Marvel Exec Explains the MCU’s Biggest Changes Since Phase 1

Marvel Studios executive Stephen Broussard explained the biggest things that have changed for the MCU since Phase 1 began.
Under the leadership of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the MCU has become the most successful movie franchise in history with more than 30 movies and almost a dozen Disney+ shows to date. Even with concerns about the franchise’s stability and survivability during the pandemic, Marvel Studios continued to thrive, helping bring movie theaters back to prominence along the way.
Before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closed out the MCU’s Phase 4, producer Nate Moore explained part of what makes Feige so successful with the MCU, praising his boss for the way he “truly loves movies…all kinds of movies.”
But considering how the MCU has withstood the test of time for the past 15 years, the question now turns to how Marvel Studios has adapted over the years to continue this incredible run of success.
The MCU’s Biggest Changes Since Phase 1

In an interview on the D23: Inside Disney podcast, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania producer and VP of Production & Development at Marvel Studios Stephen Broussard discussed the company’s biggest changes he’s seen since the MCU began in 2008.
Broussard explained that “it was a very small operation” at the beginning before the Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Studios, noting how he was one of ten people that shared a single office:
He looked back to a time when people questioned whether Marvel “would be successful in launching their own studio” and highlighted characters that weren’t considered A-listers at the time. Without big names like Spider-Man, the X-Men, or the Fantastic Four available, Broussard explained that the team “had a lot to prove” and celebrated how much fans have responded to their efforts:
While the scale has changed internally for what Marvel Studios is doing, Broussard noted that the team still has a “pure desire to just tell great stories” and to make movies that are entertaining when translated from the comics:
Broussard concluded by heaping praise on Kevin Feige for setting the “creative tone for the studio,” keeping the same feeling of responsibility no matter how big the operation is at Marvel Studios:
Marvel Studios’ Growing Operations Since Infinity Saga
Since Marvel Studios started its interconnected universe with 2008’s Iron Man, the franchise slowly built towards being the most financially successful in movie history, currently boasting four of the ten highest-grossing movies ever. The MCU’s total gross now exceeds $28 billion worldwide after Ant-Man 3, with Phase 5 and Phase 6 continuing to build incredible levels of hype over the next couple of years.
But according to Stephen Broussard, not all that much has changed internally as the team continues to use its love and appreciation for movies to continue telling the best stories possible.
Although Kevin Feige can’t be as hands-on with the franchise as he once was, he does everything he can to be as involved as possible with the MCU’s movies and Disney+ shows as they continue telling this grand narrative.
While it’s unclear how much bigger the process and story can get for Marvel Studios, especially with so many new characters on the way, Broussard and the team are intent on keeping the same passion that’s driven them since Phase 1.