Marvel movies may get all the headlines, but those wouldn’t exist without everything else. And now, the person in charge of everything else is changing.
The company just announced that Brad Winderbaum, who has been in charge of the TV and animation divisions for some time, has been promoted to the “Head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics & Franchise.”
It’s also hired a new person to focus more on the comic and franchise end of that, who will report directly to Winderbaum. His name is David Abdo, and he’ll be the “General Manager of Comics & Franchise.” C.B. Cebulski remains the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, and he, too, will report to Winderbaum.
“Brad’s exceptional creative leadership and David’s deep experience in operations and digital innovation will be a powerful pairing as we begin building out the next 90 years of Marvel’s comic book legacy,” Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer of Marvel as a whole, said in a press release. “Brad brings a proven ability to lead creative teams and craft ongoing, episodic narratives that resonate with our fans around the world, while David offers a strong track record of operational excellence and strategic growth. I’m excited for what they’ll be able to do together.”
Winderbaum joined Marvel on the first Iron Man and has been around ever since. After rising to producer on a few of the feature films like Thor: Ragnarok and Black Widow, he shifted to TV, where he’s overseen basically every show, including Hawkeye, Loki season two, Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again, X-Men ’97, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Winderbaum and Abdo are taking over for Dan Buckley, who has been the head of Comics & Franchise for the past three decades. “From events like Civil War, Secret Wars, X-Men: Age of Krakoa, and the soon-to-be-released Marvel Midnight imprint, to the expansion into video games, television, animation, and more, Marvel’s influence on popular culture expanded under Dan’s leadership, bringing our characters and stories to new fans around the world,” Feige said. “Dan has left a lasting mark on Marvel’s legacy and on the comics industry, and I’m deeply grateful to him and pleased we will have his full support through this transition.”
So what does this mean to you, the Marvel fan? Not a lot in the short term. Mostly, it means if fans have questions for basically anything beyond the big screen from now on, Winderbaum is the guy to ask. And while he and Abdo are surely worthy of these positions, you’d be remiss not to see Marvel news like this and think of the visual development team that was laid off. Without them, Marvel certainly wouldn’t have had the success it has.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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