The undeniable narrative of superhero movies in 2023 was arguably the most disastrous on record since Marvel took off in 2008 with “Iron Man.” The “Marvel wobble” year, as it’s been called, saw Marvel’s first flop ever, “The Marvels” (their lowest-grossing film ever), a major box office disappointment, “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania,” and a series so poorly reviewed (“Secret Invasion”), the studio would love to pretend it didn’t exist. DC had an even worse year, with three major bombs (“The Flash,” “Shazam 2!” and “Blue Beetle”) and a fourth film (“Aquaman 2”) that made a fraction of the original. So, is superhero fatigue finally here and here to stay? A new THR piece takes a deep dive into Marvel’s 2024, aka their recovery year, and discusses how Kevin Feige and company are “not giving up” but instead refining their approach and universe. The line that stands out: “Kevin Feige is recalibra[ting] the creative direction behind the scenes.”
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The article is layered with lots of little details, and perhaps the first one that jumps out is something many pundits have already speculated: “Avengers: Kang Dynasty,” due in summer 2026, will be dropping its ‘Kang Dynasty’ title and eventually changing it to something else. Again, this isn’t a huge surprise as Marvel’s Kang, Jonathan Majors, was fired from the role last year after he was found guilty in his domestic abuse trial. However, the Hollywood Reporter also says that Marvel was attempting to minimize Kang’s role in the film, following the box office disappointment of ‘Quantumania,’ which featured Majors’ villain as the main antagonist.
Additionally, Marvel has hired Eric Pearson, the writer of “Black Widow,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Thunderbolts,” and many other touch-ups on Marvel Studios movies, to do a rewrite pass on “The Fantastic Four” script. Pearson is known as Marvel’s relief pitcher, coming in near the finish line to close the game and clinch the win, so his name added to a punch-up job doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
THR also says Marvel has hired Joanna Calo, the co-showrunner, writer, and producer of the acclaimed FX series “The Bear,” to work on the script for their anti-heroes movie “Thunderbolts” starring Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, and a host of Marvel antagonist characters. Also, note they dropped quite the spoiler about “The Thunderbolts” movie, at least the original script version, which has likely now been changed, but buyer beware.
The overhaul within is being called an internal one, not a reboot, but a soft one. Marvel is rethinking their approach—something Disney’s Bob Iger already alluded to earlier this month on a Disney earnings call.
“Some of our studios lost a little focus. So, the first step that we’ve taken is that we’ve reduced volume,” Iger said on the call. “We’ve reduced output, particularly at Marvel,” in order to ensure “the films you’re making can be even better.”
What that means precisely is somewhat unknown, but it’s already expected that “Blade” will be moved into 2026, and Marvel won’t release four films in 2025 and 2026. Marvel’s reduced output is already starting to show in 2024, with only one theatrical release, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and only two series, “Echo” and “Agatha: Darkhold Diaries,” due in the fall. Some shows like “Ironheart” are basically done (though reshoots are rumored), but have no release date in sight, a move “designed to give creatives some breathing room and give audiences the chance to miss the MCU, just a little bit.”
Will these moves be enough to stave off superhero fatigue? Possibly, but what really matters is the quality of the work. But if Marvel takes the extra time to make everything great, maybe the gambit will pay off.
