Before Kevin Feige started reporting to Disney's Alan Horn, he and Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter’s ongoing budget and creative disputes fueled frustrations. Says 'Civil War' director Joe Russo: "I think that there were years when Kevin was absorbing the pain inflicted on the company."

In the fall, when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige broke away from longtime boss Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter to report to Disney Studios chief Alan Horn, it was rumored that the restructuring was fueled by ongoing creative and budget disputes. As THR reported, Feige's frustrations with the notoriously frugal Perlmutter came to a head during the filming of Captain America: Civil War in 2015.

In a new interview with THR's Kim Masters on KCRW's The Business, Civil War directors Anthony and Joe Russo elaborate: "We've been on that [Marvel] journey from Winter Soldier, and it may have been some story points from Civil War that caused the civil war within Marvel," says Joe. "I think that there were years when Kevin was absorbing the pain inflicted on the company."

Now the company's atmosphere is "much healthier, happier," says Joe, paving the way for "really compelling choices," including Marvel's hiring of Taika Waititi to direct Thor: Ragnarok and Ryan Coogler helming Black Panther.

This story first appeared in the May 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.