For the past several weeks, we've been hearing reports that Marvel Studios is currently reevaluating the future of the MCU in the midst of the divisive reception of Phase Four projects and its development of multiple projects for the next several years which has caused some concerns regarding its "quality control."
We have learned that the studio is already taking some actions like spacing out their TV projects starting this year and rumors that they might be changing their film slate for the next few years in order to accommodate the changes and potentially spacing out the movies as well similar to the Infinity Saga.
In his recent appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference (via Deadline), Disney CEO Bob Iger, who rejoined the company last November, addressed the future of the MCU franchise where he questioned its need of doing a lot of sequels to its established characters.
"There are 7,000 characters, there are a lot more stories to tell. What we have to look at Marvel is not necessarily the volume of Marvel stories we’re telling, but how many times we go back to the well on certain characters," he said.
"Sequels typically work well for us. Do you need a third and a fourth, for instance, or is it time to turn to other characters?"
Iger did stress that he wasn't criticizing the direction of the MCU as he iterated that he still feels that the brand has not been diminished despite the mixed reception such as the recent Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
He added, "There’s nothing in any way inherently off in terms of the Marvel brand. I think we just have to look at what characters and stories we’re mining. If you look at the trajectory of Marvel in the next five years, there will be a lot of newness. We’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise with a whole new set of Avengers, for example."
This is the first time that Iger addressed the current state of the MCU ever since he was reinstated as the CEO of Disney back in November 2022 and this supports the claims that the MCU is currently in "franchise recession" and is reevaluating what direction it should take in the future due to the divisive reception.
Fans are anxiously waiting about what kind of changes will Marvel Studios take in the future as a result of this and whether they will be able to go back to their "former glory" once they have addressed the issues.
Also Read: Sam Raimi Shares Interest to Direct Another MCU
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is still showing in theaters everywhere. You can check more details about it here.
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