Bob Iger Gives an Update on the State of Marvel; Lauds ‘Thunderbolts*’
2023 was a watershed year for Marvel Studios. After years of dominating popular culture, racking up billions at the box office, and delivering some of the most popular streaming shows, the studio found itself at a crossroads.
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had given Marvel a much-needed hit, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania underachieved, and The Marvels bombed.
Photo: Marvel
On streaming, Secret Wars failed to deliver ratings and was widely regarded as the worst Marvel release of all time.
Marvel Changes Course
As many began to pontificate about superhero fatigue and Marvel overload, Disney CEO Bob Iger came to a different diagnosis—the studio had simply spread itself too thin.
Photo: Deadline
“A lot of people think it’s audience fatigue, it’s not audience fatigue. They want great films. And if you build it great, they will come and there are countless examples of that. Some are ours and some are others,” he said.
In the two years since Bob Iger’s declaration, Marvel has rebounded spectacularly. Last year, Deadpool & Wolverine became the highest-grossing film of all time, and both Echo and Agatha were well received on Disney+.
Photo: Marvel
While Captain America: Brave New World struggled in theaters earlier this year, the film was largely developed and shot before the change in Marvel’s philosophy.
Photo: Marvel
That brings us to Thunderbolts*.
The Dawn of a New Era
Arriving in theaters last weekend, Thunderbolts* has been lauded by critics and fans alike. After a strong opening weekend, it looks like the film will be able to deliver the kind of extended box office run that has eluded Marvel.
Photo: Marvel
Reflecting on Marvel’s current state at Disney’s last earnings call, Bob Iger hailed Thunderbolts* as the studio’s first film in a new era.
Looking back, Iger still identifies the launch of Disney+ as the moment that the Marvel train began to derail.
“We all know that in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,” Iger said.
Photo: Marvel
“We’ve also learned over over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much. By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe that will result in better quality. I think the first and best example is ‘Thunderbolts*.’ I feel very good about that.”
So Far So Good
Over the last 18 months, Marvel has overhauled how it makes television and drastically changed its film release pace. So far, it looks like the strategy is working.
Photo: USA Today
