Marvel Studios, LLC
(originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of
Walt Disney Studios, a division of
the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
. Marvel Studios produces the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
films and series, based on characters that appear in
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
publications.
Since 2008, Marvel Studios has released
30 films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from ''
Iron Man'' (2008) to ''
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022),
eight television series since 2021, from ''
WandaVision
''WandaVision'' is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series in ...
'' (2021) to ''
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' (2022), and
two television specials, ''
Werewolf by Night
The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) is the name applied to two fictional characters who are werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of We ...
'' (2022) and ''
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
''The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'' is an American television special written and directed by James Gunn for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy. It is the sec ...
'' (2022). The television series ''
What If...?'' (2021) is the studio's first animated property. These films, television series, and television specials all share
continuity with each other, along with the
One-Shots short films produced by the studio. The
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
produced by
Marvel Television
Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...
also acknowledge the continuity.
''
The Avengers'' (2012), ''
Iron Man 3
''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...
'' (2013), ''
Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), ''
Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), ''
Black Panther'' (2018), ''
Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), ''
Captain Marvel'' (2019), ''
Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), ''
Spider-Man: Far From Home'' (2019) and ''
Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021) are all among the
50 highest-grossing films of all time, with ''Avengers: Endgame'' becoming the
highest-grossing film of all time from July 2019 until March 2021. In addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios was also involved with the production of other Marvel-character film franchises that have exceeded $1 billion in North American box office revenue, including the ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
'' and ''
Spider-Man'' multi-film franchises.
Background
Timely era
During what is known as Marvel's
Timely era,
Captain America was licensed out to
Republic Pictures for a
serial just for the free advertising. Timely failed to provide any drawing of Captain America with his shield or any further background, and Republic created a whole new background for the character, and portrayed the character using a gun.
Marvel Entertainment Group era
From the late 1970s through the early 1990s,
Marvel Comics Group/
Marvel Entertainment Group
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly owned ...
(MEG) sold options to studios to produce films based on
Marvel Comics characters. One of Marvel's superheroes,
Spider-Man, was optioned in the late 1970s, and rights reverted to Marvel without a film having been produced within the allocated time frame. From 1986 to 1996, most of Marvel's major characters had been optioned, including the
Fantastic Four,
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
,
Daredevil,
Hulk,
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
, and
Iron Man.
Marvel's first big-screen adaptation of one of its properties was the 1986 film ''
Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...
'', which was a
box-office flop.
MEG was purchased by
New World Entertainment
New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
in November 1986 and moved to produce films based on the Marvel characters. It released
''The Punisher'' (1989) before MEG was sold to
Ronald Perelman
Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman and investor. MacAndrews & Forbes, MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests in groceries, cigars, Liquorice (confect ...
's
Andrews Group. Two other films were produced: ''
Captain America'' (1990) released in the United Kingdom on screens and direct to video in the United States, and ''
The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the fir ...
'' (1994), not intended for release.
History
Marvel Films
Following Marvel Entertainment Group's (MEG) ToyBiz deal in 1993,
Avi Arad of
ToyBiz was named president and CEO of Marvel Films division and of New World Family Filmworks, Inc., a New World Entertainment subsidiary. New World was MEG's former parent corporation and later a fellow subsidiary of the Andrews Group.
Marvel Productions
New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainment ...
became
New World Animation by 1993 as Marvel would start up Marvel Films including Marvel Films Animation.
Marvel Films Animation shared
Tom Tataranowicz with New World Animation as head of development and production. New World Animation (''
The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
''),
Saban (''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'') and Marvel Films Animation (''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'') each produced a Marvel series for television for the 1996–1997 season.
It was Marvel Films Animation's only production.
By the end of 1993, Arad and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
struck a deal to make a film based on the X-Men.
