By 2005, Marvel Entertainment was planning to independently produce its own films and distribute them through Paramount Pictures. Previously, Marvel co-produced several superhero films based on Marvel Comics with Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema, 20th Century Fox and others. Marvel made relatively little profit from these licensing deals and wanted to make more money from its films while retaining artistic control over projects and distribution. Avi Arad, head of Marvel Entertainment's film division, was pleased with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films at Sony Pictures but less pleased with some of the other films. After founding DreamWorks Pictures in 1994, Arad created Marvel Studios, Hollywood's first major independent film studio. Arad's second-in-command Kevin Feige realized that, unlike Spider-Man, Blade and the X-Men were licensed respectively. Sony, New Line and Fox, Marvel had the rights to the Avengers team. Feige, a self-described "fanboy," envisioned connecting these characters to the universe created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in the 1960s.
