Everyone knows that the media giant, Disney, owns Marvel Studios. This has allowed the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have to proper money and marketing behind it to be the monstrous success that it has been over the last ten years, having some of the highest grossing films of all time. But, with great power, comes great responsibility (see what I did there?). Disney has certain rules and formatting for all their films, and the MCU is no exception.
Thanks to a video from Screen Rant, we get a look at the rules that Disney imparts.
Here are some of the rules that Disney makes Marvel follow for their movies:
Fake Marvel Scripts and Windowless Rooms
Disney, as well as Marvel Studios, certainly don’t want their movies spoiled, and with stars like Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo who just love to give it all away, it’s understandable why they take this step. The stars of Marvel films aren’t given scripts to take home and read through to learn their lines and how they want to play the character.
Instead, the studio makes the actors enter a windowless room, without their cell phones, and are given one sitting to read the script. Here’s the real rub: The script they’re reading may be a fake one! This actually angered actor Paul Bettany, who suffers from Dyslexia.
It took him hours to read a script that turned out to be a fake one, and he was none too pleased.
Maintain the Disney Image
This is a pretty big one. Disney has a very wholesome and clean image, which extends to all their other properties. This is why Disney, and by extension, Marvel Studios, has no problem letting go of even its biggest stars due to inappropriate behavior (see: The James Gunn Incident).
They also require the actors to continue their “Superhero” mentality outside of the movies, which is why you see so many of the MCU’s stars doing charity work at children’s hospitals and more.
Release Dates
This is an interesting marketing tool that Disney uses to ensure huge box office success. Disney has a very calculated way of releasing their films. They do not allow multiple Disney properties to be released in the same month. That means you won’t get a Pixar film out the same month as a Disney flick, or a Star Wars movie coming out in the same month as a Marvel one.
This ensures that whatever Disney property comes out that month is the focus of the month, and the other properties under the Disney umbrella don’t distract from each other.
No Smoking
As part of Disney’s wholesome motif, smoking cannot be depicted on screen at all by any character, unless the film is a historical biography and that particular person smoked in real life. AS Marvel movies depict fictional characters, don’t expect to see Nick Fury picking up a cigar anytime soon…
Strict Diet and Exercise
This one has gotta be tough. To keep their superhero physiques, Disney requires strict training regiments, including two hours a day of fitness and training, as well as what can only be explained as the worst diet ever of boiled chicken and oats. Yuck. These actors really are real life heroes, because I couldn’t do that…
Disney Easter Eggs and References
Disney, again, is a marketing machine. Each film helps advertise other Disney properties by dropping Easter Eggs and References. Remember when Ultron sang Pinocchio’s ‘I’ve Got No Strings”? This wasn’t by accident. Also, who could miss the obvious The Empire Strikes Back references with the constant hand chopping throughout MCU films?
Disney also has the final say and which Easter Eggs get used and which do not. The Russo Brothers had originally planned on Captain America’s phone number (visible on the flip phone in Infinity War) to be a working number where fans could call and get message from Cap himself. Disney, however, shot this down immediately.
No Beheading
Maybe now we have the real reason as to way Thor didn’t go for Thanos’ head… Disney feels that beheading a character is far too gruesome for their properties, so there is a strict “No Beheading” policy. While, in the past, Disney has had a couple of headless characters like The Headless Horseman, but no beheading has been done on screen.
No DC Movies
This one seems like a no brainer, but it is actually common practice in most business. MCU actors have to sign Non Compete Clauses that prohibit them from being in a rival company’s product. This means that we could never see Chris Hemsworth playing a DC character, at least not while he is still Thor.
Now, we have seen a MCU actor jump over to DC, but only after his character was killed off and done. Zachary Levi, who played one of the Warriors 3 before being killed by Hela, will now be playing Shazam in the upcoming solo flick of the same name.
The Secret Van and Immediate Shoots
This one shows the level of secrecy Disney and Marvel were willing to go to to ensure spoilers were not leaked. Actors were often stuffed into a mysterious van and told of the scene they were about to shoot a mere moments before actually shooting them! This borderline kidnapping act ensures that the actors didn’t know what scene they were shooting at any given time. This also ties into the next rule…
On Call 24/7
Once you sign on to do a MCU movie, you are basically signing on to a full time job. Regardless of where you are in the world, you have to be immediately accessible for re-shoots, as well as character appearances, promo tours, merchandising, etc. Basically, the word ‘No’ is no longer a part of your vocabulary, as you now represent Marvel and Disney 24/7.
All in all, Disney runs a very tight ship, but with epic results. It’s hard to argue with the success of the world’s largest media conglomerate, and now that they’ve acquired 21st Century FOX, expect to see more properties thriving under these rules.
What do you think of Disney’s rules? Let us know in the comments below!