Kevin Feige & Marvel Directors Discuss Working Together In The "Marvel Bullpen"

Captain America: Civil War is the thirteenth entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and with plenty more films on the way, Marve Studios shows zero sign of slowing down. There may have been a few bumps in the road, but it's hard to argue with Marvel's outstanding success, which has been attributed to their cast, and even more importantly, the directors that they hire, many of whom are incredibly collaborative. Birth.Movies.Death has released a new interview with some of the creatives at the studio, giving an inside look at the sense of collaboration and community that has led to the interonnectivity in the films. This sensibility is something that Ant-Man director Peyton Reed loves about the studio.  “One of the nice aspects of working at Marvel is the interaction with the other directors and writers,” says Reed, who is currently developing the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp.  “In Hollywood, directors don't always hang out with each other. We're generally too self-absorbed, egotistical and focused on our own things. So it's cool to see Taika [Waititi] or Scott [Derrickson] in the hallway and talk about whatever. It's fun to have a meal with James [Gunn] and discuss what we're doing. It's awesome to have Ryan Coogler in the office next to mine. It taps into that Marvel Bullpen fantasy for me.”

To Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo, the process of working together is something that is becoming more and more important as scope of the film universe begins to expand with more characters and plotlines. “We are constantly interacting with everyone because we’re doing these movies that inherit so much of what they have done, or that may affect what they’re going to do,” says co-director Anthony Russo. “Interfacing becomes more and more important, especially as Marvel starts to do more movies per year. The soup is getting thick.”

Currently, there isn't any official "creative consultant" when it comes to the MCU. Joss Whedon was officially the MCU's consultant for of Phase 2, but upon his departure, Kevin Feige has stated that there won't be a successor to that role. Despite this, the Russo brothers seem to be the de facto leaders, given that they're in charge of the culminating two-parter that is Avengers: Infinity War. However, the brothers maintain that the collaboration between filmmakers is something they want to remain as a constant. “As populists, Anthony and I have always been interested in a United Artists concept,” Joe Russo says. “One of the things that’s happening at Marvel right now is that we are very close friends with James Gunn, we’re very close friends with Peyton Reed, we’re very close with Scott Derrickson and Jon Watts. There’s a community of us as filmmakers who are working together very collaboratively and who enjoy handing each other curveballs with the characters so that we can pick up the thread and move it forward. Part of the fun of the job is picking up the threads left by these other filmmakers.” Reed agrees. “It's necessary and it's also, creatively speaking, really fun. Again, our movies are all connected but they also have to stand on their own. Things they do affect us and things we do affect them, but it's flexible. Obviously, where Scott Lang ends up in Civil War affects how we start him out in Ant-Man and the Wasp, but there are no limits to where we take him in our movie. There are definitely situations and events that everyone in the MCU is building towards.”

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige thinks that having so many creative minds in one place is a great strategy for world-building. Given the massive undertaking that goes into making just one of these films, it's certainly refreshing to see so much talent both working together and trying to outdo one another at the same time. “The filmmakers are very focused - and very protective - of their own projects, but at the same time they know it’s the sand box,” says Feige. “And they know it’s fun. Peyton Reed was showing Joe and Anthony Russo early cuts of Ant-Man and giving them an idea how to include him in Civil War. There’s always been a very nice back and forth. There’s just enough friendliness and enough rivalry.”