Photograph by: Stephanie Diani for The New York Times

David Maisel: The Studio Head

Title: Chairman, Marvel Studios

Notable projects: Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, both due out later this year.

Years in the industry: 14

When David Maisel became the chairman of Marvel Studios back in March, the first thing he did was to line up a financing deal with Merrill Lynch for $525 million, giving his studio the power to produce mega-budget films all by itself and instantly creating a rival to studios like Dreamworks and 20th Century Fox. After all, as C.O.O. of parent company Marvel Entertainment prior to ascending to the top spot at Marvel Studios, Maisel had seen firsthand with the Spider-Man franchise how not being able to produce its own films left the studio out in the cold when it came to the lion’s share of the profits—the three Spider-Man films have grossed close to $2.5 billion for Sony Pictures, while Marvel’s licensing fee was likely well under $100 million.

“It was very much my passion when coming in that we had to get control of green light,” Maisel explains over the phone from his Beverly Hills office. “So now we’re only focused on that part of the industry—the $100-million-plus, tent-pole movies.”

First up is Iron Man, a $135-million-budget movie due out in May, to be quickly followed in June by the $125 million Incredible Hulk, a new version of the disastrous 2003 film directed by Ang Lee.

Of course, with a greater share of the rewards comes a greater share of the risk should these films fail. Maisel is gambling with budgets that typically only decades-old studios deal with. But he is eager to take risks if it means following his instincts.

With Iron Man, for instance, Maisel had a huge budget and interest from a variety of top stars (including, at one point, Tom Cruise). Though he could have had just about anyone play the title role, he chose Robert Downey Jr., not exactly a safe choice.

“I wanted him from the beginning,” Maisel says. “I don’t know if he would have been cast at another studio, but I couldn’t have imagined anyone else in the role.”

Maisel, 46, a Harvard Business School grad, got his start in Hollywood working under Michael Ovitz in 1994 where he learned what he calls, “Hollywood street smarts.” After a few years at Ovitz’s Creative Artists Agency and then at the Endeavor agency, Maisel landed at Marvel, where his counterintuitive moviemaking decisions have raised eyebrows. Unlike his one-time boss Ovitz,  whose stint atop Disney was a spectacular failure, Maisel seems to have successfully managed the transition from agent to studio chief.

The success of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk will go a long way toward determining whether he’s able to maintain his perch. As Maisel puts it, “For us at Marvel, we’re going from having a small share of the movie pie to the whole share.”