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Kevin Feige Says MCU Horror Movies Are ‘Possible’
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige appears open to the idea of having horror movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The studio’s 10-year history doesn’t currently include any traditional horror properties, but in the wake of Avengers: Infinity War, a little bit is being revealed about their Phase 4 plans. While there won’t be any actual Phase 4 reveals until after the release of Avengers 4, plans are slowly moving into place and the internet is filled with rumors about MCU’s potential future.
Marvel has a long history of having horror comics both on and off screen. From Wesley Snipes’s classic Blade to Ghost Rider, Marvel has made use of its horror-esque properties (through various Hollywood studios), but never under the direction of Feige and his team at Disney. Marvel has mentioned characters like Man-Thing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Robbie Reyes’s Ghost Rider has become a beloved part of their franchise. Characters like Moon Knight could also have a horror bent – even Captain America has had a turn as a horror character as Capwolf – and it looks like some of those iterations could come to life on the big screen.
In an interview with Comicbook, Feige is ready to consider horror as a potential genre for the MCU. The superhero genre is making strides with movies like Venom, which has somewhat of a horror vibe, as well as 20th Century Fox’s New Mutants, which is truly focused on bringing horror into the X-Men universe. Feige broke new ground with Black Panther that dealt with sensitive topics, and according to him, the studio is ready to embrace change. Feige says that he wants to continue to explore multiple genres and many different stories with the MCU.
“I think, again, horror can mean a lot of things. Horror, did you mean a movie like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Hostel or a Friday the 13th or a Poltergeist? Poltergeist is a little bit more my wheelhouse, that’s such a great movie and it scared the heck out of me but it’s really fun. I don’t know, I certainly would like to play with as many genres as possible.”
At the moment, the genre as a whole has a real chance to make strides with New Mutants. The X-Men release has been repeatedly pushed back, with its recent round of reshoots aimed at making the film scarier, similar to IT. The box office numbers for Stephen King’s horror masterpiece don’t lie, the film made over $700 worldwide. Horror is seeing a renaissance from multiple studios as people move to push the genre’s envelope – and that’s something that Fox wants to bring to the X-Men universe, which means other studios could soon follow suit.
Marvel Studios would be an incredible contender in the genre, given their catalog of characters and stories. Even with Black Panther tackling sensitive material, though, Marvel still has to contend with Disney’s policies. The Mouse House isn’t exactly known for R rated films, nor are they known for producing horror movies. And since fans have already been concerned about Disney’s position on Deadpool following the pending Fox merger, it’s worth asking just what Marvel can bring to the table under Disney’s purview when it comes to horror. While there are plenty of genres for Marvel to tackle, it would certainly be interesting to see their take on horror.
