Kevin Feige Says MCU Stars Will No Longer Sign On To Multi-Movie Deals
Looks like Marvel Studios is ready to start doing things a little differently, and their new policy could bring back some fans who might be just a tad burned out on comic book movies. Marvel's big boss man Kevin Feige has decided to lay off a bit on the franchise's big stars, perhaps giving future newcomers a little more breathing room when joining the gargantuan family of blockbusters.
According to Feige, Marvel Studios will no longer sign new stars on for multi-film deals right out of the gate, instead electing to take things on a project-by-project basis. This means that no longer will any unfortunate big names get wrangled into 9 appearances from the get-go like poor Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Now, the focus will be on the present rather than the future of Marvel, putting more effort into refining upcoming releases and presumably allowing for more flexibility all around.
Feige himself says he hopes this move will increase enthusiasm from the actors since their participation will now be much more up to them rather than some deal they made years ago. "Really, what we want are people that come in, are excited to be in the universe, are excited at the opportunity to do more things, as opposed to being locked into contractual obligations," he said when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter. It certainly sounds like a solid plan, especially considering how much more diverse Marvel has been getting with its projects in recent years. Times change, and contracts written up only 5 years ago might be asking for something completely different than what moviegoers want.
This big change feels like it's been built up for some time now. Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008 with Iron Man, the company has been wrangling up stars for multi-appearance deals before it even knew what it wanted to do with them. But over the years, the contracts have been getting shorter, with the actors regularly renegotiating their deals in order to add more appearances as time goes on. The OG himself, Robert Downey Jr., did this even after his own long-term contract was up, allowing for his appearances in Captain America: Civil War and the last 2 Avengers films. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Olson expanded from a small initial deal offering some cameos and a supporting role into much more, including her own starring role in everyone's favorite watered-down David Lynch-style series known as WandaVision.
Feige's justification for this change really does sound like it's best for everyone. When someone signs on to a Marvel project, they're often excited right at the start like WandaVision's Teyonah Parris. But that enthusiasm can wane rather quickly over time, and if the star is still under contract to appear even while not particularly into the idea, their performance can suffer, along with the whole project. So focusing more on the present will likely make things easier for everyone.
There's plenty more to come from Marvel, and much of it has been in the works for years. It's a culturally gigantic media company, after all. But knowing that things will be more grounded going forward might help fans begin to see the franchise colossus as a little more down to earth, at least aside from Guardians of the Galaxy and all the movies happening in space.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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