Marvel Studios President Says Reshoots Are "Key" to Production Process

There came a time in Hollywood where reshoots often meant the doom of the movie. Though some fear mongers in the far-reaching corners of the internet still continue to try pushing that narrative, it's been pretty well-documented major studios oftentimes schedule reshoots or additional photography well in advance of the studios actually knowing whether or not the movie needs additional work. Over at Marvel Studios, reshoots have become an integral part of the production process, according to studio head Kevin Feige.

In a recent sit-down panel at the New York Film Academy, Feige spoke to Marvel's reshoots procedures and why they chose to shoot additional photography on virtually every movie that originates at the Burbank-based lot. "'Reshoots' was a bad word. 'Oh this movie's in reshoots, there must be a problem,'" Feige says of the connotations once surrounding the production process.

He adds, "Reshoots are key to our films, starting with Iron Man. We always say we're smart filmmakers at Marvel, but we're not geniuses and the best way to give notes on a movie is to watch the movie. So we make the movie and go, 'Oh yeah, no that's not right. That doesn't work," and have a system now that can be quite precise and efficient. [Reshoots last] sometimes one day, sometimes fifteen days, sometimes more to continue to go in and make the move the best it can be."

Fortunately enough for Feige, he has the checkbook of Walt Disney Studios in his back pocket, allowing him and his team to schedule this reshoots well ahead of time, making sure creators and talent are locked up months in advance.

Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney