The Reign of Marvel Studios

By Sophia Doshi

As one of my Christmas presents this year, I received The Reign of Marvel Studios written by Joanna Robinson, Gavin Edwards, and Dave Gonzales after I had returned from a long vacation in Spain (which was an amazing gift in itself), thus I was ecstatic to unwind and begin this book.

My favorite part of this book was that it flowed incredibly well; I could pick it up after 2-3 days and feel like I never put the book down. I also appreciated the chronological progression of the chapters and the things I learned from the earlier phases of the MCU, as I didn't know much about it prior. For instance, I had no idea that Edward Norton, whom I know as the villain from Glass Onion, played Bruce Banner in a film whose screenplay he demanded to be completely rewritten. The original writer, Zak Penn, felt that there were just shreds of remnants from the screenplay he'd contributed to the project, which later informed Norton's split from Marvel. 

That is just one of many parts of this book that I enjoyed. It's objective and gives a comprehensive view and the rise (and current plateau, even decline) of the MCU. I encourage anyone who loves Marvel and/or wants to learn more about how the movies were produced, the connections the directors & producers have with the actors and crew, and the organized chaos of it all. I don't want to say much about it as to avoid spoiling it, but I truly loved this book.