Bob Chapek Isn’t Going to Mess With the MCU Despite New Role, Fans Say
The stepping down of Bob Iger as Disney CEO so suddenly recently shocked the media world, even though his successor won’t be a clueless upstart. Bob Chapek will now be CEO immediately and assumes the role of also managing what happens with major properties like the MCU.
With changes like this, there’s always immediate trepidation the new suit will make changes based on personal opinions and wanting to earn their paycheck. One thing Iger learned as CEO is to not tinker with something working well. The good news is Iger will be mentoring Chapek and likely pass on similar sentiments.
How much will Chapek adhere to this, though? MCU fans on social media piped in recently with some possible clues on MCU’s direction under Chapek.
General fan consensus is that Bob Chapek won’t mess around with the MCU
If Reddit isn’t always the best barometer in predicting everything, it’s no doubt carefully monitored by major studios on fan opinions. When someone started a thread there recently giving everyone reassurance on the direction of the MCU under Chapek’s leadership, there was an interesting aside noted.
In the thread, the person said Chapek’s son (Brian Chapek) works at Marvel Studios as a director and in production/development. If some might call out nepotism, it’s nothing unusual for people who head departments in major companies to hire their children into important roles.
Every MCU fan should feel better about this since Chapek will probably be more involved with Marvel thanks to his son being there. On the other hand, sons and fathers can sometimes be very different from one another in how they think. As one comment noted: “That doesn’t mean anything. We have seen egos hold Feige and MCU back before.”
Is there still some skepticism about where the MCU goes from here? Because Kevin Feige is very much in charge at Marvel Studios, Chapek probably won’t be a micromanager like the original founder of Disney was.
Bob Chapek probably wouldn’t meddle too much
Bob Iger certainly listened to the judgment of Feige when it came to what the MCU needed. There was so much faith there, Iger gave Feige a stronger role in the production and development of the franchise.
Even though Feige will be reporting to Chapek (and Iger will still be involved in creative directions through 2021), it seems impossible the new guy will want to change things drastically. Ironically, Walt Disney himself was known for controlling every detail of the studio’s projects, something Michael Eisner was notorious for repeating.
This was a different time, though, and Disney’s own brand stamp was more important before all of the 21st-century acquisitions.
Had Walt Disney been alive now and acquired Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Fox content, he might have let others handle the creative directions to keep them in the good graces of fans. Since these are properties several generations have grown up assimilating into their minds, it would be madness for a CEO to meddle with their own personal agendas.
Outside of the assurances about Chapek, little is known about his temperament and how he feels about creative directions. Being one who oversaw the theme parks and the Star Wars/Marvel attractions, he might have opinions about how those line up with the movies.
If there are any MCU changes, what would they be?
Maybe the only thing Chapek will do as CEO is assure the consistent quality of writing and production values the MCU has provided to fans. He may also want to try to shift Hollywood perceptions that MCU movies are a menace to other segments of the movie industry as the likes of Martin Scorsese contend.
Kevin Feige will no doubt stay on the level about maintaining quality standards. However, with so much success, there’s always a tendency to become complacent. Maybe the most important thing Iger will mentor Chapek on is to always keep the creative talent inspired. As a result, there’s never a chance of becoming like an assembly line rather than a dream creative factory constantly pushing to innovate.
