very successful Superman reboot. But he wasn’t the only Marvel alum on WB’s radar.
DC Reportedly Tried to Hire Marvel Studios Boss Kevin Feige
According to the Wall Street Journal, after the failure of Justice League, Warner Bros. met with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige to see if he would lead DC. It’s unclear exactly what was discussed, how much was said, and how far these conversations went, but it appears that Feige at least entertained the idea by taking the meeting. According to sources that spoke to WSJ, the talks between Feige and Warner Bros. “fizzled”. Of course, it’s possible Feige was just being courteous by taking the meeting and had no intentions to leave Marvel. With a job like that, it’s understandable you’d want to hear them out.
Not only that, but that’s around the time that Feige would’ve been helping bring the Infinity Saga to a close. With such a conclusive finale, it’s likely he was considering passing the baton to someone else so he could go do something else, like shepherd DC. It’s possible Feige would’ve taken the job, but wasn’t able to negotiate terms with WB like certain levels of creative control, salary, or something else entirely. We’ll likely never know the full extent of these conversations, but nevertheless, it’s interesting to hear that WB tried to poach Feige instead of finding the next best thing.
Of course, it all worked out as James Gunn seems to have a solid idea for the future of DC. Feige is still leading the charge over at Marvel Studios and is producing two massive Avengers films that will come out in 2026 and 2027. That will once again close the loop on another saga for the MCU. Whether or not Feige bows out after that remains to be seen. Veteran Marvel producers like Nate Moore have moved on in recent years, so it’s clear some people are ready to move on.
However, Feige is a passionate guy and he may be content with leading the MCU for years to come. Feige hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a Marvel and DC crossover on the big screen, especially now that Gunn is in charge of DC. Perhaps that’s the next frontier to conquer for the two producers.
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