The Marvel Cinematic Universe has received rather divisive reactions from fans and critics in recent years. As a result, it looks like Disney CEO Bob Iger could be issuing cutbacks on the MCU to cut costs for the expensive property.
As noted via The Direct, Iger spoke about Disney’s financial situation during the Q3 FY23 earnings call. He then at one point spoke about cutting back on some of Disney’s theatrical releases. This, naturally, would seem to include some of the upcoming Marvel movies planned by the studio.
Here’s what Bob Iger shared about cutting back on their upcoming releases in an effort to reduce costs:
“We’re focused on improving the quality of our films and on better economics, not just reducing the number of titles we release but also the cost per title. And we’re maximizing the full impact of our titles by embracing the multiple distribution windows at our disposal, enabling consumers to access their content in multiple ways.”
Of course, it’s unknown what titles could possibly be removed in any potential Marvel cutbacks. After all, for the MCU‘s sixth phase, only the following have so far been announced: Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars. But any number of films could now be removed altogether as Disney decides the best course of action.
Many fans have expressed feeling fatigue by the superhero genre. In fact, by the time Fantastic Four launches Phase 6 of the MCU in 2025, it will have been almost 20 years since Iron Man launched the franchise in 2008. That’s certainly a long time to be receiving new superhero movies and now shows almost every year. As audiences continue to catch up with the increasingly complex storylines, and watch their favorite characters pass the torch to new ones, it makes sense that the series could finally be slowing down.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Marvel Cinematic Universe updates as we have them. For now, this looks like a major turning point for the franchise and the direction it was previously believed to be taking.