Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Turned Down Some Big Names Who Wanted To Helm The Next AVENGERS Movies

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Turned Down Some Big Names Who Wanted To Helm The Next AVENGERS Movies

It's looking increasingly likely that the Russo Brothers will helm the next Avengers movies, but a new report reveals that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige turned down some prolific filmmakers...

By JoshWilding - Jul 19, 2024 01:07 PM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Secret Wars
Source: Puck

Earlier this week, we learned that Marvel Studios is in talks with filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo to helm both Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars

While the duo responsible for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame have previously said they wouldn't be free to work on an MCU project until the end of the decade, the duo's AGBO-produced content has been a tad hit-or-miss. 

Cherry starring Tom Holland wasn't the Oscar frontrunner many expected and blockbuster TV shows and movies like Citadel and The Gray Man received similarly tepid responses. Arguably the only real hit has been Netflix's Extraction movies. 

As a result, a return to the Avengers franchise benefits them just as much as it does Marvel Studios.

With so much talk of superhero fatigue, Kevin Feige can't risk the two-part conclusion to the Multiverse Saga being anything other than excellent. Fortunately, the Russos have proven time and time again that they know what they're doing with the franchise. 

Now, Puck reports that despite recent claims many directors didn't want the job (due to the pressure which comes with such high-profile projects), Feige turned down offers from Hollywood agency CAA to hire Greg Berlanti, Noah Hawley, and other unnamed candidates. 

He reportedly wasn't interested in any of them tackling Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars and, in fairness, it's easy to see why. 

Berlanti (Fly Me to the Moon) oversaw the Arrowverse to great success on The CW but has never directed a movie even a fraction as big as these will be. His association with 2011's Green Lantern has also continued to haunt him and isn't something comic book fans have forgotten. 

As for Hawley, while he's found huge success on television with Fargo, Legion, and no doubt the upcoming Alien: Earth, he would be a huge risk Marvel Studios might have taken 10 years ago, but not now when there's so much at stake. 

In other news, it's been confirmed today that Feige will receive his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week. This coincides with the release of Deadpool & Wolverine and his will be the 2,785th star. 

"The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to honor Kevin Feige with a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There are few, if any, filmmakers who have had the kind of impact and track record that Kevin has had," stated Ana Martinez, Producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"The many films he has worked on have become a cultural phenomenon and a major part of the cinema world’s history."

We'll bring you updates on that next week. 

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McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/19/2024, 1:18 PM
Hawley is above it anyways
DaHULK2000
DaHULK2000 - 7/19/2024, 3:11 PM
@McMurdo - lol

How?..theres nothing wrong with comicbook films..they can be high art when handled right.
Hawley is the best name Ive heard mentioned in connection with possibly directing these
Next two installments. He probably doesn't want to micromanaged to the hilt at every turn, that I can buy for sure..Hawley actually a thoughtful artist who could do wonders with the material if he would be allowed to do so.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/19/2024, 8:42 PM
@DaHULK2000 - how is Hawley above Marvel films? Gee idk
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:19 PM
Only Joss Whedon can save the MCU now
JonC
JonC - 7/19/2024, 1:29 PM
@vectorsigma - i still prefer his avenger's movies over the Russos. The Russo's were able to capitalize on a lot desire to see certain things after 20 movies but i believe Joss had better character interaction and showed the characters strength's and weaknesses better too.
We were all waiting for Cap to lift that hammer in Endgame only because Joss teased it in AoU.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:41 PM
@JonC - great example on the hammer. I have been a believer that the Russos only rode the wave cbm hype that Joss started with Avengers 1 and 2. Very good parLellism on the buildup Whedon did on tha hammer in Avengers 2.

And in terms of characterization, one example i always have in mind is Blackk Widow's scene with Loki in Avengers 1.

On that scene of a few minutes, we get to see how effective she can be with her espionage skills. BW in the Russos films is just a fighter and just there to fill that female bad ass on the checklist.

