Bob Iger, President and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, showed up on the final day of the 37th annual Ubs Global Media & Communications Conference. While he was there, he commented on the changes that would be made to Marvel Studios and their characters.
Iger wants to "Put a spotlight on the name Marvel that is much brighter than today."
This from the Hollywood Reporter:
"He explained that while Marvel is a well-known brand, there 'hasn't been all that much focus on growing that brand' given the different interests of studios that have so far used some of its characters.
Iger also once again expressed confidence in the potential to develop lesser-known Marvel characters with the help of good scripts and directors, pointing to the increased prominence of 'Iron Man' thanks to the Jon Favreau movie as an example.
Handling lesser-known characters correctly could lead to 'potential surprises' and new franchises, Iger argued.
He also said Disney can test characters' appeal via TV series on Disney XD or web content without immediately spending a blockbuster budget on a film.
Iger also said it would be 'just fine' for Disney if Sony keeps making 'Spider-Man' movies given that Marvel handles the licensing for them and has a big character library."
It looks like Spider-Man won't be teaming up with Avengers anytime soon.
But I remain optimistic for the future of Marvel's other characters and their movies.