How Dan Harmon Shaped The MCU Without (Officially) Working On A Single Marvel Movie

Dan Harmon has established a pretty neat little entertainment empire, creating the beloved cult hit "Community" before co-creating "Rick and Morty" and overseeing Apple TV+'s "Strange Planet" and Fox's "Krapopolis." But it's been a rocky road to success for Harmon, who was previously kicked off his own show before being rehired, and in 2018 had to publicly apologize for his prior mistreatment of "Community" writer Megan Ganz — and those are just a couple of examples of the man's controversies. Despite these debacles, however, Harmon has been an entertainment mainstay for well over a decade at this point, and during that time he's not only managed to create several of his own successful shows, but he's also apparently been fairly influential in perhaps the biggest Hollywood success story of the modern era: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In the same way we wouldn't have "Rick and Morty" or "Community" without Dan Harmon, we certainly wouldn't have the MCU without Kevin Feige. The Marvel Studios head has been the driving force behind the franchise's success since the beginning, spearheading its approach to building an interconnected universe of films and TV shows with a fan-first ethos. Of course, it helps that Feige himself is a huge fan of the comics on which his films and shows are based. As "The Avengers" director Joss Whedon told the New York Times back in 2011, "Kevin is just a huge nerd. Possibly more than I am."

But it seems Feige isn't just a comic book nerd. The man largely responsible for the MCU's success also appears to have a penchant for pretty much everything Dan Harmon has ever done.

Kevin Feige has previously remained fairly humble and gracious when confronted with the notion that he's solely responsible for the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's true that without the array of talented filmmakers and actors that have worked on the franchise, the MCU just wouldn't be what it is. But Feige's influence can't really be overstated.

Just as the MCU was taking off back in 2011, the New York Times profiled the man in charge, stating that "Mr. Feige also makes unusual bets on untested actors and hires directors who would give many studios serious pause." Mostly, these decisions have not just panned out but have proven to be inspired. For example, his choice of Jon Favreau to direct "Iron Man" — the unlikely superhero movie that changed Hollywood forever — probably seemed misguided to the Marvel higher-ups at first (as did Robert Downey Jr. for the starring role in the MCU's inaugural outing). But now, those decisions surely rank among the best yet made in blockbuster filmmaking history.

Since then, Feige has gone on to shift his focus towards hiring... well, people who have worked on Dan Harmon's shows. Take Anthony and Joe Russo, for instance. The directing pair previously worked on "Community," overseeing the first episode of Harmon's NBC series before Feige picked them up to helm "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" back in 2014. Since then, the Russo brothers have directed the wildly successful "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and the highest-grossing MCU movie of all time, "Avengers: Endgame." Even today, the duo credit their time on "Community" for leading to their MCU careers. But that's just the beginning of the Dan Harmon-Kevin Feige connection.

As noted in the book "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," Kevin Feige's studio has consistently poached talent from Dan Harmon's projects — perhaps, as the authors write, "because Kevin Feige was a fan of 'Community' and 'Rick and Morty,' or maybe because Harmon was an expert at blending science fiction, pathos, and goofy comedy in a way that made working for him a good MCU apprenticeship." That certainly seemed to be the case with the Russo Brothers. But that was just the start for Feige.

"She-Hulk" head writer Jessica Gao, having been rejected by Marvel on three prior projects, suddenly found herself overseeing the high-profile Disney+ show back in 2022. Gao had honed her comedic writing chops on such shows as "Silicon Valley" and "Robot Chicken" before working on the Marvel series. But she'd also worked on "Rick and Morty," penning the now famous "Pickle Rick" episode — a fact which surely factored into her Marvel hiring.

Elsewhere, there's a whole plethora of Harmon-verse alum who have been brought into the MCU fold. Veteran "Rick and Morty" writer Jeff Loveness originally penned "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" (now known as just "Avengers 5" in the wake of Jonathan Majors' conviction for harassment and assault), and was also the culprit behind 2023's lackluster "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." Meanwhile, fellow "Rick and Morty" alum Michael Waldron would become head writer on Disney+'s "Loki" before replacing Loveness as the chief "Avengers 5" scribe. As if that wasn't enough to establish a firm and undeniable link between Harmon's work and the MCU, there's a whole lot more...

Far from just plucking talent from Dan Harmon's shows and putting them to work on MCU films and TV projects, Marvel has also brought in the man himself. As noted by "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" authors Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, Harmon provided an uncredited rewrite of 2016's "Doctor Strange," with the film shooting new scenes penned by the "Community" creator after production had wrapped. Since then, Harmon doesn't appear to have worked directly on any MCU projects, but he certainly seems fairly sanguine about Kevin Feige poaching talent from his shows, telling Vanity Fair in 2021, "I am honored and validated by the idea that if people leave me, they leave me for Marvel. That's an amazing legacy."

Harmon also seems quite positive about his time spent writing for Marvel, telling Robinson, Gonzales, and Edwards:

"There's such a powerful culture at Marvel of teamwork that, literally, the janitor in the hallway outside the meeting about the Spider-Man sequel is allowed to say, 'You know what I like about Spider-Man?' and it will be taken seriously. If you can handle that, if your ego is simultaneously powerful but flexible enough to fit through that pipe, you are rewarded and you have a home there forever. There's a tremendous mandate at Marvel about all for one and respecting the franchise. Their leader, Kevin Feige, leads by example in that mode. He's like, 'I don't care if I have to cooperate with Sony on Spider-Man. I will do anything in the service of Marvel.'"

"Anything" certainly seems to have included borrowing directly from Harmon's creations, especially when you consider there have also been a ton of appearances by "Community" cast members (including Jim Rash, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Donald Glover).

It should be noted that the arrival of more creatives from the Dan Harmon side of Hollywood hasn't necessarily made for the most successful era of the MCU. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," for example, basically proved the MCU had lost touch with the real world, with the film ultimately becoming the lowest-grossing "Ant-Man" movie. Meanwhile the messy, legal meta-comedy "She-Hulk," along with "Secret Invasion," has come to epitomize the MCU's failed attempt at establishing streaming dominance.

Perhaps the arrival of these "Rick and Morty" writers just happened to coincide with Marvel's over-saturation of the market, which was the real reason for the MCU's current woes. Either way, it hasn't necessarily been the best argument for Feige acting upon his apparent appreciation for Harmon's work by poaching talent associated with his shows. Meanwhile, some fans are asking where the man who delivered the behemoth of a blockbuster franchise that is the MCU has gone these days. Whereas Feige initially seemed to have a finely-honed sense for hiring the right talent for the job, he doesn't necessarily seem to have been demonstrating that same talent in recent years, suggesting he might have been spread somewhat thin in the age of MCU overload.

Dan Harmon told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that he sees himself as more of a "Willy Wonka character now, swooping in and out as needed." Perhaps that's what Feige has become, too — content to let his newly-poached talent steer the ship. Let's hope he soon steps in to provide his Harmon-verse cohorts with a little more of guidance as the MCU attempts to restore its former glory.