The first ten years of Marvel Studios has been a wild, non-stop ride of hit movie after hit movie, with next month’s ANT-MAN AND THE WASP bringing the count to 20. The future is nothing by bright for the massive studio, and indeed, the future is certainly female as Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige says there will definitely be more female directors attached to future films.
Feige was speaking at the 10th annual Produced By Conference and talked about Marvel’s success over the last ten years. He eventually started talking about the future of Marvel, which will see women playing a larger role both in front of and behind the camera. This means co-headlining roles for actresses like Evangeline Lilly (WASP), and Brie Larson having the title role in CAPTAIN MARVEL next year. As for those behind the camera, Feige said we can expect a “heck of a lot” more women directing their films, as agencies are sending more and more women over for big assignments. Next year's CAPTAIN MARVEL will have Marvel's first female director, Anna Boden, who is co-directing with husband Ryan Fleck.
As well, Feige spoke about the success of BLACK PANTHER, which currently stands as the highest-grossing superhero movie at the North American box office. He attributes the massive achievement to the diversity of the film, saying the goal was always to “disprove the myth that black movies don’t perform around the world.” As for including more diversity in their films, Feige said, “I don’t want to be in a room where everyone looks like you. It’s detrimental to the project you are working on.”
He then went on to say that some of the people on the PANTHER crew, such as costume designer Ruth E. Carter and DP Rachel Morrison, were not top choices until director Ryan Coogler fought for them. Though none of them had much blockbuster experience, Feige listened to the director and brought them on board. “We can’t imagine the movie without them, and the future movies we hope to make with them,” he said.
During the talk Feige also said we can expect more unique sequels (like THOR: RAGNAROK), hiring more indie directors (like Coogler, Jon Watts and Taika Waititi) and for the cost of the movies to get higher as their stars commit to more films, thus earning higher pay-days. In short, the Marvel is doing everything to maintain the quality of their movies and expand their brand by bringing in new voices and talent, which signals there's nowhere to go but up.
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP arrives July 6.