Avi Arad

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Avi Arad (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx; born August 1, 1948<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) is an Israeli-American studio executive and producer of film, television and animation. He became the CEO of Toy Biz in the 1990s, was the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment and is the founder, former chairman and former CEO of the latter's successor, Marvel Studios.<ref name="pr">"Marvel Announces New Independent Producer Deal with Avi Arad" Template:Webarchive, May 31, 2006 press release, via Ain't It Cool News</ref> He has produced and sometimes written a wide array of live-action, animated, and television comic book adaptations.

Early life

Arad was born in 1948 in Ramat Gan, Israel, to a Jewish family. The son of Holocaust survivors from Poland, he grew up reading Superman and Spider-Man comics translated into Hebrew.<ref name="usatoday30">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1965, he was conscripted as a soldier into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He fought and was wounded in the 1967 Six-Day War, and spent 15 months recuperating. Arad finished his military service in 1968.Template:R

In 1970, Arad moved to the United States and enrolled at Hofstra University to study industrial management. He worked as a truck driver and as a Hebrew teacher to put himself through college, and graduated with a BBA from Hofstra's Frank G. Zarb School of Business in 1972.Template:R<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Marvel Comics

Along with Israeli-American Toy Biz co-owner Isaac Perlmutter, Avi Arad came into conflict with Carl Icahn and Ron Perelman over control of Marvel Comics in the wake of its 1996 bankruptcy. In the end, Arad and Perlmutter came out on top, with Toy Biz taking over Marvel Comics in a complicated deal that included obtaining the rights to Spider-Man and other superheroes that Marvel had sold earlier. He was involved in Marvel's emergence from bankruptcy and the expansion of the company's profile through licensing and movies.

Arad Productions

Logo used since 2007

On May 31, 2006, Arad resigned his various Marvel positions, including his leadership of Marvel Studios, to form his own production company, Arad Productions (also known as Arad Animation), a company that primarily produces Marvel-licensed films separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.<ref name="pr" /> His first non-Marvel film was 2007's Bratz. Further ventures include manga adaptation Ghost in the Shell; an adaptation of Brandon Mull's teenage fantasy Fablehaven (which died in production); an adaptation of James Patterson's teenage novel Maximum Ride; and adaptations of video game properties Uncharted,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Infamous,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Metal Gear Solid,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and The Legend of Zelda.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production I.G

In August 2010, it was announced that Arad was given a chair with the American branch of animation studio Production I.G in Los Angeles, California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Israel-Palestine conflict

A self-described proud former member of the Israeli military, Arad has been a staunch supporter of Israel. In 2024, he denounced Democratic U.S. senator Chuck Schumer for criticizing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza war, and stated his opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Executive Producer	Producer
1998	Blade	Template:Yes	Template:No
2000	X-Men	Template:Yes	Template:No
2002	Blade II	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Spider-Man	Template:Yes	Template:No
2003	Daredevil	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Hulk	Template:No	Template:Yes
	X2	Template:Yes	Template:No
2004	The Punisher	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man 2	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Blade: Trinity	Template:Yes	Template:No
2005	Elektra	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Man-Thing (TV film)	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Fantastic Four	Template:No	Template:Yes
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Template:No	Template:Yes
2007	Ghost Rider	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man 3	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Bratz	Template:No	Template:Yes
	The Killing Floor	Template:Yes	Template:No
2008	Iron Man	Template:No	Template:Yes
	The Incredible Hulk	Template:No	Template:Yes
2011	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	Template:No	Template:Yes
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man	Template:No	Template:Yes
2013	Robosapien: Rebooted	Template:No	Template:Yes
2014	The Amazing Spider-Man 2	Template:No	Template:Yes
2015	Gamba: Ganba to nakamatachi	Template:Yes	Template:No
2017	Ghost in the Shell	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	Template:Yes	Template:No
2018	Venom	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	Template:No	Template:Yes
2019	Spider-Man: Far From Home	Template:Yes	Template:No
2021	Venom: Let There Be Carnage	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man: No Way Home	Template:Yes	Template:No
2022	Uncharted	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Morbius	Template:No	Template:Yes
2023	Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse	Template:No	Template:Yes
2024	Borderlands	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Venom: The Last Dance	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Kraven the Hunter	Template:No	Template:Yes
2027	The Legend of Zelda	Template:No	Template:Yes
	Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse	Template:No	Template:Yes

Direct-to-video

Year	Title	Executive Producer	Writer
2006	Ultimate Avengers: The Movie	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther	Template:Yes	Template:No
2007	The Invincible Iron Man	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
	Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme	Template:Yes	Template:No

Television

Year	Title	Executive Producer	Creator	Notes
1992	King Arthur and the Knights of Justice	Template:Yes	Template:No
1993–1994	Double Dragon	Template:Yes	Template:No
1993	The Bots Master	Template:Yes	Template:No
1993–1997	X-Men: The Animated Series	Template:Yes	Template:No
1994	Iron Man	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Fantastic Four	Template:Yes	Template:No
1994–1995	Spider-Man: The Animated Series	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also story writer of episode "The Alien Costume, Part 1"
1996–1997	The Incredible Hulk	Template:Yes	Template:No
1996	Generation X	Template:Yes	Template:No	TV pilot
1998	Silver Surfer	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Template:Yes	Template:No	TV movie
1999–2001	Spider-Man Unlimited	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
1999–2000	The Avengers: United They Stand	Template:Yes	Template:No
2000–2003	X-Men: Evolution	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also story writer of episode "Strategy X"
2001–2004	Mutant X	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2003	Spider-Man: The New Animated Series	Template:Yes	Template:No
2006	Blade: The Series	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also story writer of episode "Molehattan"
2008	Iron Man: Armored Adventures	Template:Yes	Template:No
	The Spectacular Spider-Man	Template:Yes	Template:No	Episode "Survival of the Fittest"
2009	Wolverine and the X-Men	Template:Yes	Template:No
2013–2015	Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2016–2018	Kong: King of the Apes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2017–2018	Tarzan and Jane	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2017–2018	Super Monsters	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2024–present	X-Men '97	Template:Yes	Template:No

External links

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