New World Animation and Marvel Films Animation were sold along with the rest of New World by Andrews Group to News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
/Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
as announced in August 1996. As part of the deal, Marvel licensed the rights to Captain America, Daredevil and Silver Surfer to be on Fox Kids Network and produced by Saban. New World Animation continued producing a second season of ''The Incredible Hulk'' for UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
.
Marvel Studios
In August 1996, Marvel created Marvel Studios, an incorporation of Marvel Films, due to the sale of New World Communications Group, Inc., Marvel's fellow Andrews Group subsidiary in film and television stations, to News Corporation/Fox. Filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
to raise money to finance the new corporation, Marvel, Isaac Perlmutter
Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter ( he, יצחק "אייק" פרלמוטר; born December 1, 1942) is an Israeli-American billionairehttps://www.forbes.com/profile/isaac-perlmutter businessman and financier. He is the chairman and former CEO of Marvel Ente ...
's Zib, Inc. and Avi Arad sold Toy Biz stocks, which Marvel had started and took public in February 1995. Toy Biz filed an offering of 7.5 million shares with a closing price of $20.125 at the time, making the offering worth approximately $150 million. Toy Biz sought to sell 1 million shares, and Marvel sought to sell 2.5 million shares.
Jerry Calabrese, the president of Marvel Entertainment Group and Avi Arad, head of Marvel Films and a director of Toy Biz, were assigned tandem control of Marvel Studios. Under Calabrese and Arad, Marvel sought to control pre-production
Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts ...
by commissioning scripts, hiring directors, and casting characters, providing the package to a major studio partner for filming and distribution. Arad said of the goal for control, "When you get into business with a big studio, they are developing a hundred or 500 projects; you get totally lost. That isn't working for us. We're just not going to do it anymore. Period."[ Marvel Studios arranged a seven-year development deal with 20th Century Fox to cover markets in the United States and internationally. In the following December, Marvel Entertainment Group went through a reorganization plan, including Marvel Studios as part of its strategic investment. By 1997, Marvel Studios was actively pursuing various film productions based on Marvel characters, including the eventual films '']X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' (2000), '' Daredevil'' (2003), '' Elektra'' (2005) and ''Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' (2005). Unproduced projects included ''Prince Namor'', based on the character Namor
Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. ...
and to be directed by Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter who has directed fifteen films over a career spanning more than six decades. He has been described as a "maverick" and an "iconoclast," notable for his versati ...
, and ''Mort the Dead Teenager'', based on the comic book of the same name and written by John Payson and ''Mort'' creator Larry Hama
Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor role ...
.
Marvel was developing a Captain America animated series with Saban Entertainment for Fox Kids Network to premiere in fall 1998. However, due to the bankruptcy the series was canceled after only character designs and a one-minute promotional reel were made.
Licensing films
The first film packaged and licensed by Marvel Studios was ''Blade
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...
'', based on the vampire hunter Blade
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...
. The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and starred Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), ''Passenger 57'' (1992), '' R ...
as Blade. It was released on August 21, 1998, grossing $70,087,718 in the United States and Canada and $131,183,530 worldwide.
''Blade'' was followed by ''X-Men'', which was directed by Bryan Singer
Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed.
After graduating from the University of Southern California, Singer d ...
and was released on July 14, 2000. ''X-Men'' grossed $157,299,717 in the United States and Canada and $296,250,053 worldwide. ''Blade'' and ''X-Men'' demonstrated that widely popular films could be made out of comic book characters not familiar to the general public.
Leading up to ''X-Men''s release, Marvel Studios negotiated a deal with then-functional Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...
, successful with the low-budget ''The Blair Witch Project
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez (director), Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Mic ...
'', for a co-production joint venture that included rights to 15 Marvel characters including Captain America, Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
, Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
, Iron Fist, and Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
. Artisan would finance and distribute while Marvel would develop licensing and merchandising tie-ins. The resulting production library, which would also include television series, direct-to-video films and internet projects, would be co-owned. By 2001, the success of Marvel Entertainment's Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters in ...
imprint comics created leverage in Hollywood for Marvel Studios, pushing more properties into development.
