One of the main guys behind the marvelous (hehe… get it? “Marvel”ous? Oh shut up) film incarnations of X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk, ect., Avi Arad, is stepping down as the Chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios. This is a huge shift at Marvel, but the shift in Marvel on screen product probably won’t miss a beat. The good folks over at FilmForce give us the following:
Arad has formed his own production company, Avi Arad Productions, and will now independently produce movies through an arrangement with Marvel for an undisclosed number of films in the pipeline. In a conference call with reporters, Arad said his office will remain at Marvel Entertainment and that his day-to-day duties will now focus on producing rather than corporate responsibilities.
“Marvel is my life,” Arad said during the conference call. “I have no intention of moving away from the things I love the most.”
Arad’s resignation will not prevent him from being actively involved in Marvel’s future flicks, namely Iron Man and the Hulk sequel; those are expected to be the first two pics financed and produced by Marvel under its new financing slate. Arad said during the conference call that he expects a director to be hired in the next 30-45 days for Hulk 2.
To be honest, it sounds like he’s made the right choice… or at least the choice that sounds like a LOT more fun. The best part of that news for me is that they’re close to signing up a director for Hulk 2. Yay!
