Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios has been struggling for the last year, trying to reach the success it once had with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) despite several flops and disappointing releases. In an effort to refocus on quality over quantity (a complaint fans have been sharing for the last few years), the studio has reportedly canceled several upcoming films.
2023 was a rough year for both Marvel and its parent studio Disney. Two of the three theatrical releases from Marvel tied for worst-performing at the box office while Secret Invasion was widely received as the worst Disney+ MCU series. In addition to its theatrical struggles, the dual Hollywood strikes last year caused significant delays for every film studio, pushing expected 2024 releases back to 2025 and later.
This left Marvel scrambling to find a way to recoup its significant losses from the last few years. Since Avengers: Endgame wrapped up the Infinity Saga in 2019, the MCU has been adrift, trying to find a way to chase the success of one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Instead, they’ve faced complaints of “Marvel fatigue” as they focused on releasing dozens of shows and films in rapid succession.
Fans complained about Marvel’s newfound focus on quantity over quality and how it showed throughout poor visual effects, rushed storylines, and AI art usage during the start of the strikes. Towards the end of last year, Marvel announced an internal restructuring, including scrapping the highly-anticipated Daredevil: Born Again series.
This announcement followed comments from Disney CEO Bob Iger agreeing that Marvel has lot itself in recent years. Last year, the House of Mouse head called out Marvel for its focus in television and streaming, saying that the studio had no business in TV and had released too many projects too quickly.
In addition, Iger has also stated as a whole that Walt Disney studios will be refocusing its future projects. Earlier this month, Disney announced a new President of Disney Studios, David Greenbaum, who quickly caught attention for pointed remarks about the amount of live-action remakes Disney has released. With his attitude of “does it need to exist?” it’s clear that Disney is also about to undergo a serious restructure of its future releases.
As Marvel makes an attempt to take less risks and focus more on guaranteed hits, three more projects have reportedly been scrapped. Eternals 2, Captain Marvel 3, and Ant-Man 4 are allegedly not happening anymore, at least according to industry insider Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK on X/Twitter).
Considering how poorly each project’s previous installment did, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that those are the first to be up on the chopping block. Eternals was released in 2021 during the COVID pandemic, which already caused the film to struggle to gain traction in the box office. The film also introduced an Avengers-style team up of characters that hadn’t yet been introduced into the MCU, which, despite an A-List cast, hurt the project with audiences.
Captain Marvel and its star Brie Larson have been the punching bag of the MCU since 2019. As The Marvels delayed its release to November 2024, co-star Samuel L. Jackson came to Larson’s defense against the fandom “incels” over the summer. Despite good early reviews, The Marvels flopped in the box office.
Ant-Man 3 started the year of disappointment for Marvel movies last year, becoming the studio’s worst-performing film of all time. Although it officially introduced Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror (amid allegations of abuse and misconduct that would later lead to Marvel parting ways with Majors), the film was rife with claims of overwork and employee abuse behind the scenes.
The film’s VFX artists claimed that the movie’s release was rushed, causing work weeks that climbed over 70 hours, weeks without a day off, and other forms of abuse. Unfortunately, the hard work didn’t pay off for the film, and it held the rank until The Marvels was released.
Marvel has been trying to figure out how to move forward after Endgame and it’s only caused the studio to continue to flounder. Avengers 5, which was formerly Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers 6, Secret Wars, are now both totally up in the air after the firing of Majors and subsequent decision to move away from a Kang-centered storyline.
As such, the studio clearly needs to figure out what projects to prioritize and what to leave behind, and given the failures that Eternals, Captain Marvel, and Ant-Man have apparently proven to be, the decision for them to be the first Marvel projects to go makes sense. Thunderbolts and Captain America: Brave New World have reportedly had issues behind the scenes as well, which only continues to spell disaster for Marvel.
The long-awaited Fantastic Four and X-Men projects have officially been confirmed to be coming to the MCU with the release of Deadpool 3 this May, with excitement high for a new team of superheroes to take over the big screen. But as Marvel Studios focuses on a new direction, it’s possible that other future projects will also be affected or canceled entirely. Marvel Phase Five and Six are currently underway, although other projects expected to release during Phase Six are still uncertain.
What do you think about Marvel starting to cancel future sequels? Do you think it’s a necessary move or does it spell disaster for the future of the studio?