Marvel has hired David Maisel, at one time the Director of Corporate Development and Strategic Planning at Disney, as President and COO of Marvel Studios.  This follows hot on the heels of Ames Kirshen being hired as Manager of Game Development (see 'Marvel Appoints Video Game Manager') in another push to get the Marvel characters more exposure.

 

These moves are in line with Marvel's strategy of developing new entertainment projects in theatrical films, TV programming, video games, direct-to-video and DVD movies and live theatrical productions.

 
The seven Marvel character-based feature films released since 1998 have exceeded the $2 billion mark in gross worldwide box-office ticket sales.  On top of that, the same films have generated over $1 billion in worldwide DVD/video wholesale sales.  These numbers translate into a higher profile for these characters, potentially bringing more buyers into stores looking for comics and licensed products relating to them, and being exposed to even more characters and comic titles.

 

In addition to continuing Marvel's theatrical juggernaut, Marvel's new production house will also have a shot at TV when the deals Marvel signed for animated TV series The X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk and The Fantastic Four expire over the next few years.