Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, is reported since 2019 to be producing a new Star Wars movie; this is good news for Star Wars! Feige, who is also a producer of many Marvel Studios projects, has overseen the Marvel movies and they mostly had good stories and characters with interesting qualities about them. Having taken on this Star Wars flick, the producing skills of Feige are going to be tested by debatably an even tougher fandom to please.
Marvel movies like “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) were hits under Kevin Feige’s watch! Picture credit to cinemablend.com
Looking back, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a rollercoaster ride full of excitements, comedy, action, and even some disappointments here and there. Feige produced for the MCU since the very beginning with Iron Man (2008); and while sometimes producer involvement can interfere with a movie, it’s fair to say that Marvel movies have fared well under his watch.
The successes of the MCU have been greater than its losses; sometimes, unfortunately, studios put out a lot of eye candy with flair and explosions and don’t really develop their central character(s) into someone with whom an average audience member can identify. I feel this is so regarding the MCU Spider-Man movies; they won’t even let Peter Parker speak the words “with great power comes great responsibility” and it’s part and parcel to establishing who he is and why he does what he does.
I fear the same problem has befallen the latest Star Wars movies; a lot of flash and eye candy with as minimal character development as possible; and yes, that includes a majority of the Sequel Trilogy.
“The Mandalorian” is a show which never ceases to amaze viewers! Picture credit to polygon.com
Yet Star Wars still turns out some good work; such as The Mandalorian (2019-present)! The franchise will produce other good works as well as more eye candy; under Feige’s eye, one such hit could be this new movie.
Geek News Now fans were asked in the exclusive Facebook group “The GNN Greats” about their thoughts on Feige and this Star Wars movie:
“I’ve little faith [in] the full length cinematic ability over at Lucas[film] these days.” said David Schirtzinger. “Feige is good. But is he Star Wars good? I don’t know. We’re going to find out.”
Kevin Feige and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy! Picture credit to hollywoodreporter.com
I think Feige’s success with shaping the MCU will translate into the new Star Wars movie. The details of this flick are as yet unknown. Even if you don’t have a lot of faith in Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy’s involvement in each project, remember that when certain other minds — such as Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni — got involved, The Mandalorian was treated like fleshed-out stories to tell and not simple products to be pushed. When it comes to Star Wars, Feige is himself a “die-hard fan” according to Alan Horn, co-chairman and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Studios; so let’s see how Feige’s hand works this Star Wars tale.
If anyone’s wondering whether Feige would take over the Star Wars franchise, he himself said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly he doesn’t have any plans for involvement with Star Wars beyond producing this one movie.
“No. That’s all Kathy Kennedy,” Feige said. “I’m involved in as much as I stay up until midnight L.A. time to watch new episodes of The Mandalorian when they drop.”
I don’t suppose this will smooth over divisions within the Star Wars fandom, however; if some fans can find something wrong with the Star Wars films having any diversity in characters — women, people of color, etc having prominence — then they can find a problem here too no matter what Feige and his team behind the film will put together. For the fans who can both just enjoy a movie and while asking for a story with a thought-out plot and interesting characters, I say there’s a strong chance they’ll like what Feige produces.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige! Picture credit to filmthink.com.au
With so much still unknown about this new Star Wars movie, it’s hard to say how good it will be; I do say, however, that producers like Feige care about telling a solid story and he will likely give us something enjoyable. I’ll have more faith when I see more details, but I believe Feige — being a Star Wars fan himself — will want to make it something special.
Any thoughts on Kevin Feige as a Star Wars movie producer? Comment below! Also, subscribe to Geek News Now and give it a like on its Facebook page!
