Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Appears To Confirm Whether Marvel Television Shows Are MCU Canon

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Appears To Confirm Whether Marvel Television Shows Are MCU Canon

The debate over what should and shouldn't be considered canon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have finally been settled, this time by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. Find more details here...

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By JoshWilding - Oct 22, 2023 06:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Studios

Whether Marvel Television properties like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daredevil, and Inhumans should be considered MCU "canon" has long been debated among fans. There's evidence for and against that being the case, whether it's the return of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock or the fact a new Darkhold was introduced in WandaVision which completely ignored versions previously seen on television. 

At this stage, it seems obvious all those non-Marvel Studios TV shows took place on branched timelines. By not having them be part of the Earth-616 "Sacred Timeline," it means Kevin Feige and company aren't forced to be beholden to past creative decisions and can just pick and choose what they want to use. 

In fact, that's pretty much been confirmed in a foreword from Feige in the newly released Marvel Studios: The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline book. 

"On the Multiverse note, we recognize that there are stories - movies and series - that are canonical to Marvel but were created by different storytellers during different periods of Marvel's history," Feige explains. "The timeline presented in this book is specific to the MCU's Sacred Timeline through Phase 4."

"But, as we move forward and dive deeper into the Multiverse Saga, you never know when timelines may just crash or converge (hint, hint/spoiler alert)."

Well, at least that means some of them could eventually return!

Some fans have desperately tried to talk themselves into believing everything that happened in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for example, actually played out in the MCU but if and when Feige reintroduces Inhumans, there's not a chance he'll attempt to make sense out of what that show did them over the course of several seasons. 

There was a very real divide between Feige and Marvel Television's Jeph Loeb, with the TV shows made by the latter decided on by Marvel's Creative Committee. Remember, Feige went to Disney CEO Bob Iger to have that disbanded and is now in charge of all things Marvel. 

Of course, Marvel Studios has struggled to crack small screen storytelling but we recently learned that they're now changing how they approach those projects. 

Let us know your thoughts on this apparent revelation in the comments section below. 

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ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 10/22/2023, 6:04 AM
There has never been a good reason to believe otherwise. It's probably one of the reasons they chose the multiverse as the theme for this saga
Vigor
Vigor - 10/22/2023, 6:30 AM
@ProfessorWhy - they literally sat in a room together and on thr white board you had the old shows, xmen, fantastic four, sonyverse, and they said - how can we make this call happen in a natural way?

And the multiverse saga was born. Kang is just the villain to bring it all together
Goldboink
Goldboink - 10/22/2023, 12:02 PM
@ProfessorWhy - Except for the direct tie ins to Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron. It was originally intended to be part of the same universe but Feige won the battle with Perlmutter and they wrote it out of the Sacred Timeline.

Regardless I found AOS more entertaining when it was operating on the periphery of the MCU. I was entertained, which is all that matters.
StSteven
StSteven - 10/22/2023, 3:41 PM
@ProfessorWhy @Vigor - Yep. How well the Multiverse Saga has been handled thus far is obviously up for debate, but conceptually I think it was about the only way to introduce/explain/reconcile all the new properties that Marvel suddenly had control over/regained the rights to without a straight up full-on reboot of the MCU, which would have been a waste of all the great stuff (characters, storylines, universe building, etc.) that had come before it.

So you use the Multiverse as a way to bring in all the stuff that you have now and "A:SW" as thee way to "prune" away what you don't want/need to move forward with your "new" Sacred Timeline that has everything all reconciled and jiving moving forward. The only thing that will still be a bit messy moving forward is Sony's SPUNK (or whatever the hell it's called) and it would have been nice if Marvel had the full rights to Spidey back at this time as well so that Marvel could pull that into it's universe "rebuilding" but as long as they can have Spidey himself when they need him, Marvel is probably fine with letting the Sony stuff exist in its own universe. For now.