The next film licensed from Marvel Studios was ''Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
, directed by Sam Raimi
Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...
and starring Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing Peter Parker (Sam Raimi film series), the title character from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi films, ''Spider-Man'' tril ...
as Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
. The film was released on May 3, 2002, grossing $403,706,375 in the United States and Canada and $821,708,551 worldwide. The early success of ''Spider-Man'' led the film's studio to issue a seven-figure advance for a sequel. Arad spoke of the deal, "Movies make sequels. Therefore, it's a big economic luxury to know that a movie's going to get a second and third. This is a business of precedence." According to a Lehman Brothers analysis, the Studios made only $62 million for the first 2 Spider-Man movies. Marvel was making more from half the consumer product licensing fees while making relatively little from the movie, but was enough for Marvel to regain its financial footings. In October 2002, Marvel Studios announced deals for Sub-Mariner and Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
with Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
.
In contrast to the original storylines of DC Comics' Superman and Batman films, Marvel films were more directly inspired by their comics, copying from them set pieces, scenes, plots, and dialogue.[
In 2003, ]David Maisel
David Maisel is an American film and Broadway producer, entertainment businessman and the architect of the self-financed and self-producing Marvel Studios. He is the executive producer of ''Iron Man'', ''The Incredible Hulk'', ''Iron Man 2'', '' ...
approached Arad about earning Marvel more for their films. Maisel, Arad and Perlmutter met leading to Maisel being hired as president and COO. The studio's office, then on Santa Monica Boulevard, was small with a dozen or so staff members. Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...
, later to become CEO, was then a junior executive generating script notes to the licensed studios.[ In January 2003, Marvel, the ]Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...
and Reveille Productions
Endemol Shine North America is the American division of Endemol Shine Group that was founded on March 15, 2002 as a merger of Shine Americas, Shine USA, and Reveille Productions.
Endemol Shine North America produces and distributes scripted and ...
agreed to develop two pilot films based on ''Brother Voodoo'' and '' Strikeforce: Morituri''.
Partnering with Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
in 2004, Marvel Studios planned to enter the direct-to-DVD market with eight animated films with Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...
handling distribution. The line was a proof of concept for Maisel's later plan.[ Eric Rollman was hired by Marvel as Executive Vice President, Home Entertainment & TV Production for Marvel Studios to oversee the deal with Lionsgate.]
Production
In 2004, David Maisel was hired as chief operating officer of Marvel Studios as he had a plan for the studio to self-finance movies. Marvel entered into a non-recourse debt Nonrecourse debt or a nonrecourse loan (sometimes hyphenated as non-recourse) is a secured loan (debt) that is secured by a pledge of collateral, typically real property, but for which the borrower is not personally liable. If the borrower defau ...
structure with Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
that was collateralized by certain movie rights to a total of 10 characters from Marvel's vast vault. Marvel got $525 million to make a maximum of 10 movies based on the company's properties over eight years, according to the parameters of the original deal. Those characters were: Ant-Man
Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
, The Avengers, Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
, Captain America, Cloak & Dagger, Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
, Hawkeye, Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
, Power Pack
Power Pack is a superhero team consisting of four young siblings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, they first appeared in their own series in 1984, which las ...
and Shang-Chi
Zheng Shang-Chi ( ), also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in '' ...
