Disney CEO Bob Iger claims he pushed for Black Panther, Captain Marvel in otherwise hesitant Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had reportedly extended his support to Bob Iger, but the production house was still reluctant.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, in his latest book The Ride of a Lifetime, reveals he faced resistance from Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter in order to develop Black Panther and Captain Marvel, reports Insider. Ironically, the Chadwick Boseman film has come out to be among Marvel's highest grossing films of all time (earning well over $1 billion for the studio).
A report in Radio Times adds Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had extended his support to Iger, but the production house was reluctant since as per their understanding, characters essayed by black actors tended to not perform as well at international markets.
In his book, Iger writes, "I’ve been in the business long enough to have heard every old argument in the book, and I’ve learned that old arguments are just that: old, and out of step with where the world is and where it should be. We had a chance to make a great movie, and to showcase an underrepresented segment of America, and those goals were not mutually exclusive."
He then went ahead and directly spoke to the people with an issue, and asked them to "stop putting up roadblocks". The studio then went on to make both features, with great box office success.
In fact, Black Panther is the sole nomination from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
The reported discussion apparently took place before the Marvel's split, where the films would be headed by Feige and the other operations would be handled by the New York office.
Check out posts on Captain Marvel and Black Panther
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Oscar Best-Picture Nominee #BlackPanther returns to the big screen beginning February 1st. Fans of all ages can see the movie for free in honor of Black History Month at participating @AMCTheatres. Visit weticketit.com/blackpanther for more info. A post shared by Marvel Studios (@marvelstudios) on
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