When people think of the driving force behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the mind immediately goes to Kevin Fiege. But if it wasn’t for the actions of another man, the Marvel Universe would be looking very different today.

The Hollywood Reporter has published an interview with David Maisel, former boss of Marvel studios. In the interview Maisel details his part in the formation of the studio, which he feels is being overlooked in favour of Feige’s involvement. On the subject of Feige, the former founding chairman explains how whilst he was securing the deals to bring these characters to the screen, Feige was merely a relatively junior executive giving script notes to studios.

While it is clearly Feige’s vision which has crafted the universe that has become such a worldwide phenomenon, it would have been very different were it not for Maisel. In the interview, he reveals how if it weren’t for his involvement both Captain America and Thor would have been in the hands of other studios, with Captain America heading to Warner Bros. whilst Thor would have been with Spider-Man over at Sony. He revealed:

“If I had gotten there three months, six months later, those deals would have been done, And there would be no chance to bring all these characters together.”

It’s safe to say that we are all very thankful for Maisel’s intervention given just how important these characters are to the MCU. Although you can’t help but wonder what the other studios efforts would have looked like, would we have seen Thor team up with Spider-Man sooner, would we have a Dark Knight quality Captain America or would it have been a Green Lantern style mess?

You can check out Marvel’s Captain America in Captain America: Civil War released in theaters today.

Source: THR

What do you think? Do you think this guy deserves credit? Do you think the other studios would have done a good job? Let us know below!