This past week, Bob Iger talked turkey about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while IATSE made a threat, and physical media returned.
I’ll explain in this week’s MarvelBlog News.
Iger Talks Shop
Photo: Getty Images
Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, discussed one of his holdings, Marvel, at a recent Q&A session.
Appearing at a Morgan Stanley event, Iger answered a wide range of questions involving superhero fatigue.
Yes, that’s the same topic I detailed last week, but now we have the person in charge of Marvel commenting.
Getty Images
Before I detail his thoughts, I should add something important.
Superhero fatigue hasn’t happened because of Marvel, per se.
Instead, the causality is that other, lesser studios recognized how much money Disney was making and tried to take their cut.
Photo: Getty Images
That led to Warner Bros. Discovery releasing some cinematic atrocities like Justice League, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Green Lantern.
I could include some of Fox’s Marvels as well, most notably Dark Phoenix (technically a Disney release after its acquisition) and the Wolverine prequels.
Meanwhile, streaming services offered other superhero content like The Boys and Umbrella Academy.
For the longest time, fans couldn’t go a month without some sort of superhero content.
Source: Marvel
Of course, that was gonna create marketplace saturation.
Iger’s comments reinforce this fact in that he differentiates his Marvel products from the garbage glutting the marketplace.
What Iger Said
Source: Marvel Studios
While answering a question, Iger drops some staggering box office math.
“Marvel’s released 33 films. The total box office of those films is, I think, $50 million under $30 billion.
“So, [Marvel has earned] just about $30 billion in box office for 33 films. That is not an accident.”
Photo: Marvel Studios
After the interviewer indicates that Marvel spoiled consumers, Iger adds this.
“A lot of people think it’s audience fatigue. It’s not audience fatigue. They want great films. And if you build it, great, they will come.
“We’ve reduced the output of Marvel, both number of films they make a number of TV shows and that really becomes critical.”
Source: Marvel Studios
Iger is discussing Marvel’s recent proclamation that it will take a less is more approach with live-action content.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the discussion stems from Iger’s production process.
“I feel good about the IP we’re making. I talked about a lot of the projects.
Source: Marvel Studios
“We look years ahead, really and it’s iterative. It doesn’t — you don’t say, well, here’s our menu of movies from now until 2029, you keep looking and you keep looking.
“And not only do you look at the films you’re making, you look at every part of that process.
Source: @VancityReynolds
“Who are the directors, who’s being cast, reading scripts…”
The CEO adds that he watches all the films three-to-five times to guarantee that he is giving his creative team the best support and feedback.
Iger expressed confidence that Deadpool and Wolverine will be one of the biggest films of 2024 as well.
Source: Marve/ Fox
So, Marvel certainly suffered setbacks in the past few years, but its corporate overlords have taken the problems seriously.
Disney is course-correcting Marvel to ensure higher-quality content from now through 2026…and even beyond then!
Please No
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
Throughout the 2023 Hollywood strikes, one unaffiliated group stood tall.
IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the larger International Brotherhood of Teamsters often walked the strike lines.
©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.
These other union members showed support for writers and actors as the latter groups fought for a fair working wage.
Many writers and actors were so taken aback by the loyalty and camaraderie on display that they promised to return the favor one day.
I genuinely hate to tell you this, but that day could be coming soon.
Source: Marvel Studios
IATSE’s current contract with Hollywood producers will expire on July 31st.
Sure, that’s more than four months from now, but it’s also not that far away.
Lately, negotiations have gone so poorly that IATSE’s leadership has firmly declared that a strike is in the offing.
Source: Marvel Studios
According to Variety, “Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters” said as much.
At a rally last weekend, O’Brien stated, “If these greedy corporations — whether it’s Amazon, Netflix, Sony… Disney — if they choose not to reward our members, they are putting themselves on strike.
Source: Marvel Studios
“We will put them on their back, on their knees, begging for mercy.”
Obviously, this move would once again shut down Hollywood, with writers and actors wildly unlikely to cross picket lines.
In that scenario, upcoming Marvel releases in theaters and on Disney+ would be in jeopardy.
Image: Marvel
The likeliest outcome is that these titles would face another delay of three to six months, depending on the length of the strike.
So, while this story may sound a bit premature, it will explain a few things that happen between now and the end of July.
Marvel will rush to complete its projects to avoid last year’s fiasco.
Marvel Miscellany
Source: Marvel Studios
Perhaps the weirdest story of the week involves physical media.
Recently, Disney showed signs of abandoning this market entirely.
From now on, Sony will handle the distribution of all Disney physical media, something the latter company had historically done internally.
Source: Marvel Studios
So, I’m surprised to learn that several Disney streaming titles will receive Blu-Ray releases.
Among the group are The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Moon Knight.
If you’re still collecting physical media, these titles will arrive on April 30th.
Source: Marvel Studios
I strongly suspect they’ll become collector’s items since most consumers have abandoned physical media.
Finally, Dakota Johnson recently summarized her Madame Web experience in the simplest possible terms.
The actress indicated that she’ll probably never take on a project like this again.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Even as a Dakota Johnson fan, I’m somewhat relieved to hear her say that because Madame Web is…yikes!
Then again, I’m skeptical anybody at Marvel was gonna be in a rush to bring her back after Johnson’s zany publicity tour.
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Featured image: Marvel
