Credit: Marvel StudiosFor over a decade, it seemed as though Marvel could do no wrong. The studio became one of the biggest film companies and the Avengers were the hottest superheroes for an audience that spanned from young kids to adults. However, it seems as though it might’ve flown too close to the sun after its worldwide success with Avengers: Endgame finishing off the original Avengers storyline in 2019, because the studio has faced a series of controversies and disappointments in the last few years.
Endgame became the second-highest-grossing film of all time, and with a new lineup of Avengers set to continue the legacy of the MCU, anticipation was at an all-time high to see what the studio would do next. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing every industry to shift focus, including film. Suddenly, gone were midnight premieres and theatrical releases, and the world of streaming was at its peak.
Following suit, Marvel would eventually announce that Phase Four of the MCU would be started by, and focused on, an original Disney+ series, WandaVision, in 2021. Since then, over a dozen series have been released, to mixed responses. While the early releases, including WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Solider, and Loki, were all well received, recent releases have only disappointed fans.
She-Hulk and Secret Invasion were some of the worst-performing Marvel series on Disney+ following Marvel’s other major box-office disappointment, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, earlier this year. Most of the complaints about the releases focused on the poor quality of the VFX (visual effects) included in the projects, especially in comparison to some of Marvel’s early films like Iron Man (2008) and The Avengers (2012).
It was eventually revealed that there was an almost hostile environment surrounding the VFX workers on Quantumania, as well as other Marvel projects. Allegations of being forced to work for days without a day off, being forced to forgo vacation time, and 70-hour work weeks shocked fans when they were revealed. As the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) unions went on an unprecedented dual strike earlier this year, Marvel’s VFX workers decided to follow suit.
It was announced earlier this month that the VFX team at Marvel had unanimously decided to unionize under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) in an effort to provide better working conditions for the artists and provide better quality for future projects. This is a revolutionary move that could also impact Disney’s own VFX team, who are set to vote on their own status next month. However, apparently these working conditions aren’t a recent issue within Marvel.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Alexandra Rebeck, a VFX coordinator for the upcoming season of Loki revealed the working conditions she experienced when she first joined The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. According to Rebeck, artists worked 75 days in a row and were only given time off in the case of a “mental breakdown.” These complaints echo recent ones about conditions on Quantumania and Secret Invasion, and Rebeck stated she wanted to save those working on Loki Season 2 from a similar fate.
It’s disappointing to learn that these conditions go all the way back to some of the earliest Disney+ MCU series, but hopefully future VFX artists won’t have to deal with similar issues and expectations. Clearly, the strict requirements haven’t helped Marvel in the last few years, only helped give support to claims of superhero fatigue and calls for the MCU to either reboot or abandon its current lineup of heroes.
What do you think about the complaints from VFX workers? Is Marvel suffering alongside its artists? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!