While Marvel Studios films may be extremely successful in the box office, that success doesn’t always translate elsewhere. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige spoke on some of the biases that affect comic book films.
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“I think we are always at a deficit because of the Marvel logo and because of a genre bias that certainly exists,” Feige said while discussing the success of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther and its subsequent three awards it won at the 2019 Academy Awards. “I just loved that for a shining moment there with Black Panther that was put aside and the work was recognized for the achievement that it was.”
Feige went on to say that he would love to see that level of success also reached by Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, specifically pointing out members of the crew like screenwriter Dave Callaham, production designer Sue Chan, composer Joel P. West, costume designer Kym Barrett, and cinematographer William Pope as those deserving praise and recognition for their efforts. While it’s unlikely that Shang-Chi is going to garner much awards buzz, Feige does still want to put the notice out there, as he believes the cast and crew of the film did something special in taking a previously largely unknown character and connecting it with audiences.
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“There are a lot of comic fans that didn’t know who Shang-Chi was. And yet the work that Destin did and Dave did and Sue did and Joel did, created something new that connected with audiences,” Feige said. “We recognized it, the audience recognized it, and I sure would love the hard work of all of these people who are telling their story to get recognized.”