. Ambac
The Ambac Financial Group, Inc., generally known as Ambac (originally the American Municipal Bond Assurance Corporation), is an American holding company. Its subsidiaries provide financial guarantee products such as bond insurance to clients in b ...
insured the movies would succeed or they would pay the interest payment on the debt and get the movie rights collateral.[
Initially Marvel Studios was in talks with Universal Pictures as a possible distributor, as Universal owned the film rights to both Hulk and ]Namor
Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. ...
during that time. Negotiations dragged on, so the studio began talks with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. In the second quarter of 2005, Merrill attempted to back out of full financing of each movie, demanding that Marvel finance 1/3 of the budget. Marvel took back rights in five foreign territories from Paramount for pre-sell to meet that demand.[ On September 6, 2005, Marvel announced the Merrill Lynch financing deal with Paramount was on as marketer and distributor. Also, the parent company changed its name from Marvel Enterprises, Inc. to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. to reflect the change to self-production.][
The studio moved to a new location over a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Beverly Hills. Maisel was also named vice-chairman of the studio, but reported to ]Isaac Perlmutter
Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter ( he, יצחק "אייק" פרלמוטר; born December 1, 1942) is an Israeli-American billionairehttps://www.forbes.com/profile/isaac-perlmutter businessman and financier. He is the chairman and former CEO of Marvel Ente ...
.[ In October 2005, Michael Helfant joined the studio as president and chief operating officer.]
In November 2005, Marvel gained the film rights to Iron Man from New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
. Marvel revealed that it had regained the film rights to Hulk from Universal in February 2006, in exchange for letting Universal own the distribution rights to ''The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
'' and the right of first refusal to pick up the distribution rights to any future Marvel Studios-produced ''Hulk'' films. In April 2006, Thor was announced to be a Marvel Studios production. Lions Gate Entertainment subsequently dropped the Black Widow motion picture project it had since 2004 giving the rights back to Marvel.
Maisel and Arad fought over the rate of movie releases and strength of characters in the movie line up. Perlmutter supported Maisel and thus, in May 2006, Arad quit as studio chair and CEO.[ In March 2007, David Maisel was named chairman and Kevin Feige was named president of production as '' Iron Man'' began filming.]
In January 2008, Marvel Animation
Marvel Animation, Inc. is an American animation production company. The Marvel Studios subsidiary was incorporated on January 25, 2008 to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets. The incorporated Marvel Animation inclu ...
was incorporated to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets including then animation efforts with Lionsgate and Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. The company in March agreed to a five picture basic cable distribution with FX for Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk movies with the additional movies to be named later. In November, Marvel Studios signed a lease with Raleigh Studios
Raleigh Studios is a studio facility located in Hollywood, Los Angeles and has been under the ownership of Raleigh Enterprises since 1979. The location has been active since 1915. Before Raleigh, the studio was run by Famous Players Film Company, C ...
to host its headquarters and production offices and film the next four movies on the studios' slate, including ''Iron Man 2
''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) and List of Marve ...
'' and ''Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
'', at their Manhattan Beach facilities. By September 2008, Paramount added to its domestic film distribution contract 5 additional Marvel movies' foreign distribution.
In 2009, Marvel attempted to hire a team of writers to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Black Panther, Cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
, Iron Fist, Nighthawk
The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name i ...
, and Vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
. In early 2009, Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
returned all Spider-Man television rights (including live-action) in exchange for an adjustment to the movie rights.
Disney conglomerate subsidiary
On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Both Marvel and Disney stated that the merger would not affect any preexisting deals with other film studios for the time being, although Disney said they would distribute future Marvel projects with their own studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
once the deals expired.
In April 2010, rumors circulated that Marvel was looking to create $20–40 million movies based on properties such as Doctor Strange, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Dazzler, and Power Pack. Kevin Feige responded by saying, while budgets are generally never discussed early in development, Marvel was considering films for all characters mentioned in the rumor, except Dazzler, whose rights were at Fox.
In June 2010, Marvel Entertainment set up a television division within Marvel Studios, headed up by Jeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series '' Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films ''Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...
as Executive Vice President, under which Marvel Animation would be operated. On October 18, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
acquired the distribution rights for '' The Avengers'' and ''Iron Man 3
''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...
'' from Paramount Pictures with Paramount's logo and credit remaining on those films.
