He may have long since secured his position as one of the most important and pivotal figures in the history of cinema by acting as the architect and chief creative driving force behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Kevin Feige has never been shy in admitting that Star Wars was always his first love.
Like an entire generation of Hollywood talent both on-camera and off, the company’s chief creative officer instantly fell in love with George Lucas’ sweeping sci-fi saga, and there was a combination of both excitement and intrigue when it was first announced that the baseball cap enthusiast would be producing a brand new blockbuster set in a galaxy far, far away for Lucasfilm.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Avengers: Secret Wars scribe Michael Waldron was even tapped to pen the screenplay, but instead, Feige’s project has become the latest Star Wars offering to bite the dust. Almost 20 filmmakers have come and gone in the decade since Disney first acquired the property in a multi-billion dollar deal, but nobody would have bet on the single most successful producer the business has ever seen to end up as one of the casualties.
Nonetheless, Star Wars‘ loss could prove to be Marvel’s gain, at least if it allows Feige to focus 100 percent of his undivided attention on remedying the many issues both critics and fans alike have with virtually everything the MCU has put out since the conclusion of the Infinity Saga.
Kathleen Kennedy inevitably takes the blame whenever Star Wars drums up bad buzz, but as much as it stings for a lot of people to know that Feige’s mercurial touch won’t be applied to the legendary property, it does at least free up his schedule to ensure that the Multiverse Saga and the MCU in general can be restored to its former bulletproof glories after taking a string of heavy hits in recent times.
