Though the recent reshuffling of release dates for MCU movies has been blamed on the Hollywood strikes, it also conveniently gives Marvel Studios time to slow down, figure out its future, and — perhaps most importantly — give audiences a break. Previews for “The Marvels” hitting theaters on the same day that the “Loki” season finale landed on Disney+ highlights how nonstop the flood of “content” (a word used 28 times in Disney’s latest earnings call) has become. CEO Bob Iger believes that the barrage of Marvel shows on Disney+ has “diluted” the brand, and the plan going forward is to “pull back” and slow down the production of movies and TV shows.
The six-month industry-wide production shutdown caused by the AMPTP’s sluggish response to the strikes certainly helped with that. There’s now only one Marvel Studios movie releasing next year (“Deadpool 3” on July 26, 2024), compared to three movies this year. The only other film already in the can is “Captain America: Brave New World,” which is rumored to have reshoots coming up next year. “Thunderbolts” and “Blade,” currently scheduled for 2025, have yet to begin filming.
Spacing out new releases might be enough to get the MCU back on track, simply by making the movies feel more like the events they once were. After all, it’s difficult to get excited for the return of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in “The Marvels” when we just saw him fighting aliens in “Secret Invasion.” It would also be nice if every movie wasn’t (as “The Marvels” director Nia DaCosta put it) “a sequel to five different things.”
The Marvels is projected to set an unenviable record for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the lowest opening weekend in the franchise’s history. Read More