The MCU has just crossed a major milestone with Avengers: Endgame, and everywhere online, people involved in the franchise have been making revelations about the movies that we haven't known before. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had just conducted an AMA on Reddit, and he's revealed what were the hardest sells he had to convince executives to make the film.
When asked about this on the AMA, Feige wrote:
There are always conversations and discussions before a film is made, and for the most part it's been an amazing collaboration, but back when we first started, the two that come to mind from 10 years ago are the casting of Robert Downey Jr. and the decision to make Captain America: The First Avenger a period World War 2 film.
Though Robert Downey Jr. is a mega-star today, he was actually lost into obscurity after having a huge problem with drug abuse and multiple arrests back in the 90s. Iron Man was what saved his career, and in retrospect, he was a perfect choice to play alcoholic billionaire philanthropist Tony Stark. It's like Tony's redemption arc pretty much mirrors Downey's real-life journey.
As for Captain America, a period piece film with a superhero had never been done before. It felt very necessary, however, to tell Cap's origin in WWII, since that's where Steve Rogers became Captain America. It was smart to have the film build up to him waking up in the future—hence setting up the first Avengers film.
Though they were hard sells for the MCU, they definitely paid off in the long run. RDJ has successfully been the face of the franchise for 11 years, and we got period comic book films coming out left and right with Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel. Let's just hope that the MCU continues to innovate moving forward.
Catch Avengers: Endgame in theaters now.
See Also: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Hints At The Return Of 'Forgotten' Characters
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