Yahoo Finance 'It's a big geek fest': Marvel's editor-in-chief on creating reliable MCU hits
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been an undeniable force for Disney (DIS) — from record breaking box office titles like "Avengers: Endgame," "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and "Black Panther" to a plethora of streaming titles currently available on the Disney+ platform.
The company announced this past weekend even more Marvel-focused shows will be heading to Disney+, including "Echo," "Daredevil: Born Again," "Secret Invasion," "Armor Wars," "Ironheart," and more.
As of June 2022, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the highest-grossing film franchise with total worldwide box office revenue of $26.6 billion.
"Marvel has always been the world outside your window," Marvel Comics editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski told Yahoo Finance in an interview at D23 Expo.
"There's always something in every Marvel character that some fan can relate to...that element of 'I can be that person.' 'I can be a hero.' 'I might not have superpowers, but I can do a piece of what they do in my everyday life,'" Cebulski said.
The executive credited continuity across the Marvel ecosystem to its success, as well as "The Five Hs," or five criteria that every comic, movie, or TV series must have in order to be authentically Marvel: heart, heroism, humor, humanity, and hope.
"You have to believe who the core of the character is — you have to believe the human before you can believe or care about the hero," he said.
Cebulski described the Marvel ecosystem like a body in which Marvel Studios is the face, animation and games are the arms, consumers products are the legs, and Marvel Comics acts as the heart.
"That's where it starts. We pump the blood out into the rest of the body so that the body can move, but it's a circulatory system," Cebulski said. "There's a mutual respect and relationship between what we do creatively...it's a big geek fest all around."
Cebulski added that Disney, which paid $4 billion to acquire the studio in 2009, has been key when it comes to leveraging the brand — but said the entertainment mecca hasn't interfered with Marvel's creative process either.
"When Bob Iger first came and talked to us after the acquisition, he said very specifically, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it. We're not going to be in your business. You don't have anything to fear.' And [Disney] has stuck to that model through the whole time we've been with them," Cebulski said.
Alexandra is a Senior Entertainment and Food Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193 and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com
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