Will Disney's New Plan Save the Withering MCU? Bob Iger Certainly Hopes So

Summary

• The Marvel Cinematic Universe has recently seen a decline in popularity.
• Disney significantly expanded the MCU when it bought the studio.
• Disney's CEO says the company is implementing a new approach to Marvel movies.

In the 2010s, Marvel became synonymous with blockbusters. The studio produced some of the highest grossing films in history, including Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, which together grossed over $4.8 billion at the box office. Naturally, people got used to Marvel's incessant success.

However, the post-pandemic years have proven tumultuous for the studio, though ironically, it has expanded tremendously during this time, with more big and small screen projects premiering under the Marvel banner. 2023 alone proved to be nothing short of disastrous for the Disney-owned company, as two of its three theatrical releases flopped at the box office.

As a result, many people thought that the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was near. But it seems that Disney is not giving up on the superhero-spawning studio and is implementing a new strategy to revive it.

Disney's Marvel

Contrary to popular belief, the MCU started before Disney acquired Marvel. The MCU began with the 2008 premiere of Iron Man, which was a smash hit, grossing over $585 million against a budget of $140 million, while the acquisition took place in mid-2009. In addition, the studio's next three films, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, were still released under Paramount Pictures, with The Avengers being Disney's first Marvel film.

Since then, the MCU has expanded to several streaming shows and movie premieres a year, but this seems to be the root of all problems, as this overabundance of Marvel projects has led to superhero fatigue. And that's exactly the problem Disney wants to address.

Disney's New Plan for 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 a maximum of three,' said Bob Iger, Disney's acting CEO, according to Variety.

According to the outlet, the Disney chief said that this shift will be in line with the company's overall focus on quality over quantity, which means better writing and story development for the beloved Marvel films.

Will this help the MCU regain its glory? It just might. After all, superhero fatigue is a big part of Marvel's problems. And if there were fewer movies a year, audiences might be more excited about the ones that are released. Either way, it's time for Disney to stop milking the MCU cow and focus on developing it.

Source: Variety.