At the pinnacle of his career, veteran Marvel executive Dave Bushore, director of the most recent What If?–An Immersive Story, is departing the business. Having worked at Marvel Studios for 15 years, Bushore’s most recent position was vice president of franchise creative and immersive development. He contributed to the popular series What If?, which considers several scenarios for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as “what if the Avengers turned into zombies?” On the Marvel and ILM joint project What If?–An Immersive Story for Apple Vision Pro, he served as both director and executive producer. The virtual reality experience won a Creative Arts Emmy for outstanding innovation in emerging media programming. It was also one of only ten immersive projects chosen from around the world to be shown at the Venice International Film Festival, a first for Marvel, in the “Best of Experiences” Immersive section. Shortly after The Incredible Hulk’s 2009 release, Bushore began working for Marvel. Brad Winderbaum, the head of television, streaming, and animation, employed him as a coordinator. Having always had a soft spot for comic books, he recalled having to explain to his pals what Nick Fury was when they saw the first two Iron Man movies in theaters. Working in home entertainment, TV specials, park development, and the franchise team—which handles ventures outside of Marvel’s theatrical productions—his career developed with the industry titan that is Marvel.
It’s evident that Bushore was at his peak at Marvel. It was incredible, he told The Hollywood Reporter, to be invited to Venice. It was incredibly amazing to be there and witness the acceptance of this new kind of material as well as the individuals that came through to participate as ambassadors and filmmakers. Why then is he quitting Marvel? It seems that his motivation is to experience more of the highs associated with investigating the nexus between technology and narrative. Rather than joining a new firm, he is taking a risk and venturing into unexplored territory. Marvel has taught him a lot about world-building and narrative, which he will use to his future work. “I will miss the people, the personalities, and the ideas that are discussed in the hallways,” Bushore remarked. “Marvel Studios is the best place for that; it’s contagious.” He obviously loves his former job, but he’s eager to use what he’s learned elsewhere. In response, he declared, “I’m ready to bring that energy and big ideas to some new kinds of stories in town.”
“There’s no place like Marvel Studios for that, it’s infectious.”
Marvel is without a doubt a narrative powerhouse to be reckoned with. Other studios are still attempting to emulate the studio’s success, therefore its influence on the field of cinematic world-building is still felt. But the world of narrative extends beyond Marvel’s comic books, and it’s fascinating to watch someone with so much expertise in this emerging medium of world-building for movies and television use what he’s learned outside of Marvel Studios.
Follow us to get free & fast MCU Movies/Shows Leaks & News