They also cant handle overpowerwd characters and nerfed the hulk and turned vision into a pacifist/sickly android.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 7/19/2024, 1:42 PM
@JonC -

Exactly. I’m not defending Jose Whedon, he’s an asshole. But his work in the MCU really did lay the foundation for a lot of the pay offs we saw in later movies.
No one acknowledges his work and the stuff he did for the MCU.

Yes he was an asshole to people and had an ego like crazy, but who in Hollywood doesn’t. How many countless stories must be out there of famous people we know doing awful things , and they get away with it.
But just because Joss’s came out, he just gets the boot.

I’d argue he didn’t do anything as serious or despicable as most other Hollywood people have done (many pedos in the industry who still have jobs).
Yelling at people ? Tom Cruise and Christian Bale have done the same.

James Gunn has an even worst past with all those so called joke tweets.

So I think Joss should at least get credit for laying down many of the awesome things that made the MCU work later on.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:46 PM
@MisterDoctor217 - amen to that man.

What the mcu needs right now is a great creative like Whedon. And my only wish is that feige realizes this and uncancel him asap.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 7/19/2024, 1:54 PM
@vectorsigma -

Oh dude that will never happen.

But hey at least we got The Russo Bros back !

Hopefully they haven’t lost their touch 💪
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:57 PM
@MisterDoctor217 - i dont have that much confidence with the russos to be honest. But they are the next good choice for me after Whedon and Gunn.

And they cant get this gig without markus and mcfeely
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 7/19/2024, 2:00 PM
@vectorsigma -

Yeah, I agree, those writers need to be back if they want this all to work and pay off.
DaHULK2000
DaHULK2000 - 7/19/2024, 3:09 PM
@vectorsigma - He couldn't even save his marriage man,some times it's good to just let people go.
SheepishOne
SheepishOne - 7/19/2024, 3:59 PM
@JonC - Don’t sell the Russos short. I agree it was Joss’ setups that paid off in IW and EG, but the Russos brought a seriousness and tension to the Avengers that Joss never did. I’d say Whedon was better at establishing character dynamics, but the Russos are better with pacing and tone. And Joss never knew how to handle Cap. Though the Russos never knew how to handle Hulk.

For my money, the Russos are the better pick for an Avengers movie, but they could stand to take some notes from Joss in a few areas.

Final note, I love how Joss shot Thor’s scenes. He always kind of came in low with the camera facing upwards towards Thor. It made him seem so much larger and more grandiose than the rest of the team.
The1st
The1st - 7/19/2024, 5:01 PM
@vectorsigma - Only the MCU can save the MCU now.

?si=djTNp2KQmJo4Xif6
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 8:10 PM
@DaHULK2000 - that's a really bad take you have there
Itwasme
Itwasme - 7/19/2024, 1:23 PM
Don't feel like very big names to me. If anything it just shows they are being selective. Plus hiring is always tough - past performance is no guarantee of success. Hiring on potential is especially important either directors given how often burn out occurs. Making a movie is really complicated and there are so many things that can go wrong.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/19/2024, 1:44 PM
@Itwasme - exactly ,

I would say past experience is no guarantee of success or EVEN failure because making a movie and show is a complicated process as you said and it’s miracle that so many are made (and are even good).

Also yeah , not necessarily that big of names because going by the headline I thought it would be like Sam Raimi.
LSHF
LSHF - 7/19/2024, 4:13 PM
@TheVisionary25 - That's what I was thinking, but gthen their headlines are known for exaggerating (and even sometimes lying).

They got me again this time! Grrrrr.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:23 PM
The Russos are overrated.

Let's see how they handle an MCU project with low genre hype, uninteresting roster and superhero fatigue - things they didnt have when they last worked with Marvel.

Joss Whedon or bust
JonC
JonC - 7/19/2024, 1:30 PM
@vectorsigma - they could certainly uses Joss's input, that's for sure
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:43 PM
@JonC - i just hope to god feige realizes this and uncancel him immediately.
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 7/19/2024, 1:45 PM
@vectorsigma - I don't know man, I still think I'd put the Winter Soldier as the best comic book movie ever made 🤔
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 1:52 PM
@Izaizaiza - as mentioned by @MisterDoctor217 , Whedon has laid the very foundations of the mcu that later movies depended on. The Russos cant do that.

