Kevin Feige has been the mastermind of the MCU for more than 10 years now and has created the most commercially successful franchise in the history of cinema. Creating an interconnected universe over multiple films is an ambitious idea that many have tried and failed. But Feige’s vision and conviction made it possible.
While the Infinity Saga was highly successful, the franchise is currently struggling due to incoherent narratives and their focus on quantity over quality. Nelson Peltz recently questioned some of Marvel’s casting choices and Feige’s authority over the franchise. Ironically, Peltz’s daughter has been part of a Marvel show in the past.
Nicola Peltz Starred in The Universally-Panned Marvel’s Inhumans
Activist investor Nelson Peltz, who is vying to win two board seats at Disney, recently criticized some of Marvel Studios’ casting choices (via Variety). While emphasizing that movies are meant to entertain and not to be didactic, Peltz criticized the studio and Kevin Feige’s approach to structuring the franchise and having Marvel movies with an all-Black cast (Black Panther) and all-women leads (The Marvels).
Many might not know that Peltz’s daughter Nicola Peltz who is an actress in the industry, made an appearance in the disastrous Inhumans show back in 2017. She played the character of Jane in the first episode of the series titled Behold… The Inhumans. The show was infamously severely criticized, due to its lackluster writing, acting, and underwhelming production values.
Peltz also starred in the Hulu series Welcome to Chippendales, playing the real-life Canadian model Dorothy Stratten in its first episode. On the film side, Peltz most popularly played Mark Wahlberg’s daughter in Transformers: Age of Extinction. She recently made her directorial debut with the drama film Lola where she also was the lead.
Kevin Feige Calls Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Return a Full Circle Moment
Before being the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige was an associate producer on the first X-Men film. That was where Feige met Hugh Jackman for the first time when he auditioned for the role of Wolverine. Over the years, the two have known each other and are finally working again more closely in a bigger capacity in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine.
Feige talked to Entertainment Weekly about Jackman’s journey in the Marvel universe since X-Men and his return as Wolverine in the MCU. Feige claimed that having him in the MCU is a full-circle moment for him as he has known and admired Jackman for so many years. He said,
“To have Hugh come back is incredible. For me, personally, that is where I started. I remember sitting behind the camera — well behind the camera — at his audition for the film. It was his first on-set audition, and he flew up to Toronto to do a read with Anna Paquin. For him, and for me, and I think for all of the fans of Marvel, it’s unbelievable what has happened in those 23 years. It’s very full-circle having him come back in this new Deadpool film.”
Deadpool & Wolverine is the only solo theatrical MCU release of the year and the studio seems to be fully confident of what they have. Bob Iger recently declared that the film will be the studio’s most successful film in a long time. Fans can witness Ryan Reynolds and Jackman’s return as Deadpool and Wolverine when the film releases on July 26, 2024.