Ask Feige what makes his particular kind of world-building possible and he says, simply, “have a plan.” It doesn’t have to be set in stone, he adds. His current estimate is that Marvel movies have been three-quarters plan and 25 percent bob-and-weave.
As important as having a plan is, I would argue that having someone to help form and execute that plan – someone who is a fan of the source material and the characters – is even more important. This’ll be fairly self-evident in a few years, when we can compare Marvel’s efforts, lead by Feige, and DC’s attempt to replicate that success, lead by the guy who made “Sucker Punch”.