The once-reliable Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has struggled as of late, but Marvel Studios says it’s ready to regain lost ground.
Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito and MCU leader Kevin Feige spoke about putting their best foot forward during an interview with Empire. The two superhero movie creatives acknowledge going through a rough patch in the last few years. However, with Deadpool & Wolverine on the horizon, as fans build hype to see Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally share a screen together, D’Esposito feels that things could soon turn around.
“If we just stayed on top, that would have been the worst thing that could have happened to us," he said. "We took a little hit, we’re coming back strong.”
D'Esposito continued: “Maybe when you do too much, you dilute yourself a little bit. We’re not going to do that anymore. We learned our lesson. Maybe two to three films a year and one or two shows, as opposed to doing four films and four shows.”
D’Esposito echoes sentiments shared by Disney CEO Bob Iger during an earnings call earlier today. During the call, he explained to investors that Marvel will “slowly” reduce its release schedule to a maximum of three films a year and around two TV shows per year. Although 2025 is currently set to see the launch of four MCU movies, it seems the company’s goal is to eventually bring those numbers down and give audiences more room to breathe.
Deadpool & Wolverine, meanwhile, remains as this year’s only MCU movie. Some comic book fans appreciate the break from nearly non-stop superhero content, and Feige says he doesn’t mind the extra space either.
“It’s nice to be able to rally behind one feature project this year,” he explains. “I’m much more comfortable being the underdog. I prefer being able to surprise, and exceed expectations. So it does seem like the last year, which has not been ideal, has set us up well for that.”
In 2023, Marvel released three movies – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Marvels – in theaters, as well as three TV shows – Secret Invasion, Loki Season 2, and What If…? Season 2 – on Disney+. While Guardians of the Galaxy and Loki managed to pull audience attention, projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels saw diminishing returns. Iger commented on the MCU's series struggles last summer, saying that the volume of its offerings "diluted focus and attention."
Time will tell if Marvel and Disney can regain interest among its fans. Until then, you can check out everything else coming up for the MCU here. You can also see why The Marvels' director thinks superhero fatigue is real.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