On August 22, 2011, at Disney's behest, the Studio dismissed most of its marketing department: Dana Precious, EVP of Worldwide Marketing; Jeffrey Stewart, VP of Worldwide Marketing and Jodi Miller, Manager of Worldwide Marketing. Disney markets Marvel's films. In April 2012, The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment
DMG Entertainment is a global entertainment and media company. The studio's most recognizable films include ''Looper'' (2012), ''Iron Man 3'' (2013) and '' Bloodshot'' (2020).
History
Founded by Filmmaker Dan Mintz and Producer Bing Wu, DMG sta ...
announced an agreement to co-produce ''Iron Man 3'' in China. DMG partly financed, produced in China with Marvel, and handled co-production matters. DMG also distributed the film in China in tandem with Disney.
In April 2013, Marvel Studios moved its executive production offices from Manhattan Beach Studios Media Campus to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
.
On July 2, 2013, Disney purchased the distribution rights to ''Iron Man'', ''Iron Man 2'', ''Thor'' and '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' from Paramount. In September 2014, TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
acquired the cable rights for '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', '' Captain America: Civil War'', and three other films, to air on the network two years after their theatrical releases. The films had previously aired on FX since 2008.
Walt Disney Studios subsidiary
In August 2015, Marvel Studios was placed into Walt Disney Studios, with Feige reporting directly to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn
Alan Frederick Horn (born February 28, 1943) is an American entertainment industry executive. Horn became President and COO of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2012. Horn next served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2020. During his ...
instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter. Marvel Television and subsidiary Marvel Animation were left under Marvel Entertainment and Perlmutter's control.
As of April 2017, Marvel Studios was housed on the second floor of the Frank G. Wells Building at the Disney studio lot. ''Fast Company
''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year.
History
''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...
'' ranked Marvel Studios number eleven on its 2018 World's Most Innovative Companies list.
In September 2018, it was reported that Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for the streaming service Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
, to be centered on "second tier" characters from the MCU films who had not and were unlikely to star in their own films. Characters being considered for series included Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
and Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
, with the actors who portrayed the characters in the films expected to reprise their roles for the limited series. Each series was expected to be six to eight episodes, with a "hefty udgetrivaling those of a major studio productions". The series would be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, with Feige taking a "hands-on role" in each series' development.
In October 2019, Feige was given the title of Chief Creative Officer, Marvel, and would oversee the creative direction of Marvel Television and Marvel Family Entertainment, with both being returned to being under the Marvel Studios banner. Two months later, Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios, with Marvel Studios overseeing development of all the Marvel Television series in production at the time of its closing. Karim Zreik, Marvel Television's senior vice president current programming and production, would join Marvel Studios alongside his team to oversee production of the Marvel Television series inherited by Marvel Studios.
In July 2021, ahead of the studio's first animated series '' What If...?'', executive vice president of film production Victoria Alonso
Victoria Alonso (born 22 December 1965) is an Argentine film producer and President of Physical, Post Production, VFX and Animation at Marvel Studios.
Early life and career
Alonso was born in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. She ...
noted that Marvel Studios was creating an "animation branch and mini studio" to focus on more animated content beyond ''What If...?''. Marvel Studios will outsource the animation for its animated series to third-party animation studios, though executive Brad Winderbaum indicated Marvel would work with fellow Disney studios Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
and Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
"under the right circumstances". In September 2021, Alonso was promoted to President of Physical, Post Production, VFX and Animation. In November 2021, Marvel Studios announced the animated series ''X-Men '97
''X-Men'', also known as ''X-Men: The Animated Series'', is an animated superhero television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Kids Network. ''X-Men'' was Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Me ...
'', which would be a revival of the 1990s animated series ''X-Men'' and set in that series' continuity.
By April 2022, Marvel Studios had taken over production of the preschool animated series ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends
''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (also known as ''Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends'') is a computer-animated superhero children's television series produced by Atomic Cartoons (who also produced ''Marvel Super Hero Adventures'') that pr ...
