How did the Marvel Cinematic Universe get started?

The MCU began when Marvel stopped only licensing its heroes to other studios and decided to make its own films. David Maisel pitched the idea to Marvel chief Ike Perlmutter, then secured a loan from Merrill Lynch in 2005 that used the film rights to ten characters as collateral. The first film, Iron Man, followed in 2008. [1] [2]

Marvel had recovered from bankruptcy partly by licensing characters. New Line had done well with Blade, Fox with X-Men and Sony with Spider-Man. According to Maisel, a licensor did not make much from the films themselves, though it normally kept half of the consumer products revenue. Avi Arad, then the studio chief, said Marvel took a relatively small fee from each movie, and he began thinking about starting a studio, though some colleagues were frightened of the idea. Maisel pitched Perlmutter at Mar-a-Lago, asking what would happen if Marvel kept the money from blockbusters rather than handing most of it to other studios. [3] [4] [1]

Maisel says he was inspired by George Lucas's approach to Star Wars and by the comics tradition of mixing characters, so that each film could lead into the next. He also says he lobbied to block planned licensing of Captain America to Warner Bros. and Thor to Sony, which would have made bringing the characters together impossible. [3]

Marvel's board approved the plan on the condition that the company had no money at risk. Maisel spent more than a year pitching banks without success. In spring 2005 Perlmutter arranged a meeting at Merrill Lynch. After about six months of negotiation, the bank agreed to put up $525 million, with the film rights to ten characters as collateral. Maisel figured this covered four films, which he described as four at-bats. Paramount agreed to handle distribution and marketing for a modest share of the gross. The deal was finalized in November 2005. [1]

Because Marvel had sold off Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four rights, it retained lesser-known figures. The core team it still owned was Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America, so the early films introduced those heroes ahead of a crossover film. [5]

Accounts differ on who deserves credit. Arad has said that in 2003 he pitched the board on forming a studio and was rejected because of Perlmutter's fear of the film business, but the Rolling Stone account says nobody else at Marvel remembers this. Maisel, for his part, has said history was rewritten, and Kevin Feige credits Maisel and Arad with arranging the financing. Marvel and Feige declined comment to The Hollywood Reporter. [1] [3] [4]

Feige has said the immediate goal was simply to deliver two good films, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, rather than launch a 22-film saga. He says the decision to connect the films came after Iron Man's opening weekend. [4]