Marvel Lays off Employees Amid Studio Direction Shift

In 2023, Disney faced challenges as it didn’t have any billion-dollar movies at the box office for the first time in recent years. Most of its major projects, especially those in the MCU, failed to meet expectations. ‘The Marvels’ notably underperformed, becoming the first MCU film to not reach $100 million domestically.

In response, Iger announced changes to the studio’s strategy, opting for fewer releases and prioritizing guaranteed successes. This led to the cancellation of some rumored projects, including planned ‘Captain Marvel’ and ‘Ant-Man’ installments.

These changes are likely to impact their workforce, but fortunately, for now, only a small number of employees are affected. Marvel recently laid off 15 employees across Marvel Entertainment in New York and Marvel Studios in Burbank, mainly junior staff in production and development. This is due to Marvel reassessing and reducing their upcoming slate, coinciding with Marvel Studios having only one feature release this year, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ Additional layoffs are not expected at this time.

These layoffs are a result of Marvel integrating Marvel Entertainment into Marvel Studios and other Disney departments after the departure of former Marvel exec Ike Perlmutter in March 2023. Perlmutter oversaw consumer products, comic book publishing, game licensing, and arena shows.

His leaving happened at the same time Disney was making broader cuts, laying off 7,000 employees. Marvel Entertainment, once managed separately from Marvel Studios, was considered unnecessary and merged into the larger Disney division.

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