The last few years has seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe suffer a blow in popularity with fans who haven't been shy sharing their criticisms and frustrations about the state of the MCU. These frustrations appear to extend to Marvel Studios, as well, with one of its executives speaking on how the franchise suffered as a result of larger content strategy at Disney.
Marvel Studios' head of animation, television, and streaming Brad Winderbaum spoke about the recent popularity and financial hits the MCU has taken with the Phase Zero podcast, via GiantFreakinRobot, and indicated it all came down to a larger strategy employed by Disney around the launch of Disney Plus.
“Frankly, in all honesty, there was a mandate to kind of create as much as we could for Disney Plus, as quickly as we could,” Winderbaum said.
Quantity over quality
His statement is reflected in Marvel Studios' release calendar from 2021 onward, as it became significantly busier between theatrical releases and Disney Plus series premieres. The studio released four films and five Disney Plus series in 2021, alone, to make it the busiest release calendar in the studio's history.
This sudden surge of content appeared to contribute to a sense of fatigue among audiences, with 2023 being one of the poorest year's in Marvel Studios' lifespan. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was still a hit with fans, critics, and at the box office, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels were both met with mixed reactions, at best, and struggled to make any sort of financial impact.
Things fared a bit better on Disney Plus with the releases of Loki season two and What If…? season two, both of which were met with largely positive feedback from fans and critics. However, Secret Invasion was received much more poorly and is considered by some fans online to be one of Marvel Studios' worst productions.
Marvel Studios does appear to be course correcting, though, as only one theatrical release is planned for the year, along with two live-action series on Disney Plus.
Righting the ship?
Deadpool and Wolverine is slated to release on July 26, 2024, and officially bring Ryan Reynolds' titular merc with a mouth into the MCU., alongside Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and some other members of 20th Century Fox's Marvel franchises. On Disney Plus, Echo released in January 2024 to generally positive reviews and Agatha, starring Kathryn Hahn, is scheduled to release in “late 2024.”
The release schedule is set to pick back up in 2025 with the releases of Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four, and Blade in theaters. However, each of the films had been significantly delayed from their original release dates due, in part, to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Disney is reportedly undergoing a larger strategy shift, as well, since Bob Iger returned as the company's CEO in November 2022 that emphasizes quality over quantity and established franchises or characters over newer creations. It is rumored to have caused Ant-Man 4, Eternals 2, and Captain Marvel 3 to be shelved for the time being, though there has been no official confirmation from Marvel Studios.
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