As the two biggest comic companies, Marvel and DC Comics have always been rivals. They have huge stables of superheroes and decades of history. But when it comes to movies, Marvel has taken a gigantic lead having been able to crank out seven hit superhero movies in the last five years while Warner Bros. (which owns DC Comics) has been stuck trying to create a bankable movie superhero who isn't named "Batman" or "Superman" despite having other recognizable names like Wonder Woman and The Flash. Warner Bros. has been trying to figure out how to get to their own Avengers-like movie, Justice League, to the big screen but their most recent effort was sent back to the drawing board, and the studio's superhero hopes now rest on Man of Steel.
Steve recently sat down with Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige, the guiding force behind the Marvel Movie Universe. Since Feige found a way to get his superheroes to The Avengers, Steve asked the Marvel chief if he has any advice on getting Justice League to the big screen. Hit the jump for what he had to say.
Unsurprisingly, Feige didn't go into specifics nor did he criticize Warner Bros. However, he did point to the fact that the studio has to be courageous when it comes to embracing their material, no matter how outlandish the characters may be:
Steve: If you could give any advice to DC and their Justice League movie, what would you tell them?
Feige: I don’t know. I’m sure they have smart people over there who have a plan and know what they’re doing. Man of Steel looks like it’s going to be awesome and obviously Dark Knight is awesome. I don’t know. It’s what I say all the time and have said over the years, which is, have confidence in the characters, believe in the source material, don’t be afraid to stay true to all of the elements of the characters no matter how seemingly silly or crazy they are. I don’t know, I think the Marvel characters have a bit of a leg up for all the reasons that Marvel fans are aware of in terms of the emotional complexity of the characters and the flawed nature of the characters. Those are obviously the elements we want to accentuate amongst all the action.
Feige also acknowledged that the superhero team-up template came from the Justice League comics, and how they took that model for The Avengers:
Feige: I think there have been a lot of great DC stories and there are a lot of great DC characters, and if they focus on those things the audience will be interested. It was a very unique model that we were lucky enough to be able to do – introducing each individual hero before introducing The Avengers. That, to me, is what was always interesting about The Avengers. The Avengers are not The Guardians of the Galaxy, are not The Dirty Dozen, where you spend a movie introducing each character and putting them together for the first time. The Avengers was cool because they were preexisting characters that teamed up for a big event. I think that’s why Justice League was cool, Justice League was first. That’s what they did first in comic form.
Look for more from our interview with Kevin Feige tomorrow night. If you missed his comments on when his contract ends, a Doctor Strange movie, and his updates on The Avengers 2 click here.
