Kevin Feige Is Ready For Female Superhero Movies to Be the Norm

Screen Rant

By Cooper Hood

Published Sep 6, 2018

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is ready for female led superhero movies to become the norm in Hollywood instead of a rarity.

Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is ready for a world where female superhero movies are the norm, and believes Captain Marvel will help get us there. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had no shortage of success in its first 10 years, but one area where it can still improve is with diverse leads. They're finally making strides in this area after Black Panther and upping Evangeline Lilly to co-star status in Ant-Man and the Wasp. When it comes to movies led by women, it will be next year's Captain Marvel - the 21st MCU film - that is the first solo female adventure.

Even though Marvel is just now starting to promote the movie by offering the first look at Brie Larson in costume, Feige is looking towards the future too. What comes after Avengers 4 and Phase 3 largely remains a mystery, but the studio head has promised plenty more female heroes are coming. Based on his latest comment, these won't be just supporting roles either, as he wants female led superhero movies to become less rare.

EW spoke to Kevin Feige as part of their Captain Marvel coverage, which is where he shared his hopes for not just the MCU but for the genre as a whole. He teases several movies will be announced that feature a female lead and hopes that as more of them continue to be made, these female driven films start to become a normal occurrence.

With [Ant-Man and The Wasp] and now with Captain Marvel and many movies to be announced in the near future, I’m anxious for the time where it’s not a novelty that there is a female-led superhero movie, but it is a norm. And it is less a story of, ‘Oh, look, a female hero,’ and it’s more a story of, ‘Oh, what’s this about? Who’s this character? I’m excited to see that.’ And I think we can get there.

Just as Black Panther's success emboldened Marvel to develop more movies with diverse leads, the way Captain Marvel is shaping up and a general interest in seeing more female led films appears to be helping Marvel chose a variety of projects with female leads. Even if Larson's solo movie crushes every record possible, Feige still points to Wonder Woman for helping destroy the notion that audiences aren't interested in movies not led by white males. Between Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman 2 next year, it should be a great year for female superhero movies.

Feige isn't just saying what everyone wants to hear either, as plans are in motion for more female led movies. The first that should come after Captain Marvel is Scarlett Johansson's long-awaited Black Widow solo movie. There's also been plenty of talk about a potential all-female movie, especially from Tessa Thompson, who became a fan favorite as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok. She could even lead a film of her own or join the several women of Guardians of the Galaxy potentially. And, with the Disney-Fox merger looming, Feige may soon have access to major Marvel female heroes like Invisible Woman, Storm, Rogue, or Jean Grey. There's countless more examples of female heroes ready to take leading roles in MCU films after Captain Marvel, now it's just up to Feige to greenlight them, making them the norm in the process.