As good as the winter soldier was, it was a time of high cbm hype that a good movie becomes great and a bad movie is good enough.

Id argue that gotg3 is great but due to low cbm hype nowadays, it just passes as good.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 7/19/2024, 1:59 PM
@vectorsigma -

Yeah the Russos aren’t writers, but paired with Markus and Mcfeely, they just struck gold tbh

Now I think it’s crucial for both pairs to return.

Joss Whedon had the advantage of being a director AND a writer. He was clearly a more accomplished writer than director. But he was getting better at that craft.
Joss just understood these characters and what made them tick.


Now with the new phases and a whole new set of characters, The Russos have a big big job on their hands of making it all come together cohesively.
They have the foundation already , a really bad one unfortunately, so they have an even bigger task of making it all work.
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 7/19/2024, 1:59 PM
@vectorsigma - Well, I don't disagree with what you said, and think that the First Avengers was the atomic bomb that got the hype going. Still a great film to this day, and did a great job with the character interactions. That said, hype aside, and being as objective as I can be, I still think the Winter Soldier is a better film... Although I do have my few complaints about it such as the use of shaky cam. All That said, the Russo 's have surely evolved as filmmakers. Is Joss whedon still poison? Could he be hired again?
TheyDont
TheyDont - 7/19/2024, 2:01 PM
@vectorsigma - Have you seen Age of Ultron?
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 2:08 PM
@MisterDoctor217 - cancel culture is really a b*tch

As you have mentioned, Whedon has the perfect credentials as a writer AND director and his comicbook experience is valuable. Logic dictates this is the best solution to a crumbling universe because of a lot of bad decisions the last couple of years. But because he is cancelled, feige is not even considering this.

I dont believe that Russos can fix these current problems of superhero fatigue, only a comicbook creative can save cbms
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 2:11 PM
@TheyDont - yes and i loved it inspite of the behind the scene problems it had.

Have you seen cherry and gray man?
Vigor
Vigor - 7/19/2024, 4:12 PM
@Izaizaiza - I knew I liked you
WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 7/19/2024, 1:25 PM
Feige need a massive win at Comic Con



Something like this

Order66
Order66 - 7/19/2024, 1:25 PM
Russos all the way. Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame are in the top 10 of MCU movies. So yes bring them back!
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/19/2024, 1:27 PM
Interesting…

Idk if Noah Hawley’s sensibilities work for an Avengers film but I wouldn’t mind if he did a project in the MCU , perhaps in the tv side?.

Also I’m not on the Berlanti hate train as others but I’m glad they passed on him because he hasn’t helmed a project of this scale so it could be a bit of like throwing him in the deep end and you shouldn’t take that risk with Avengers imo.

Also he was one of 4 writers on GL so I’m not gonna entirely blame him for the dud that project turned out to be.
rychlec
rychlec - 7/19/2024, 1:36 PM
It's astonishing that anyone who says they are a fan aren't thrilled by the possible return of the Russo Bros. They have proven time and time again to have the Marvel secret sauce and are the closest thing to a sure bet to do it again. If anything, this news should unite the country! (a little)
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 7/19/2024, 2:10 PM
@rychlec - when will you nerds learn? Then making some of the greatest comic book movies don’t matter. We hate the MCU right now so we hate everything surrounding it. We will find a way to hate their 4 prior MCU movies and we definitely will Nitpick them apart. But what we’ll definitely do is pick a part what they make in the future.

Taika got it first and Gunn lucky he left because I was finna be on his are
Itwasme
Itwasme - 7/19/2024, 2:16 PM
@MyCoolYoung - hit the nail on the head.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 7/19/2024, 4:28 PM
@Itwasme - thanks. I’m just relaying the rules around here for those who are presently unaware
rebellion
rebellion - 7/19/2024, 1:37 PM
this reads like a pr attempt to paint russos as a better choice than they really are
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/19/2024, 2:13 PM
@rebellion - this. Overrated imo
Moriakum
Moriakum - 7/19/2024, 2:25 PM
@rebellion - Considering their track record in the MCU, they really aren't a good choice...

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