Kevin Feige Admits Marvel Missteps While Applauding James Gunn’s Bold Superman Reboot
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is pushing back against the narrative of ‘superhero fatigue’ by pointing to the success of James Gunn’s Superman reboot – a film that marks a new era for the DC Universe. According to Feige, Gunn’s unapologetically bold storytelling and willingness to throw audiences into a complex, already-formed world is exactly the kind of risk Hollywood needs more of. “You don’t know who Mister Terrific is? Tough, you’ll figure it out,” Feige praised in a roundtable interview.
Feige believes the idea of audiences being ‘tired’ of superheroes is misunderstood. Instead, the real issue is oversaturation without innovation. Since Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has churned out over 100 hours of content – more than double the entire Infinity Saga, but in half the time. From The Eternals to The Marvels to Quantumania, too many recent entries have failed to capture audience excitement.
He admits that the aggressive production slate, driven largely by Disney+ mandates, diluted Marvel’s once-pristine brand. “We used to be proud that we had more characters than we could possibly make movies about. Then suddenly the mandate became, ‘Just do more.'” While shows like WandaVision and Loki were praised, Feige concedes that not all characters translated well from streaming to theaters. Case in point: The Marvels and Thunderbolts*.
But many fans argue Feige is missing the point. Characters like Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, and Red Guardian already had big screen exposure, yet Thunderbolts* underperformed – not because of obscurity, but due to lack of marketing focus and genre fatigue. Others believe Marvel’s overreliance on connected lore and formulaic storytelling has eroded the thrill of discovery.
Gunn’s Superman, though darker than many expected, succeeded precisely because it avoided the worn-out origin story blueprint. It treated audiences with respect, offering tone and thematic variety – something fans are now craving. Gunn, drawing inspiration from his MCU lessons, plans a DCU where each film feels distinct in tone and genre. And that variance might just be the antidote to superhero burnout.
Going forward, Marvel is scaling back – no more than three films and one Disney+ series per year. Feige is betting on a reset: Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Secret Wars, and an X-Men reboot. The hope is that quality and uniqueness will win back trust.
As for the future, both Marvel and DC seem to be learning the same lesson: if you’re going to ask audiences to show up for yet another cape-wearing savior, you’d better bring something fresh to the table.