Why Brad Winderbaum Taking Over Marvel Comics Was a Giant Win for the MCU

Marvel made a really big move in May 2026. On the surface it looked like a story about comics, but I think it was actually a giant win for Marvel Studios: Brad Winderbaum, already Marvel's chief of television and animation, took on publishing as veteran Dan Buckley exited, and that kept Kevin Feige free to focus on the movies.

There might be a little friction for Marvel Television if it is not done right, but I think Marvel has learned from their mistakes and they know exactly what they're doing. A lot of movie fans will see this headline and not think much of it, so let me walk through why I think it matters for the MCU.

Dan Buckley exits as Brad Winderbaum takes over Marvel Comics

The report that broke the news was headlined "Marvel Comics shakeup. TV chief Brad Winderbaum takes on publishing as veteran Dan Buckley exits." Dan Buckley is leaving, and Brad Winderbaum, who is basically Kevin Feige's right hand man, takes on publishing. According to the report, the Disney division promoted Winderbaum to head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics, and Franchise. David Abdo also moved over as Marvel's general manager, comics and franchise, reporting to Winderbaum.

On the comics side, I think Marvel Comics needed a change. A lot of people have been pretty unsatisfied over the past handful of years with the variant covers and the blind bags, and I think a lot of people wanted a change. The report also noted that the leadership change was, in some ways, a long time coming. Kevin Feige added publishing to his portfolio in 2023, and observers had been waiting for him to put his imprint on the comic side of the company.

The change also came after Marvel ceded its position as comics market share leader for the first time this century, losing it to historic rival DC and the runaway success of its Absolute Universe line. The report added that DC dominated the industry's Eisner Awards, which had been announced the week before. So I welcome this change on the comic side, and I welcome it on the movie side as well.

Kevin Feige handing off comics protects the MCU from another Phase 4 and 5 slump

When Feige added publishing to his portfolio in 2023, the MCU was kind of struggling. A lot of people didn't like Phase 4, a lot of people didn't like Phase 5, and there was the whole switcheroo with Kang and Robert Downey Jr. I'm sure a lot of people would have liked to see Feige put his own imprint on the comics.

But you have to think about what happened with Phase 4 and Phase 5, when he was basically just overworked. He was spread way too thin, the MCU suffered, and the live action movies and projects we got suffered. What Marvel is doing now is basically making sure that doesn't happen again. Instead of taking on all of these new creative challenges in Marvel Comics himself, Feige is effectively saying no, and putting Brad Winderbaum, someone he trusts, in charge. That is the really good thing that I think will solidify the future of the MCU.

Brad Winderbaum's track record since Iron Man has earned Kevin Feige's trust

I have to say, Brad has done an incredible job. The report points out that Winderbaum has been with Marvel since the making of its inaugural movie, Iron Man. Moving up the ranks, he took on its live action and animated series, serving as executive producer on all Marvel Studios shows, including Hawkeye, Loki season 2, Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again, X-Men '97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Most of these, I think everybody would say, are pretty good. They were some of the better shows to come from Marvel, especially Loki season 2 and Agatha All Along. Daredevil: Born Again and Daredevil: Born Again season 2 were all great. And that's where my one concern comes in, which I'll come back to below.

Freeing Kevin Feige gave us Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four

I know there are still some doubters, and I totally get it. Based on everything that's happened, a lot of people haven't liked everything and have lost faith. However, I think the most recent projects from Marvel Studios, where Kevin Feige has been specifically involved with just the movies, have gone very well.

The reason Feige could focus on the movies is Brad Winderbaum's position over Marvel Television and Animation. That gave Feige enough time to devote himself to the films, to make sure everything was going according to plan, and that gave us Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four. Marvel then went into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and we had heard that Feige was deeply involved with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

I know it was really early, and I know it was all coming from the cast, but we had heard nothing but great things about Doomsday. We had also heard that some test screenings took place, and that the reviews said this was about to be Marvel's best movie ever. I would think Feige being involved contributes to that a lot. He decided to bring back Robert Downey Jr. "Call it a gimmick, call it whatever you want," but people were excited and talking about it, and it makes you curious about why he's back. Feige also chose to bring back the Russo brothers, and he and Downey reportedly tried to get them back for over a year.

The Russo brothers, Destin Daniel Cretton and the new X-Men

In May 2026, I believed Marvel was about to hit peak MCU with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, followed by a soft reset of the MCU. I think the peak keeps going after that because we're getting a new X-Men team. Kevin Feige loves the X-Men. That's how he got started with Marvel, working on the first X-Men film, and I think he's going to put a lot of care and attention into the new team.

Having Winderbaum take on a role Feige was kind of supposed to do keeps Feige free to focus on the MCU, to make sure everything about the X-Men is perfect, not just the movie but the actors too. I believe Sadie Sink is doing great, and I think that's a great choice. Some people say maybe they should have started younger, but I think there's a lot you can do here, and there are X-Men runs where they start when they're older.

We had also heard that Feige wants the Russo brothers to stay on board for the new chapter to make sure it runs smoothly. They've said Endgame was the end of something, while Doomsday and Secret Wars are the start of something new. From what we basically knew, the universe and multiverse we know was going to be destroyed and replaced with a new one. We had also heard he wants Destin Daniel Cretton to stick around, and I think Cretton has done an amazing job with Shang-Chi and Wonder Man, and at the time looked set to do an amazing job with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

My only worry is Brad Winderbaum being spread too thin

I am kind of worried that Brad might be spread a little too thin. He's at the top and in charge of everything, but a lot of people report to him and he gets to make the decisions. Hopefully that doesn't interfere too much with running Marvel Television and Animation. Still, him taking on this role is a lot better than Feige taking it on.

Now that Marvel is only doing one to two live action shows a year, I think he's going to be okay. They drastically reduced the amount of content they put out, which I think was really good, because it results in great projects like Daredevil: Born Again season 1 and season 2. Wonder Man was really good, even though it all kind of came out at once, and the Punisher special was great. At the time, I thought VisionQuest was going to be really good too.

David Abdo gives Marvel Comics a strong setup as well

I don't really know much about David Abdo, and I don't think most people do. His LinkedIn page reportedly blew up overnight. But he has a great track record, he's worked with Disney for a while, and I think they're bringing him in to help Winderbaum with the logistics of it all.

So I think Marvel set itself up in the best possible way, on the movie side and the comic side. Do you think keeping the MCU as Kevin Feige's main focus is the best thing for Marvel Studios? I've always thought so. What do you think?