'', starting from its second season; the first season was produced under the Marvel Entertainment banner. In May 2022, Marvel Studios signed a 20-year licensing deal with Stan Lee Universe to license the name and likeness of Lee for use in future films, television series, Disney theme parks and cruises, various "experiences", and merchandizing. A digitally recreated Lee was not expected to make cameo appearances in future projects, rather the deal allows Marvel to use Lee's name, voice, likeness, signature, and existing images and archival material.
Character rights
Marvel had licensed out the film rights to many of their characters to other studios in the 1990s, starting with the X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Daredevil and later Captain America, Iron Man, Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
, Hulk, Ant-Man
Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
, the Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
, Black Widow, Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
, Punisher
The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...
, Blade
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...
, Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider.
The first s ...
, Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
, Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
and Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
among others.
In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that Spider-Man would appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the character appearing in '' Captain America: Civil War'' and Sony releasing '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' produced by Feige and Amy Pascal
Amy Beth Pascal (born March 25, 1958) is an American film producer and business executive. She served as the Chairperson of the Motion Pictures Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and Co-Chairperson of SPE, including Sony Pictures Televis ...
on July 7, 2017. As part of the deal, Sony Pictures would continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films. In June 2015, Feige clarified that the initial Sony deal did not allow Spider-Man to appear in any of the MCU television series, as it was "very specific... with a certain amount of back and forth allowed."
In September 2019, it was announced that Disney and Sony had reached a new agreement allowing for Spider-Man to appear in a third standalone film (produced by Marvel Studios and Feige) and a future Marvel Studios film. Disney was reported to be co-financing 25% of the film in exchange for 25% of the film's profits in the new agreement, while retaining the merchandising rights to the character. In November 2021, Pascal announced plans for a fourth ''Spider-Man'' film set in the MCU, in addition to long-term plans for a new trilogy of films with Marvel Studios, with said film entering active development the following month.
The following table details the rights that have returned to Marvel along with the studios from which they returned and the year in which they returned.
Marvel Knights
Named after corporate sibling Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
' imprint of the same name, Marvel Knights is also the name given to a production arm of Marvel Studios intended to be used to produce some of Marvel's darker and lesser known titles. The first film produced under the Marvel Knights banner was '' Punisher: War Zone'', the 2008 release that rebooted
''Rebooted'' is the third season of the computer-animated television series '' Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'' (titled ''Ninjago'' from the eleventh season onward). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. The season aired f ...
the Punisher franchise. In 2011, '' Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance'' was the second and final title to be released under the Marvel Knights banner.
Units
* MVL Productions LLC: film slate subsidiary
* Marvel Studios Animation
* Marvel Television
Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...
(2010-2019) a unit label used for Marvel television series.
* Marvel Animation
Marvel Animation, Inc. is an American animation production company. The Marvel Studios subsidiary was incorporated on January 25, 2008 to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets. The incorporated Marvel Animation inclu ...
, Inc. (June 2004; 2008–2020) subsidiary charged with oversight of Marvel's animation productions outside the MCU.
** Marvel Animation Studios (2012–2020)
** MLG Productions (2006–2011) Marvel & Lionsgate's subsidiary group for Marvel Animated Features
''Marvel Animated Features'' (''MAF'') is a series of the first eight direct-to-video animated superhero films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios (later Marvel Animation) and Lions Gate Entertainment.
History
In ...
Key people
Studio heads:
* Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...
, president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
* Louis D'Esposito, co-president
* Victoria Alonso
Victoria Alonso (born 22 December 1965) is an Argentine film producer and President of Physical, Post Production, VFX and Animation at Marvel Studios.
Early life and career
Alonso was born in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. She ...
