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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. Marvel Studios produces the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and series, based on characters that appear in Marvel Comics publications. Since 2008, Marvel Studios has released 30 films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from ''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' (2008) to '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022), eight television series since 2021, from '' WandaVision'' (2021) to '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' (2022), and two television specials, '' Werewolf by Night'' (2022) and '' The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'' (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 produced by Marvel Television also acknowledge the continuity. ''
The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
'' (2012), '' Iron Man 3'' (2013), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), ''
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 ...
'' (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'' and ''
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 ...
'' multi-film franchises.


Background


Timely era

During what is known as Marvel's Timely era,
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
was licensed out to
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
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 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 ...
/ Marvel Entertainment Group (MEG) sold options to studios to produce films based on Marvel Comics characters. One of Marvel's superheroes,
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 ...
, 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 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 ...
, X-Men,
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
,
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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
, Silver Surfer, and
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
. Marvel's first big-screen adaptation of one of its properties was the 1986 film '' Howard the Duck'', which was a box-office flop. MEG was purchased by New World Entertainment 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's Andrews Group. Two other films were produced: ''
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
'' (1990) released in the United Kingdom on screens and direct to video in the United States, and '' The Fantastic Four'' (1994), not intended for release.


History


Marvel Films

Following Marvel Entertainment Group's (MEG) ToyBiz deal in 1993,
Avi Arad Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...
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 became
New World Animation New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
by 1993 as Marvel would start up Marvel Films including Marvel Films Animation. Marvel Films Animation shared
Tom Tataranowicz Thomas Tataranowicz is an American cartoon animator, storyboard artist, producer and director. Career His first credit was ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''. He then went onto Marvel Productions/New World Animation where he was the St ...
with New World Animation as head of development and production. New World Animation ('' The Incredible Hulk''),
Saban Saban or Šaban may refer to: People * Saban (name), for people with the name * Sabans, a small indigenous ethnic group of Sarawak, Malaysia * Şaban, a Turkish film character Other uses *Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm investing i ...
('' X-Men'') 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/
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''). Twelv ...
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 Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a joi ...
and produced by Saban. New World Animation continued producing a second season of ''The Incredible Hulk'' for UPN.


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 to raise money to finance the new corporation, Marvel, Isaac Perlmutter'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 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'' (2000), ''
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
'' (2003), ''
Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...
'' (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 and to be directed by Philip Kaufman, and ''Mort the Dead Teenager'', based on the comic book of the same name and written by John Payson and ''Mort'' creator Larry Hama. 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'', based on the vampire hunter Blade. The film was directed by
Stephen Norrington Stephen Norrington (born 1964) is an English filmmaker and special effects artist known for his work in the horror and action genres. Beginning his career as a sculptor and makeup artist, he worked under Dick Smith, Rick Baker, and Stan Winston ...
and starred Wesley Snipes 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 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, successful with the low-budget '' The Blair Witch Project'', for a co-production joint venture that included rights to 15 Marvel characters including
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
, Thor,
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. 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 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, 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 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 with Universal Studios. 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 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 and Reveille Productions agreed to develop two pilot films based on ''Brother Voodoo'' and '' Strikeforce: Morituri''. Partnering with Lionsgate in 2004, Marvel Studios planned to enter the direct-to-DVD market with eight animated films with Lionsgate Home Entertainment 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,
The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
,
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 Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
, 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 and Shang-Chi. Ambac 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 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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
and Namor 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. 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 ...
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. 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. 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'' 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 Black widow may refer to: Spiders * Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'' American species * ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow * ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...
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 Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' began filming. In January 2008, Marvel Animation was incorporated to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets including then animation efforts with Lionsgate and Nickelodeon. 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 to host its headquarters and production offices and film the next four movies on the studios' slate, including '' Iron Man 2'' and '' Thor'', 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, Iron Fist, Nighthawk, and Vision. In early 2009, Sony 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 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 as Executive Vice President, under which Marvel Animation would be operated. On October 18, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures acquired the distribution rights for ''
The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
'' and '' Iron Man 3'' 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 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 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 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'' 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+, 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, 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 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 and Walt Disney Animation Studios "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'', 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,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
and later
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
,
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
, Thor,
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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
, Ant-Man, the Wasp,
Black Widow Black widow may refer to: Spiders * Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'' American species * ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow * ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...
, Luke Cage, Punisher, Blade, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing,
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 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 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' 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 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 (2010-2019) a unit label used for Marvel television series. * Marvel Animation, 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


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 * Louis D'Esposito, co-president * Victoria Alonso, 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 *
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, former Chairman, and before that vice-chairman, president and chief operating officer. *
Avi Arad Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...
, 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 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, 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 The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
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 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, 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''. In July 2016, another new logo and opening were introduced, featuring an updated fanfare, composed this time by Michael Giacchino, 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, 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 making He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
process 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''. 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+ version of ''
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 its sequel, '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' in honor of Chadwick Boseman, 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 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'') once again creating the music. Jamie Lovett at '' ComicBook.com'' 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 *
Outline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe The following outline serves as an overview of and topical guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe that consists of films and television series from Marvel Studios, television series from Marvel Telev ...
*
List of unproduced Marvel Comics adaptations This is a list of unmade and unreleased film, television, and video game adaption based on characters and concepts from Marvel Comics. Films Based on Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox Based on Marvel Comics imprints Television Video gam ...
* DC Studios


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