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Marvel Heroes unite for a live action arena tour

March 15th, 2013 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

The people who bring you The Greatest Show on Earth will be taking your favorite Marvel characters on a worldwide traveling show. Feld Entertainment Inc., which produces the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus and Disney on Ice, among other live shows, has announced a partnership Wednesday with Marvel Entertainment to “produce a live arena show featuring the Marvel Universe of characters.”

The coolest part of this whole thing, in this nerd’s opinion, is because a live show doesn’t fall under film rights deals, the show can and will include crossover characters from the Marvel Universe that don’t belong to Disney’s Cinematic Universe, we’re talking Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four

The exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, said he expects the show to open in July 2014, and tour arenas both domestically and internationally, as the company’s other shows do. Production costs will likely exceed the $10 million range, Feld told The Associated Press at the announcement.

Marvel’s chief creative officer, Joe Quesada, said over the years many people have approached Marvel about doing a live show of one type or another, but that the partnership with Feld Entertainment was the first with which he felt comfortable.

“You always have those questions – how are you going to keep it from being goofy, or silly, or unbelievable? But the level of showmanship in Feld Entertainment’s other shows made an impression. They’re already doing feats that are superhuman to begin with,” Quesada said of the performers that Feld Entertainment utilizes in their shows.

He goes on:

“We are excited to collaborate with Feld Entertainment to bring millions of our Marvel fans around the world a new and authentic way to engage with their favorite characters and villains. This new live-action production will bring the greatest Marvel superheroes from the movie screen and pages of our comic books into a spectacular live tour.”

If Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark has taught us anything it’s that even the most expensive show in Broadway history can have a hard time realizing real life superhero performances. Several performers suffered injuries ranging from concussions up to fractured skulls. But much like Wolverine Feld Entertainment is the best there is at what they do.

The Marvel Universe has thousands upon thousands of characters. This show would be a perfect way of introducing the next generation to the MU. Think about all fun you had as a kid at the circus, now throw in Superheroes! Kenneth Feld believes that the show will even appeal to casual fans:

“There’s so much mythology and lore with all of these characters – it’s like going into this treasure chest of unbelievable gems. There are almost unlimited stories and shows we can create off these properties and characters.”

While details of the show remain unknown Feld said the basic premise is a no-brainer:

“The world will be in jeopardy, and the Marvel superheroes will save the world.”

 

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.