, president of physical, post production, VFX and animation (formerly Executive Vice President of Production)
The following executives are referred to as the "Marvel Studios Parliament":
* Stephen Broussard, Executive, Production and Development
* Eric Hauserman Carroll, Executive, Production and Development (formerly Director of Development)
* Nate Moore, Vice President of Production and Development
* Jonathan Schwartz, Vice President of Production and Development
* Trinh Tran, Executive, Production and Development
* Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television and Animation (formerly a Vice President of Production and Development)
Additionally, a number of other executives serve as lead producers on films and television series, working on each project from their inception through their release, as part of the Production and Development group. Some of these executives include:
* Sana Amanat
Sana Amanat is an American comic book editor and an executive of production and development at Marvel Studios, having formerly been the Director of Content and Character Development at Marvel Comics.
* Grant Curtis
Grant Curtis is a film producer, who has worked with director Sam Raimi on '' The Gift'', ''Drag Me To Hell'', the '' Spider-Man'' films and ''Oz the Great and Powerful''. He grew up in the rural Missouri town of Warrensburg. Curtis received a ...
* Brian Gay, Director of Production & Development (formerly Feige's Executive Coordinator)
Other key executives include:
* Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Vice President of Animation
* Ryan Meinerding, Head of Visual Development and Character Design (formerly Visual Development Supervisor)
* Andy Park, Director of Visual Development and Production Illustrator
* Russell Bobbitt, property master
Former key executives include:
* David Maisel
David Maisel is an American film and Broadway producer, entertainment businessman and the architect of the self-financed and self-producing Marvel Studios. He is the executive producer of ''Iron Man'', ''The Incredible Hulk'', ''Iron Man 2'', '' ...
, former Chairman, and before that vice-chairman, president and chief operating officer.[
* Avi Arad, founder and former Chairman and CEO.]
* Jeremy Latcham, former SVP Production and Development
* Karim Zreik, former SVP of Original Programming and Production for Marvel Television Studios.
Additionally, Sarah Halley Finn
Sarah Halley Finn is an American casting director and producer. With well over 100 feature films and multiple awards to her credit, she is best known for casting the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe – the most successful film franchise of all ...
has served as a frequent casting director for several MCU films and television series.
Logo
Films and television series
Starting with the release of ''Spider-Man'' in 2002, Marvel Studios introduced its "flipbook" production logo
A production logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by movie studios and television production company, production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company and the distributor of a tel ...
, created by Imaginary Forces. This logo was accompanied with music from the film's score, sound effects or a song, to lead into the beginning of the film. This was the logo seen in front of all films until 2013, when the logo was updated with the release of '' Thor: The Dark World'', again created by Imaginary Forces. Kevin Feige stated that since Marvel was now their own entity within the Walt Disney Company, it "felt like the time to update it and have something that is more substantial as a standalone logo in front of our features" instead of having it be accompanied by Marvel's studio or distribution partners' logos. Feige added that "We didn't want to re-invent the wheel ith the new logo but we wanted it to feel bigger, to feel more substantial, which is why it starts with the flip, but suddenly it's more dimensional as we go through the lettering and it reveals itself with the metallic sheen before settling into the white-on-red, well known Marvel logo, with the added flourish of the arrival and the announcement of the Studios at the bottom of the word Marvel." Imaginary Forces used the same animation technique on the updated logo, as they did when they created the first version in 2002. They were given a few hundred comic books to select images from, ultimately choosing 120 that were "universal and not specific to one character" and created a narrative "where each image spoke to the one before it and after."
The new logo appeared on all subsequent studio productions set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
through ''Captain America: Civil War''. With the addition of the new logo, Marvel Studios also added a fanfare to accompany the logo, composed by Brian Tyler
Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 24-year career, Tyler has scored '' Transformers: Prime'', ''Eagle ...
, who wrote the scores to ''Iron Man 3'', ''Thor: The Dark World'', and ''Avengers: Age of Ultron''. It was featured on the films ''Thor: The Dark World'', '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', and ''Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
''.
In July 2016, another new logo and opening were introduced, featuring an updated fanfare, composed this time by Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), ...
