Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC[5] (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company. It is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films and series, based on characters that appear in Marvel Comics publications.[6]
"Marvel Films" redirects here. For a list of films based on Marvel Comics, see List of films based on Marvel Comics publications.Formerly
Marvel Films (1993–1996)
- December 7, 1993 (as Marvel Films)
- August 1996 (as Marvel Studios)
Worldwide
- Kevin Feige (president)
- Louis D'Esposito (co-president)
- Marvel Entertainment (1993–2015)
- Walt Disney Studios
(2015–present)
- Marvel Studios Animation[1]
- Marvel Music
- Marvel Television
(production label)
- Marvel Film Productions LLC
- MVL Development LLC
- MVL Productions LLC
- Marvel Animation
Since 2008, Marvel Studios has released 33 films within the MCU, from Iron Man (2008) to The Marvels (2023); ten television series since 2021, from WandaVision (2021) to Echo (2024); and two television specials: Werewolf by Night (2022) and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022). The television series What If...? (2021) is the studio's first animated property, created by its "mini-studio" Marvel Studios Animation.[1] These films, television series, and television specials all share continuity with each other, along with the One-Shots short films produced by the studio. The television series produced by Marvel Television also acknowledge the continuity.
The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) are all among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, with Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing film of all time from July 2019 until March 2021. In addition to the MCU, Marvel Studios was also involved with the production of other Marvel-character film franchises that have exceeded $1 billion in North American box office revenue, including the X-Men and Spider-Man multi-film franchises.
Background[edit]
Timely era[edit]
During what is known as Marvel's Timely era, Captain America was licensed out to Republic Pictures for a serial just for the free advertising. Timely failed to provide any drawing of Captain America with his shield or any further background, and Republic created a whole new background for the character, and portrayed the character using a gun.[7]
Marvel Entertainment Group era[edit]
From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, Marvel Comics Group/Marvel Entertainment Group (MEG) sold options to studios to produce films based on Marvel Comics characters. One of Marvel's superheroes, Spider-Man, was optioned in the late 1970s, and rights reverted to Marvel without a film having been produced within the allocated time frame. From 1986 to 1996, most of Marvel's major characters had been optioned, including the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Daredevil, Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Iron Man.[8] Marvel's first big-screen adaptation of one of its properties was the 1986 film Howard the Duck,[9] which was a box-office flop.[10]
MEG was purchased by New World Entertainment in November 1986[11] and moved to produce films based on the Marvel characters. It released The Punisher (1989) before MEG was sold to Ronald Perelman's Andrews Group. Two other films were produced: Captain America (1990) released in the United Kingdom on screens and direct to video in the United States, and The Fantastic Four (1994), not intended for release.[12]
