Bob Iger Unveils Marvel Studios’ Future Strategy: “We’re Slowly Going to Decrease Volume”
Disney and Marvel Studios had a tough year in 2023. Many of their movies didn’t do well, and the TV shows got mixed reviews. It was the first time in a while that Disney didn’t have a billion-dollar movie, and Marvel’s “The Marvels” became the lowest-grossing movie in the MCU, not even making $100 million domestically.
Recently, they found out that most of Disney’s movies were on the list of biggest box-office flops, with “The Marvels” losing a staggering $237 million. While it might not seem like much for such a big company, it prompted some big changes.
When ‘The Marvels’ came out, Iger said the studio would prioritize quality over quantity going forward. Brad Winderbaum, head of animation, mentioned they had a new plan, implying not everything in development will be made. Now, Disney’s CEO reiterated to THR what he said six months ago: there will be less Marvel content in the future.
I’ve been working hard with the studio to reduce output and focus more on quality, that’s particularly true with Marvel.We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four, and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two or at the maximum three. And we’re working hard on what that path is, we’ve got a couple of good films in ’25 and then we’re heading to more Avengers, which we’re extremely excited about.
Having 2-3 movies and 2 TV shows annually might seem good, but it also means adjustments to the current lineup. There’s a packed schedule for 2025 with ‘Fantastic Four,’ ‘Thunderbolts*,’ ‘Blade,’ and ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ just on the movie side.
Iger also expressed optimism for the future.
Overall I feel great about the slate. It’s something that I’ve committed to spending more and more time on, the team is one that I have tremendous confidence in and the IP that we’re mining, including all the sequels that we’re doing, is second to none.
Cutting down on production won’t matter if the quality doesn’t improve, and to achieve that, the studio must heed fan feedback. Got something to contribute? Share it in the comments!
