On the heels of the well-reviewed and strong-performing Thor: Ragnarok and ahead of another big Marvel year, including the release of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, the latest issue of Vanity Fair features a cover story recapping the unprecedented success Marvel Studios has been in its first 10 years. In it, Marvel Studios’ wonderboy Kevin Feige reflects on the history of the cinematic universe he helped create but also teases the future. As fans have expected, Feige confirms this upcoming phase will mean big changes following the events of the untitled Avengers 4, with the studio head saying, “There will be two distinct periods. Everything before Avengers 4 and everything after. I know it will not be in ways people are expecting.”
Elsewhere in the piece, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn speaks candidly about his clashes with Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter. Gunn says Perlmutter, who Feige no longer reports to as of 2015, was behind some “haphazard” notes he received on the first film, including the suggestion to drop the retro music that hero Peter Quill listens to throughout the movie.
In another candid moment, Feige was asked about the success rival D.C. saw with the female-led Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins. While Feige admitted he would have liked to be first, he noted that the Studio’s own female-fronted film Captain Marvel is on its way. He added, “Everything’s going to work out. Captain Marvel is a very different type of movie.”
Finally, both Disney CEO Bob Iger and Feige touted the expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Iger saying, ” We’re looking for worlds that are completely separate—geographically or in time—from the worlds that we’ve already visited.” Similarly, Fiege noted, “22 movies in, and we’ve got another 20 movies on the docket that are completely different from anything that’s come before—intentionally.”
The latest issue of Vanity Fair — featuring four different Marvel covers — is on newsstands now.