And as for Kang, he just seems like the logical choice as the impetus for how all this multiversal stuff started and how it will ultimately end/be resolved. Overall, I think Kevin & Co. kinda expected this saga to be somewhat messy (I think it would have been to a certain degree regardless of how well it was planned out when you're dealing with multiverses, time travel, variants, etc.), but let's just see how well they stick the landing when all the dust has settled.
SirDuckAlot
SirDuckAlot - 10/22/2023, 6:07 AM
The Disney+ shows make Agents of Shield look like Citizen Kane in comparison.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 10/22/2023, 6:41 AM
@SirDuckAlot - LOL, I was thinking the same thing as I read this article. It's funny cause it's true.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/22/2023, 7:54 AM
@SirDuckAlot - Some of the D+ shows make Iron Fist retroactively Emmy worthy.
JDL
JDL - 10/22/2023, 10:57 AM
@mountainman - Good Lord No. That's a joke too far.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 10/22/2023, 11:36 AM
@mountainman - you take that back! Or Doc will cry lol
Variant
Variant - 10/22/2023, 12:12 PM
@mountainman - The only thing worse than Iron Fist is Inhumans. (And both showrunners were Scott Buck 🤢)

The hate on the MCU shows is really odd to me. Secret Invasion was really the only disappointing show. Everything else has had varying degrees of success. Between viewership and reviews.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/22/2023, 1:02 PM
@Variant - I guess we all have our own personal taste. The only great MCU D+ content has been Werewolf by Night, Loki and Wandavision. The rest has been ok to bad in my eyes.

Half joking about Iron Fist though. I’d say it is better than some D+ content, like She Hulk, Secret Invasion and Ms Marvel at least.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/22/2023, 1:04 PM
@bobevanz - He might be the only person that I’ve ever seen who praises that show.
Variant
Variant - 10/28/2023, 4:40 PM
@mountainman - For sure. Which I appreciate. I just point to the consensus which is the closest thing to objectivity we have. And sometimes it doesn't work in my favor either. Eternals, for example was a good film, not great, but certainly NOT bad, in my opinion. But if the majority of people didn't like it, I would say that's the "call". I'm just glad I could find enjoyment from it.

Anyway, I feel like you and I have similar outlooks on the value of opinions; we just lean in opposite directions when it comes to the overall quality of the MCU. Which I also appreciate. I'd much prefer having a friendly debate over certain things than act like our opinions are carved in stone for everyone to adopt and hold as truth.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/28/2023, 4:52 PM
@Variant - Yes many of us state our opinions as fact. While I am disappointed in current MCU, I don’t want it to end, I just want to like it again.

Until then, I’ll spend my watching hours viewing other things. I am holding out hope that Deadpool 3 is great. That’s the next MCU project that I am looking forward to.
Variant
Variant - 10/29/2023, 5:51 PM
@mountainman - Very reasonable outlook! And I'm not totally holding a different stance. Secret Invasions, for example, just makes me frustrated. There's NO reason Marvel Studios should've let that show be executed like it was. How is a SLJ led show the worst MCU series?! I feel like a proud parent disappointed in their kid. Like, I know y'all are better than this.

Similarly, I really liked She-Hulk BUT the CGI was horrendous and inexcusable. Gotta straighten that out, too.

Beyond that, I think every other show ranged from good to great. Not everything can be a grand slam is what I'm getting at.
Vigor
Vigor - 10/22/2023, 6:15 AM
Lol thanks Feige. I'll use these quotes as ammo for the argument I've been making for years to people about this. Whom have always hit me with youtube videos of feige saying otherwise back in like 2012. But common sense has always suggested these shows are other timelines. COMMON SENSE
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 10/22/2023, 9:58 AM
@Vigor - he said it when they were launching Disney+ but they ignore that too
JDL
JDL - 10/22/2023, 10:58 AM
@Vigor - In 2012 he was still under Ike's control.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 10/22/2023, 11:07 AM
@Vigor - my only thing was a few things from shield went directly to the movies like Fury ground burning(?) device from winter soldier, The hellcarrier in age of ultron, etc
Vigor
Vigor - 10/22/2023, 11:12 AM
@MyCoolYoung - yeah I know. The TV side clearly tried to connect it the best they could, at the time. But the multiverse story going on makes it so that everything is Canon. Its just different branches. But yes there's some plot holes such as what you just mentioned
EgoEgor
EgoEgor - 10/22/2023, 11:36 AM
@Vigor - The shows were clearly one way in terms of connection, except for Shield which at least got cameos from MCU characters and connected MCU storyline. The netflix shows only made vague references. Netflix connection could be almost akin to a fan film.

Also, it was clear both parties, tv and film, were pretty divided both story and power dynamic wise.
Goldboink
Goldboink - 10/22/2023, 12:05 PM
@Vigor -
So all that involvement with Winter Soldier and Fury showing up at the end of season 1 didn't matter? Coulson tracking down Loki's Scepter and arranging for the hellicarrier in season 2? Nothing?

