Kevin Feige got his big break working on 2000's X-Men, and executive producer Lauren Shuler Donner made him an associate producer on the movie due to his knowledge of the Marvel Universe.
He impressed Avi Arad so much that he was later hired as his second-in-command at Marvel Studios, before becoming the studio's President - and the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe - in 2007.
During an interview with Observer, X-Men executive producer Ralph Winter was asked to share some insight into the role Feige played in helping shape Bryan Singer's movie.
"The studio wanted the widest possible audience, the biggest bang for their buck, as they deserve and require," he explains. "There was pushback to being faithful to the comic. Kevin Feige [Donner’s production assistant on the film] was right there in the midst of all of that."
"He didn’t have as big of a voice back then, but he was careful and faithful about the characters and reminding us, ‘Hey, you can do that, but here’s where the character came from. Here’s where their powers started. So keep that in mind as you go do that.'" Considering Singer banned comic books on set, it's likely Feige had an uphill battle, but he clearly made some difference.
Winter went on to address some of the other challenges X-Men faced, including a lack of money. "The budget was a challenge. We didn’t pay the stars much. Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, etc. They weren’t getting big salaries in 1999, ’98 when those deals were made. But it stretched out a $75 million budget and the visual effects weren’t cheap."
X-Men is still fondly remembered by the vast majority of fans, and while the allegations made against Singer have somewhat tarnished its legacy, there's no denying it was a game-changer for superhero movies.
Plus, most importantly, it put Feige in a position where he could eventually take charge of the MCU!