Kevin Feige Reveals the Origin of the Phrase “Marvel Cinematic Universe”

Eternals hit theaters today, making it the 26th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU began back in 2008 with Iron Man, and it’s become one of the most unique and exciting movie franchises out there. Recently, the new book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was released, and it has taught us a lot of new and interesting behind-the-scenes information about the MCU ranging from why the Russo Brothers almost quit Marvel to how Tom Holland’s backyard videos with his brothers helped create fight scenes in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The book also features a quote from Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige, explaining how the phrase “Marvel Cinematic Universe” came to be.

The book explains how The Incredible Hulk‘s post-credit scene back in 2008 featured Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and General Ross (William Hurt) marked the first official confirmation that these movies were going to be connected. According to the chapter, “the origin of the phrase [Marvel Cinematic Universe] – and the intention behind it – may surprise most fans.” Apparently, the term “was created simply to distinguish itself from the continuity in Marvel Comics.” You can read Feige’s quote below:

“I wanted people to understand that this was a unique thing that we were doing. These are individual movies with their own franchises, and they are under this umbrella of a shared continuity, which hadn’t been done before,” Feige explained. 

In the new book, Feige also explained why he’s still excited about the MCU over ten years later. The producer talks about his experience building the film franchise and what keeps him going, saying that he’s as “excited now as [he] was on day one.” For Feige, it’s a all a “testament to the characters, and to the audience.” The producer is energized by the reaction of the fans, mainly because he’s such a fan himself. The book notes that, at the end of the day, “Feige is a fan first.”

“I love buying merchandise, [but] the only reason you would want to do that is if the show or the movie was so powerful and you connected with it so much that you wanted to expand the experience… and every time we’ve followed our instincts, the audience has come with us,” Feige explained. “Also, it’s a testament to the eighty years of publishing, and to the way the characters have grown and evolved that Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby] and Steve [Ditko] and everybody created and even conceived in a way to allow them to grow, change, and evolve.”

Eternals is now playing in theaters. The rest of the MCU’s 2021 line-up includes Hawkeye premiering on Disney+ on November 24th, and Spider-Man: No Way Home is being released in theaters on December 17th.