Disney CEO Bob Iger Says Marvel Studios Has "Lost Focus" and Disney Will Lean More Into "Sequels and Franchises"
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently addressed the status of Marvel Studios and their quality of work saying that they’ve “lost focus.” Disney Studios itself is also losing focus as Iger says that they will lean more into sequels and franchises moving forward, which Walt Disney was not a fan of.
Last year, it was reported that Disney intended to scale back on Marvel Studios content and implement more of a "quality over quality" approach going forward. Iger has now reiterated that there will be a "reduced volume" of content, with a renewed focus on the studio's "stronger franchises." He explained:
“I’d say we’re leaning a little bit more into sequels and franchises. I think given the environment and given what it takes to get people out of their homes to see a film. Leaning on franchises that are familiar is actually a smart thing. In our zeal to greatly increase volume partially tied to this wanting to chase more global subs for our streaming platform, some of our studios lost a little focus. So the first step that we’ve taken is that we’ve reduced volume, we reduced output, particularly in Marvel."
Quality over quantity makes all the sense in the world and with Marvel underperforming at the box office, of course, they want to try to fix things and correct the direction. But who knows if they will be able to renew audience interest in the MCU. Deadpool 3 is going to be a big hit because people and fans are excited about it! But, after that… who knows what to expect from fandom when the other Marvel movies start being released?
One thing I am sad about regarding Disney is they are no longer interested in being innovative with filmmaking and storytelling, which is what Walt Disney was all about. Disney said back in 1966, "I'm a born experimenter. To this day, I don't believe in sequels. I can't follow popular cycles; I have to move on to new things. There are many new worlds to conquer." Disney Studios no longer embraces that vision. They haven’t in a long time.
Iger went on to list some of the movies on Disney's 2025 slate, but in the process left out a couple of MCU projects. He said:
"Looking to our 2025 theatrical slate, we're excited to bring audiences Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four for Marvel, Pixar has Zootopia 2, and then there's Avatar 3. And we're already looking forward to 2026 and beyond with Frozen 3, the first Toy Story movie since 2019, and a new Star Wars movie that brings The Mandalorian and Grogu to the big screen for the very first time."
He left out Thunderbolts and Blade, which leads some people to believe that they’ve either been delayed or removed from the schedule entirely. But nothing has been officially announced regarding that.
What are your thoughts on Iger’s recent comments?