MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios - The Library of the Uncommons

English language

Published 2023 by Headline Publishing Group.

ISBN:: 978-1-4722-7074-0

(1 review)

The unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise―and suddenly uncertain reign―of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our 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 Quantumania and shocking departures of multiple Marvel executives in 2023. Throughout, the authors …

The unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise―and suddenly uncertain reign―of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our 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 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.

6 editions

Alex Cabe reviewed MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson

Thorough, Journalistic History that Didn't Overlook the Negative Parts

4 stars

I appreciated that the authors weren't overly deferential and addressed some of the dirty laundry, but is definitely a book for fans. Don't try it unless you generally like the movies.

The author team were magazine and newspaper journalists and generally wrote in that style. I appreciated the wide range of sources they talked to.

This was mostly chronological but there were also a few thematic chapters about aspects such as the writer's program or trying to break into China.

It didn't cover every movie, but that's understandable given the length of the book.

I listened to a few chapters of the audiobook version while driving and wasn't impressed by the reader. He seemed to be doing an affected "announcer voice" too much.