As Marvel Studios Enters a New Era, Changes Are Afoot
Looking to rebound after a difficult 2023, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios are changing the way they do business.
After years of scrambling to create content for both movie theaters and streaming, the Marvel team is taking a much-needed pause to assess where they are and how they got there.
Image Credit: The Walt Disney Company; Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios
2023 not only featured a pair of box office bombs in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, it also saw one of the studio’s biggest stars convicted of domestic assault, budgets in streaming run amok, and the release of the disaster that was Secret Invasion.
A Slow 2024
Thanks in part to last year’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Marvel is slowing down its release schedule this year. Only Deadpool & Wolverine will hit theaters, and the already-released Echo will be joined by Agatha: Darkhold Diaries as the studio’s lone streaming releases.
Photo: Marvel
Echo was well-received by critics and fans alike, while Agatha: Darkhold Diaries was able to complete reshoots in one day earlier this year. That should speak to how optimistic Marvel is about the series.
With Marvel Studios going through a series of changes over the last six months, The Hollywood Reporter has published a deep-dive into the current happening at the studio.
Although most of the information was previously known, there were a few nuggets of news buried in the article. Here is what we learned.
‘X-Men ’97’ Trailer Breaks Records
While the first trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine shattered records and grabbed headlines, the recently released trailer for X-Men ’97 has also posted big numbers.
In fact, the trailer set the record for the biggest launch of an animated series on Disney+, topping the likes of Marvel’s What If…? and Star Wars’s The Bad Batch.
Photo: Marvel
The revival of the 1990s classic X-Men: The Animated Series is set to hit Disney+ on March 20, 2024.
Joanna Calo Joins ‘Thunderbolts’
Speaking of projects with high expectations, Marvel has hired The Bear showrunner Joanna Calo to work on the script for Thunderbolts.
Photo: Den Of Geek
The film is set to begin shooting in March and will center on a team of anti-heroes and former villains. The addition of Calo adds an aura of prestige to a film that already has a star-studded cast.
Jonathan Majors Cleanup
When Marvel Studios fired Jonathan Majors in the wake of his domestic abuse conviction, the future of his Kang the Conqueror instantly became muddled.
Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
While insiders continue to assert that Kang could be recast, it looks like Marvel is officially moving away from the character.
Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars are reportedly being rewritten to allow Marvel to minimize or cut out Kang entirely.
As we previously reported, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will be given a new title sans Kang’s name.
While Majors’s conviction was the final nail in the coffin of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, as previously envisioned, Marvel was reportedly already planning on moving away from the character after Quantumania underperformed last year.
A Brighter Future
With the respite provided by a slower release schedule this year, Marvel is taking some time to improve its infrastructure.
Photo: Marvel
“The focus is internal this year,” says one insider.
Still, Feige and his team are not calling the process a reboot but a “creative retooling.” Hopefully, then, after a year of regaining their footing, Marvel Studios will be back and better than ever.
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