Marvel's Kevin Feige Was Almost Fired In 2015

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger has revealed that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige was nearly fired in 2015 before Iger stepped in to stop that from happening.

Speaking to CNBC, Iger said Marvel chairman and former president Ike Perlmutter wanted Feige gone, for reasons unknown. "In 2015 he was intent on firing Kevin Feige who was running Marvel... and I thought that was a mistake and stepped in to prevent that from happening," Iger said. "I think Kevin is an incredibly, incredibly talented executive that you know... the Marvel track record speaks for itself."

Iger made the call to shift the production of Marvel movies to fall under the purview of Alan Horn, who was heading up Walt Disney Studios at the time, taking it away from Perlmutter.

Asked if this created any "ill will," Iger said, "You'd have to ask Ike about that."

"But let's put it this way. He was not happy about it. And I think that unhappiness exists today," Iger said. While Horn has since left Disney (he is now an executive at WB Discovery), Perlmutter remains the chairman of Marvel Entertainment.

The MCU has been a huge success under Feige's leadership, making billions at the box office, with multiple new entries every year. The latest MCU film is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which releases on February 17.

Iger re-joined Disney late last year and has begun making major changes at the company. He is laying off 7,000 people amid a $5.5 billion cost-savings move that also includes significant structural changes at the 100-year-old company. He also recently announced Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, and Zootopia 2. Disney also confirmed that Disney Plus subscriber numbers continued to grow in the United States, but declined overall.