The plan was to have it be part of the MCU but Feige never liked it. Once he won creative controll it was written out of the sacred timeline as they now call it.
Variant
Variant - 10/22/2023, 12:19 PM
@Vigor - I agree. And to add to the conversation, the multiverse gives new meaning to canon. Fox-Men and Sonyverse weren't at all considered canon. But with the multiverse, it is or can be. The multiverse concept could technically mean everything imaginable is canon. We could go to the Fast and Furious universe on another timeline...

So I think the question has to change to get a firm answer. Do we say canon is MCU in its entirety? Or do we constitute canon as the "sacred timeline" or Earth-199999?
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 10/22/2023, 2:13 PM
@Goldboink - wait Feige kicked them off the sacred timeline? Feige he who remains confirmed
Vigor
Vigor - 10/22/2023, 2:36 PM
@Variant - precisely!
Goldboink
Goldboink - 10/22/2023, 6:44 PM
@Variant -
Sacred Timeline is cannon. Everything that diverges from it is something else. Once they show up though that makes the whole damn thing cannon, whatever the hell that is anyway.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 10/22/2023, 6:31 AM
The only reason why they are now having to retcon that these are other timelines is because Disney were pety and selfish with the brand, valuing their media as above the Netflix shows, preventing them from having characters or iconography show up a majority of the time.

At this stage, Disney are in trouble. Their films and shows have declined significantly in quality and they are desperate to use the association with prior media to draw in an audience that their current media is not bringing in.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/22/2023, 8:35 AM
@Scarilian - Disney is in trouble for A LOT of other things that make this minor, by comparison. Parks, ESPN, ABC, repeated box office disappointments, streaming, Chapek’s brand danage, and the gross Fox overpay have seriously stretched the company very thin
Blergh
Blergh - 10/22/2023, 6:41 AM
I don't mind AOS or DD being in an alternate universe, AOS had MANY faults and trappings I don't want the MCU to be beholden to.
Simply being a similar universe is fine for me.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 10/22/2023, 6:49 AM
OK but then quick question to Feige, where did the 2nd SHIELD Helicarrier come from in Age of Ultron? The answer was from the new SHIELD created by Coulson in AOS. So what's the new answer?

Also I don't care if he says it's canon or not. I don't consider anything after Infinity War canon. I haven't enjoyed most of the MCU shows so for my personal enjoyment I will proceed as if they don't exist and AOS does out of spite for what Disney has done to a franchise I love lol
Razorface1
Razorface1 - 10/22/2023, 8:56 AM
@WarMonkey - You dont decide canon, buddy.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 10/22/2023, 10:30 AM
@Razorface1 - I can do whatever I want with what I enjoy. I don't consider Blade 3 canon either or Highlander 2 or Disney SW or many others.
eagc1995
eagc1995 - 10/22/2023, 1:46 PM
@WarMonkey - I think Whedon intention was that "Oh Fury is in contact with soem random shield agents and they still have access to some decomissioned shield stuff". like you could easily still have stuff like Theta Protocol still be canon, but it was another Agent who tasked with it rather than Coulson.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 10/22/2023, 6:52 AM
I think it's funny Feige now wants to build off the Netflix stuff cause his ideas have faltered. Reminds me he and the studio dictated to Netflix they couldn't do stuff like have the Avenger tower existing in NY's background.
MadThanos
MadThanos - 10/22/2023, 8:08 AM
@WarMonkey - actually that was on the Marvel TV guys, you know.

Netflix only paid for the content (with a contractually mandate for a certain number of episodes) and marketed.

As I'm reading the book, it seems that was Ike that forced that.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 10/22/2023, 8:20 AM
@MadThanos - I know Ike was head of tv and pushed all of it, including the Inhumans. I also know Feige had nothing to do with it and went to Iger to get Ike fired so that he would have control of everything. And around the time the Netflix shows were out Disney has having their petty fight where they removed Mutants from everything and pushed Inhuman stuff. I know Feige wanted only his stuff to remain which is why he's still so cheeky about if the older shows are canon or not. I also know the Netflix staff wasn't allowed to put basic stuff in their show to connect them at all to the MCU. And Ike wanted everything connected from the shows to the movies which is why the early AOS season had a lot of connectivity with the movies.

So I blame Feige over Ike, especially since the quality of ideas coming from Disney Marvel now are vastly inferior to what came before when he was there. I blame everyone there but mostly Feige. I'm highly biased against Feige now though so my thinking could be tainted.
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