2018 not only sees the release of the highly anticipated culmination event Avengers: Infinity War, but it’s also the 10-year anniversary of Marvel Studios. A decade ago, Marvel’s independent production company released Iron Man through Paramount Pictures, unsure of whether audiences would respond to a film about a little-known superhero. But thanks to the charisma and ingenuity of director Jon Favreau, star Robert Downey Jr., and producer Kevin Feige the film was a massive surprise hit, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was born.
The MCU has not been without its bumps, most notably in the early days with The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, but Marvel Studios was able to right the ship enough to get to The Avengers, which is where the MCU was permanently solidified as one of the most successful franchises around.
In anticipation of Infinity War and to celebrate a decade of moviemaking, Marvel Studios has released a new extended featurette that somewhat details the history of the production studio and the road that led them to Infinity War. It opens delightfully with footage of Favreau weeks before Iron Man hit theaters, in which he predicts that the ceiling for Iron Man’s success would be as a solid single. As we all know, the film was more like a home run, and the featurette then features footage shot on the set of Infinity War in which the actors and filmmakers discuss the MCU’s evolution and rise in hindsight.
It’s a fun featurette, but I do hope we get a deeper piece on the MCU with the Infinity War Blu-ray, preferably in the form of a feature-length documentary that doesn’t cut corners. I’d love to hear Feige talk candidly about The Incredible Hulk or how Iron Man 2 nearly wrecked the MCU idea or frequent criticisms lobbied against Marvel movies. Something that bare is probably too much to ask for, but Collider’s own Matt Goldberg has been doing a great job diving deep on each MCU film individually in his retrospective series, so we’ve got that.
For now, check out the Marvel featurette below. Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27th.
