Disney CEO Bob Iger says he saved Marvel honcho Kevin Feige from Ike Perlmutter’s plans to remove the producer. Perlmutter is Marvel Entertainment’s chairman and was the former CEO of the company from 2005 up until 2015.
Perlmutter was the reason why it took a long time before we could see films for Black Panther or Captain Marvel. He’s also the reason why Terrence Howard, who played James Rhodes, was replaced by Don Cheadle. He even scaled back the Black Widow toys back in 2015 because he didn’t believe that the character would sell.
Even with the success that Kevin Feige provided for Marvel, it turns out that Perlmutter also wanted Feige out of the company. Can you imagine? Marvel without Kevin Feige?
Bob Iger Saw Kevin Feige’s Passion For Marvel
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Bob Iger revealed in an interview with CNBC (via Collider):
Our filings indicate that both Ike and Nelson were working together to try to encourage the board or convince the board to put Nelson on the board. They have a relationship that dates back quite some time. We bought Marvel in 2009. I promised Ike the job that he would continue to run Marvel after that. Not forever, necessarily. But after that.
Nelson Peltz, is also a board member of Procter and Gamble, Sysco, and The Madison Square Garden Company. Peltz has wanted a seat at Disney.
Perlmutter had been very supportive of Peltz, as he kept suggesting Peltz be added to the board no less than 20 times. And based on what Iger said, Perlmutter and Peltz have a “curious dynamic.” And both of them had similar political views, which also could be a factor.
Credit: Gage Skidmore
In a report from CNBC, Peltz has just ended a proxy fight against Disney which started this January. Peltz didn’t support the removal of Bob Chapek and the return of Bob Iger as Disney’s CEO.
Iger talks more about why he kept Feige in Marvel:
And in 2015 he [Perlmutter] was intent on firing Kevin Feige who was running Marvel’s studio, the moviemaking [operation] at the time, and I thought that was a mistake and stepped in to prevent that from happening. I think Kevin is an incredibly, incredibly talented executive that you know, the Marvel track record speaks for itself. And so, I moved the movie-making operation of Marvel out from under Ike into the movie studio under Alan Horn.
Feige wanted to push for diversity and make films that represented different cultures. It is what Marvel was all about. While Ike Perlmutter didn’t believe Black actors or female-led films would sell. This caused a lot of friction between the two.
It’s a good thing that Bob Iger saw through it. This made Iger decide to separate Marvel Studios from Marvel Entertainment in 2015. This gave Feige control over the movies. Perlmutter wasn’t happy with that decision. But for a time, he still had control over the TV shows under Jeph Loeb up until 2019.
Bob Iger Gave More Power To Kevin Feige Marvel
Credit: Thomas Hawk
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By October 2019, Disney appointed Feige as Chief Creative Officer, which oversees everything under Marvel Television, Marvel Family Entertainment, Marvel Comics and Marvel Animation. Even Marvel president Dan Buckley reports to Feige.
I’m not really so sure what Ike Perlmutter does today, even though he’s still chairman of Marvel. I don’t really see what he contributes to Disney. I thought he would still have control over the toys. But then again, Marvel Toys was already sold to a private investor in the UK back in January 2022.
I’m just happy that Kevin Feige is where he is today because of Bob Iger. I can’t imagine the MCU without him leading it. Marvel wouldn’t be as big as it is today if it wasn’t for Feige. And Bob Iger was the reason why those doors opened.
Can you imagine the MCU without Feige? What do you think of Bob Iger saving Feige from being fired? Let us know in the comments below.
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