MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios

By: Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards

Narrated by: Andrew Kishino, Joanna Robinson

Marvel Entertainment was a struggling toymaker not even twenty years ago. Today, Marvel Studios is the dominant player both in Hollywood and in global pop culture. But what accounts for its stunning rise?

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. As they delve into the studio's key moments - from the contentious hiring of Robert Downey Jr. for Iron Man to the negotiations over Disney's acquisition of Marvel to studio head Kevin Feige's embrace of streaming TV - the authors demonstrate that the genius of Marvel was its resurrection and modification of Hollywood's old studio system. Dishy and authoritative, MCU is the first book to tell the Marvel Studios story in full - and an essential, effervescent account of popular culture.

©2023 Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards (P)2023 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

'A gift. Comprehensive, accessible, and entertaining, MCU makes for a great primer on a modern pillar of Hollywood entertainment.' (Nicholas Quah)

'A riveting, deeply researched history of the collaborative wizardry and backstage showdowns behind Marvel Studios' popcorn-movie empire.' (Douglas Wolk)

'Robinson, Gonzales, and Edwards deliver the definitive chronicle of the greatest cinematic achievement of all time. An absolute treasure trove of depth and detail that will delight both new Marvel fans and Marvel zombies from way back, like me.' (Jeff Cannata)

Fascinating

Incredible look behind the scenes of one of the most significant cultural phenomenons of our time.

Hugely Variable

There are parts of this book that are fascinating, particularly the behind-the-scenes corporate machinations that led Marvel from near bankruptcy to becoming a subsidiary of Disney Corp. Likewise the reasoning for those buyouts, from toys and merchandise to second rate IP elevated to box office gold. But the book is hugely variable with long swathes of making-of minutiae that sounds like the kind of stuff mainstream film magazines used to print. Had the authors taken the same critical eye to the actors, directors and technical crew, this would’ve been a solid 5 star effort. Instead had of it sounds like it was written by PR hacks.

The book was written by Disney PR departement

New-former head of Disney is good, former head of Marvel is bad, former head of Disney is bad. The future is great for Marvel because of returning of Bob Iger (new-former).