Kevin Feige wants to put out fewer Marvel shows a year

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong since 2008, only picking up steam in recent years. This year alone, we have Ant-Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and The Marvels to look forward to in the theaters, as well as Secret Invasion, Loki season 2, Echo, Ironheart and Agatha: Cover of Chaos on Disney+. And beyond that there’s Deadpool 3, Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts, Blade, Daredevil: Born Again, Secret Wars, The Kang Dynasty and Fantastic Four. Whew!

I can’t be the only one who’s feeling a little fatigued with superhero stuff lately. And folks like Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige may be aware of it, because he told Entertainment Weekly that he’d like to change “the pace” at which Marvel shows are released on Disney+, specifically so there’s more time between each new thing:

"I do think one of the powerful aspects of being at Marvel Studios is having these films and shows hit the zeitgeist. It is harder to hit the zeitgeist when there’s so much product out there — and so much “content,” as they say, which is a word that I hate. [Laughs] But we want Marvel Studios and the MCU projects to really stand out and stand above. So, people will see that as we get further into Phase 5 and 6. The pace at which we’re putting out the Disney+ shows will change so they can each get a chance to shine."

It does feel like Marvel movies and TV shows are a little less special than they used to be. Maybe spacing them out could help with that.

Everyone has loved Jonathan Majors as Kang

The next big movement in the MCU is the Multiverse Saga, which will move forward in a big way with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The main baddie of that movie is Kang (Jonathan Majors), who’s poised to become the next Thanos-level threat to the universe.

“For years, we’ve always had the inkling that Kang would be an amazing follow-up to Thanos. He’s got that equal stature in the comics, but he’s a completely different villain,” Feige said. “Mainly, that’s because he’s multiple villains. He’s so unique from Thanos, which we really liked.”

"And in the early days of Quantumania [test audiences], Jonathan started to pop in a big way. He’s the highest-testing villain we’ve ever had in any of our friends and families [screenings]. That’s really saying something with a movie like this. Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. He was working from the start."

Quantumania kicks off “Phase 5” of the MCU, so expect both the movies and shows to build up to a big climax, although Feige still wants them to maintain their identities in the midst of that. “Not every film in the Infinity Saga focused on the Infinity Stones or Thanos, and it’ll be the same across 5 and 6. But we’re gearing up,” he said. “People will get a taste of this in a big way in Quantumania as we lead to Avengers: Secret Wars, which I’m extremely excited for.

Kevin Feige wants Marvel Studios to be around “for 80-plus years”

Mixing together big tentpole movies that push the story forward with smaller-scale projects is part and parcel of how the comics industry works, as Feige explained:

"It’s like when people go to the comic shops. There’s Spider-Man and the Avengers and the big title ones. And sometimes you pick up a one-off or an experiment from an artist or writer that you’re a fan of. That’s why the comics have been around for 80-plus years, and I want Marvel Studios to be around that long, if not longer. So, we have to continue to do different types of things. Does everything have to appeal to everybody? It would be nice. But I think that’s impossible. And if you try to do that, you’re going to find yourself in such a small funnel and pipeline that things will get similar and boring and atrophy very, very quickly."

Speaking of Spider-Man, Feige and co have an idea for what happens next to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, although they aren’t sharing details. “All I will say is that we have the story. We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.”

And the MCU rolls on.

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