LOS ANGELES—The head of Marvel Studios told colleagues recently that watching all the comic-book giant's new TV shows and films had started to feel more like homework than entertainment.
Marvel is releasing only one or two live-action streaming series annually starting next year, and has already ordered multiple seasons of some so their stories can continue without crossing over to the big screen. A senior executive is overseeing television so Feige can focus on film.
Now, Feige is leading an internal overhaul aimed at getting the studio back on track. Marvel is making fewer TV shows, with stand-alone stories that don't require prior knowledge of the MCU. Feige is focused on fixing the studio's movie slate following recent flops like February's "Captain America: Brave New World."
Bringing back the talent behind a blockbuster for a sequel is one of the most expensive propositions in Hollywood, but people who have worked with Feige say he likes to go back to people he trusts, particularly in moments of urgency.
As he did when Marvel Studios started, Feige has an expansive vision for his company's big-screen future. The upcoming Avengers movies are expected to introduce the X-Men, one of Marvel's most popular superhero teams, to the MCU.
Feige has told colleagues he has a 10-year plan for the characters.
Employees talked regularly about "Marvel fatigue." They worried they had created a "no new fans club," in which people unfamiliar with the state of the MCU couldn't watch a new release because they'd have no idea what was going on.
People who worked at Marvel in the early 2020s said it was challenging to secure enough time with Feige to get his feedback. As a result, they sometimes spent weeks on work that proved irrelevant once he weighed in, then found themselves with little time to implement his changes before a deadline.
The first major test of his reset arrived this week with "Thunderbolts," about a team of sidekicks, has-beens and other C-listers who save the world in the Avenger
variety.com