MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios
-
-
4.4 • 59 Ratings
-
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"A superb chronicle of how Marvel Studios conquered Hollywood…. This definitive account of the Hollywood juggernaut thrills." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
The unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise—and suddenly uncertain reign—of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Entertainment was a moribund toymaker not even twenty years ago. Today, Marvel Studios is the dominant player both in Hollywood and in global pop culture. How did an upstart studio conquer the world? In MCU, beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred interviews with actors, producers, directors, and writers to present the definitive chronicle of Marvel Studios and its sole, ongoing production, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For all its outward success, the studio was forged by near-constant conflict, from the contentious hiring of Robert Downey Jr. for its 2008 debut, Iron Man, all the way up to the disappointment of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and shocking departures of multiple Marvel executives in 2023. Throughout, the authors demonstrate that the original genius of Marvel was its resurrection and modification of Hollywood’s old studio system. But will it survive its own spectacular achievements? Dishy and authoritative, MCU is the first book to tell the Marvel Studios story in full—and an essential, effervescent account of American mass culture.
Customer Reviews
MUST READ
Amazing - deserves more than five stars
Not worth it
Less a complete history than a collection of other people’s interviews, articles, and YouTube videos. The best thing about this book is the footnotes, which provide a handy list of better resources to following the Marvel story.
This compilation of other writers’ works would be a lot more forgivable if the authors were willing to draw interesting conclusions about the historical events and how they contributed to the films we watch today. Alas, the authors seem utterly disinterested in saying anything. We’ll have to look elsewhere for that - maybe we can start by finding all the articles they mined for this content.
A brilliant historical record of the MCU
Honestly this book couldn’t have come out at better time. This review is being written in 2023. The year has been for better or worse, an important inflection point for the MCU as a whole.
This book however is an incredible time capsule. It captures the history of the MCU from inception to its current form in 2023 in great detail.
As a fan who grew up watching the MCU become what it is today, this book offered a great look back at how it all came together in such a great way.
Unfortunately 2023 is also the year when the MCU could not have been a worse position.
I would love to see these authors track the movements of the MCU for the next decade and for us to get a sequel to this book and see where the MCU is at.
This book also offers a cautionary tale of how when something becomes big and successful, corporate greed and excess including unforeseen world circumstances can cause the downfall of even the largest titan.