The Marvel Cinematic Universe is built on the vision of one Kevin Feige. The visionary behind this multi-billion dollar studio has been holding the reins to give audiences one of the most popular movie franchises of all time. It is not that comic book movies were something new before the MCU, but the extraordinary-ness and extravaganza of the movies from the Marvel Studios set a new bar for CBMs.
And to think that this billion-dollar franchise was inspired from one of the most low-rated movies from another popular franchise – well, that’s not something we would have ever guessed! One scene from Star Trek V, one of the least popular movies from the franchise, is apparently the inspiration behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Star Trek V Inspired Kevin Feige to Build The MCU
At the end of Star Trek V, there is a scene where the whole crew of the Enterprise is taking some time off while their ship is getting necessary repairs done. And one of the sequences shows William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, and DeForest Kelley’s Dr. McCoy sitting around a campfire and toasting marshmallows, where the two Earthlings introduce Spock to a very basic Earth custom, singing around the campfire.
This one scene allegedly inspired Kevin Fiege to build on the idea of superheroes, who are also humans. And at the end of a hard day, they hang out with their friends, just like normal people. This was to show that these heroes and legends are also bound to have interpersonal relationships, and it is in these moments that their humanity shines through.
Screenwriter C. Robert Cargill said that during a conversation with Kevin Fiege, the Marvel Boss told him his preference for Star Trek V and that particular campfire scene.
“Kevin made an assertion to me that melted my brain because I’d never heard it […] He made the argument that ‘Star Trek V’ is better than ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.'”
According to them, these small moments that have nothing to do with heroes or the sci-fi give the audiences something to connect with these larger than life characters. They “lets us experience who they are as people and not legends.”
The DNA of Marvel Came From Star Trek
The book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzalez, and Gavin Edwards, has given us many insights into the majing if the MCU as well as the people who made it into what it is today. While further discussing the campfire scene from Star Trek V that inspired Kevin Fiege, Cargill said,
“The DNA of that campfire scene in every Marvel movie. He wants to take your favorite characters and give you the campfire scene, and give you that sequence in which you just love these people for who they are as people, regardless of their powers, so that when the big stuff happens, you really care about it.”
According to Fiege, having these moments to connect with the characters and see their human side made the audiences more susceptible to them during the bigger scenes when they go into battle. And this is, as we now understand, what makes up the core of Marvel.
Source: MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios
