As the head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige took three important risks in the beginning phases of the MCU.

Kevin Feige has shepherded the MCU from the ground up and made it something unprecedented and groundbreaking. The franchise might be currently struggling, but the first 10 years were a dream run for Feige and Marvel Studios. His approach and unique planning of the MCU have made it the most successful franchise of all time.

Kevin Feige at the 2022 Comic-Con Panel for Marvel Studios

As the President of Marvel Studios, Feige had to take some bold risks in various phases and took chances with Marvel characters that weren’t known among general audiences. Yet, he selected the right filmmakers and actors for the job and made it work. Irrespective of what anyone says about Marvel films, one can not deny that building an interconnected universe and making it work is no joke.

Kevin Feige Took These 3 Bold Risks in The MCU That Fans Are Proud Of

Avengers: Endgame was the epic culmination of what Kevin Feige was building for 10 years
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen its highs and lows over the years, and the franchise’s head honcho Kevin Feige has been a major force in shaping it. Feige and his team have pulled off a Herculean task of building a huge interconnected universe of Marvel films and characters and made it work.

Feige has taken some great risks with the MCU at various points to infuse something new and fresh for comic book fans. He took chances with obscure characters that the general audiences had no idea about. Here are 3 important risks that Feige took in building the MCU that fans are thankful for (via X),

Kicking off The MCU With Iron Man

Iron Man was a runaway hit for the MCU in 2008
When Kevin Feige started executing his dream of having an interconnected universe of Marvel films, he surprisingly kicked off the franchise with 2008’s Iron Man. Casting Robert Downey Jr., who was infamous for his various run-ins with the law, proved to be a hurdle, and things didn’t look all that promising.

However, Feige convinced everyone and brought in Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau and made one of the best films in the MCU with the first Iron Man film. Director Christopher Nolan called his Iron Man, “One of the most consequential casting decisions that’s ever been made in the history of the movie business.” The character has since gone on to become the MCU’s defining character.

Coming Up With Guardians of the Galaxy with James Gunn

A still from 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy
By 2012, the MCU was already established as a successful franchise with storylines from individual films coming together in The Avengers. However, Feige did not rest on the laurels he was receiving and continued taking bolder risks. Doing a Guardians of the Galaxy film was a huge undertaking as it was a property that even most comic readers were not familiar with.

Feige, along with James Gunn, was supremely confident in the rag-tag team of misfits and introduced a new team of heroes in the cosmic side of the MCU. Their risks paid off, and the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy remains one of the most beloved and consistent entries in the MCU.

Doing Ant-Man With Peyton Reed

Paul Rudd brought the much-needed charm and relatability to Scott Lang in Ant-Man
Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, when Kevin Feige decided to do an Ant-Man film, many fans were not aware of the character, and the various elements of the characters were tricky to pull off. While Edgar Wright was supposed to do the film, he left due to creative differences with the studio, and Peyton Reed came in as the director of the film.

The film proved to be a surprisingly delightful Marvel film, which added new elements to the MCU, like the Quantum realm, becoming a huge factor in defeating Thanos later. While the two sequels were not received as well as the first film, 2015’s Ant-Man remains one of the most entertaining entries in the MCU.