The Death of the Auteur in a Cinematic Universe?

Marvel now (in)famously has a reputation of making sure their films do not have a particular directorial style attached to them ever since Edgar Wright, the director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, departed Ant-Man and was replaced with Peyton Reed, the director of Bring It On. Further, uber-nerd Joss Wheedon has left the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has been replaced with The Russo Brothers, who’s prior claim to fame was directing episodes of Community and Arrested Development. I am enjoying these later installments of the Avengers franchise, and I thoroughly enjoyed its latest- Captain America: Civil War- but it’s obvious these films lack a distinctive visual style. Despite having directors like Wheedon and Jon Favreau and Shane Black, the films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel like they were made by one person. And that’s precisely how Marvel producer Kevin Feige likes it.

The idea of auteurs and cinematic universes are in the news again thanks to reports that Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One are going in for re-shoots as Disney execs, “screened the film and felt it was tonally off with what a‘classic’ Star Wars movie should feel like”. While reports of why the film is going in for re-shoots have beendisputed, Disney is now starting to get the stigma (whether rightly or wrongly) or being anti-auteur.