The debate between DC and Marvel had been going on long before Kevin Feige entered the scene. Both franchises have always been in competition with each other, they have both helped each other become better and reach the top of the superhero genre.
While fans are yet to find a winner when it comes to all aspects of the franchise, including live-action, animation, and comics, it would seem that those who are a part of it are more than happy to rely on each other.
Kevin Feige’s Biggest Inspiration
Kevin Feige once made an appearance at a celebration for Richard Donner at the Oscars, where he talked about one of the greatest works of his life, Superman: The Movie. There is no denying that the movie is a masterpiece, and nobody could have been better suited for the role than Christopher Reeve. Despite all of these well-known facts, what came out of Feige’s mouth was still surprising.
The President of Marvel Studios talked about just how big of an impact Donner had on his life, having, looked up to him for a majority of it. Since the filmmaker was regarded as one of the greatest and most impactful minds in the superhero genre, his works are often looked back on to stay grounded.
The films (Richard) made inspired me to even want to go down that track and of course, in particular, Superman: The Movie is still, to this day, the archetype of the perfect superhero film origin story and we watch it before we make almost anyone of our films and that’s been the case for the past 17 years since left the fold to go work for Marvel.
During his speech, Feige revealed that before making any Marvel movie, it is almost a requirement that everyone watch Donner’s DC classic. He mentioned the reason for such love for the 1978 work and revealed that he believes it to be the purest and best representation of how to do a superhero origin story right.
Kevin Feige Has Only Praise For Richard Donner
Long before joining Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige used to work for Richard Donner. During this time, he learned a very important lesson from the legendary filmmaker. Mentioning that Donner had an excellent vocabulary, Feige stated that the word verisimilitude held great meaning for him. So much so, that he had the word hanging about his office door.
(Richard) has a very good vocabulary, and there was a word that I was never able to pronounce, but I always understood. Which was, Verisimilitude. And he used that word while making Superman 1 and I first learned that not because it’s hanging above (Richard’s) office, which it was for many years, but because I saw him talking about it in the ABC: Making of Superman Special when I was a kid.
The literal definition of the word is to be real or true. In his personal context, it was a reminder for the filmmaker to be true and loyal to the work he is creating. Understanding the importance of the source material and sticking to what was made years ago actually worked well.
It basically means that be truthful, honor the source material, believe in it, and take it seriously. And that is what we strive to do and Jon Favreau, on the very first Marvel Studios production, copied that and put it above his doorway.
It would seem that Feige wasn’t the only person to have been affected by this one word and the significance it holds. During the making of the 2008 Iron Man, the director of the film, Jon Favreau, did the same thing that Donner did with the word, reminding himself of what he was actually trying to do.
Superman: The Movie is available for streaming on Max.