, who first worked with Marvel Studios on the score to ''Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
''. The new opening begins with comic book panels seen in the previous two openings, but transitions into footage and art of the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. It was first seen in front of ''Doctor Strange''. The updated logo was created by Perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
, who were first approached in January 2016 by Marvel to update their logo. Feige specifically requested Perception "to combine the brand and the iconic characters into a single image, showcasing the heroes within the letterforms of the Marvel logo." The Perception team settled on a concept they dubbed "How to Build a Universe", which "was designed to pay tribute to he film makingprocess by touching on" how a film's origins is inspired by the comics, which then results in a script, followed by concept art, resulting in the final film. Perception looked to the initial "flipbook" logo for inspiration, and paid tribute to it in the new opening, as it opens identically to the flipbook logo. Next, the opening includes "various lines lifted directly from the script pages of various Marvel screenplays", with Perception picking "both iconic fan-favorites, as well as lines that helped establish the breadth of the Marvel Universe." To add in the concept art images, Perception looked "through a massive archive of concept art and "The Art Of..." books, to select the most iconic images for each beloved character. Utilizing the original digital paintings themselves, the Perception team animated each image being painted from scratch. The final touch was mapping this artwork onto 3D models to giving these once 2D paintings a sense of depth as the camera moves around them." Finally, over 70 pieces of footage from the 13 films that had released at that time were included, with Perception arranging them in a way they called the "vault" "where luminescent footage plays on the interior walls of the "Marvel" logotype."
A modified version of Perception's logo was introduced at the 2017 D23 Expo to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the MCU. The logo debuted with '' Avengers: Infinity War'' on April 26, 2018 and was used again in ''Ant-Man and the Wasp
''Ant-Man and the Wasp'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope Pym / Wasp. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is th ...
''. With the release of ''Captain Marvel'', the current Perception logo was altered at Marvel Studios' behest in honor of Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
; Lee died on November 12, 2018, just a few months before the release of the film. The logo was altered, replacing the characters with Stan Lee's MCU cameos and other public appearances related to the MCU, accompanied by a black screen reading "Thank You Stan". Similarly, the logo was modified for the Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
version of '' Black Panther'' and its sequel, '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' in honor of Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...
, who died on August 28, 2020. The logo was altered, replacing the characters with images and footage of T'Challa
Black Panther is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52 ...
and Boseman. The logo premiered on November 29, 2020, which would have been Boseman's 44th birthday.
Television specials
Television specials
A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
from Marvel Studios, which are marketed as "Marvel Studios Special Presentation", feature a special multicolored intro with bongo drum music, reminiscent of the CBS Special Presentation theme featured before animated holiday specials of the 1980s and 1990s. The intro was also designed by Perception, with Giacchino (who directed and composed for the special ''Werewolf by Night
The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) is the name applied to two fictional characters who are werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of We ...
'') once again creating the music. Jamie Lovett at ''ComicBook.com
The following is a list of major assets that are owned by Paramount Global.
Paramount Pictures Corporation (Film)
* Paramount Pictures
** Paramount Home Entertainment
** Paramount Television Studios
** Paramount Pictures International
** Para ...
'' called the Marvel Studios Special Presentation intro "more colorful" and its fanfare "more playful" than the normal Marvel Studios intro.
Production library
Films
Short films
Live-action
Animated
Television
Animated
Live-action
Documentary
See also
* List of films based on Marvel Comics publications
Marvel Comics is a publisher of American comic books and related media. It counts among its characters such well-known superheroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Dar ...
* Outline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
* List of unproduced Marvel Comics adaptations
* DC Studios
DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, am ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1993 establishments in California
American companies established in 1993
Companies based in Burbank, California
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1996
Films based on Marvel Comics
Disney production studios
Disney acquisitions
Walt Disney Studios (division)
The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries
2009 mergers and acquisitions
Marvel Entertainment
Mass media companies established in 1993
Articles containing video clips
Film production companies of the United States