When Kevin Feige Got Off to a Less-Than-Incredible Start at Marvel

The success that Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige has achieved over the two-plus decades since landing on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Next Gen list in 2003 would likely make any producer green with envy. Boston-born and New Jersey-raised, Feige was rejected from USC film school five times before finally getting accepted. He later landed an unpaid internship with Superman director Richard Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. Feige continued working as an assistant for Shuler Donner, leading him to earn an associate producer credit for Fox’s 2000 release X-Men. Feige’s passion for the company impressed Marvel Studios founder Avi Arad, who hired him to oversee other studios’ use of Marvel superheroes. Feige would later tell THR that, during his time as a Marvel Studios producer until he was named president of production in 2006, he would learn about the various productions and was “thinking always, ‘One day, if I’m in a position of power, I’ll do things this way; I’m going to not do things like that.’ ” At the time of his Next Gen selection in fall 2003, Feige was executive vp at Marvel Studios. He had also just executive produced Ang Lee’s Hulk, the Universal summer release that starred Eric Bana as physicist Bruce Banner, who transforms into his green-skinned alter ego when angered. Although THR‘s review praised the film for its “visual energy, genuine artistry and compelling human emotions,” it collected a modest $245 million globally against a $137 million budget. Three years later, Marvel Studios bought back the rights to the Hulk and released 2008’s Edward Norton-led movie The Incredible Hulk. Creative differences between Norton and the studio resulted in Mark Ruffalo taking over the role for 2012’s The Avengers. Ruffalo returns as the Hulk for Disney’s anticipated Avengers: Doomsday, which hits theaters Dec. 18 and stars an endless array of A-listers. The film is the 39th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which Feige helped launch in 2008 with Iron Man. Feige now serves as Marvel Studios president and Marvel chief creative officer — and in 2025, he gave an endowment to USC to establish the Kevin Feige Division of Film & Television Production. When asked to name his job’s greatest challenge on his Next Gen questionnaire, Feige replied: “Expanding and redefining the public’s perception of a ‘comic book movie.’ “ This story appeared in the Nov. 12 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up