Marvel Studios had an extremely disappointing 2023 in both television and the movies. The year they featured the introduction of Jonathan Majors as the main Kang variant, Kang the Conqueror, would be the launching point for multiple stories around his variants as they took over different aspects of the MCU. The Ant-Man film bombed at the box office, forcing them to rethink how to move forward with Kang. They first fired writer Jeff Lovesness off of Avengers 5, and then Jonathan Majors was convicted of domestic abuse later that year. For which the studio fired him only hours after his conviction became public knowledge. They also were disappointed with how The Marvels performed in November, with their lowest box office return in 33 films. However, after the release of Madame Web, The Marvels looks like Citizen Kane.
The studio is looking to bounce back by only releasing a single film this year, Deadpool & Wolverine. The trailer was released earlier this month during the Super Bowl and became the highest-viewed trailer in 24 hours (including those watching the Super Bowl). They are preparing to reshoot Captain America: New World Order with Anthony Mackie this summer. They will also start filming both the Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four this summer, which was also announced earlier this month to star Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. This is getting a touch-up internally by writer Eric Pearson, while the Thunderbolts is getting a touch-up by The Bear showrunner Joanna Calo.
We at Knight Edge Media had heard that Blade maybe in trouble a week ago, removing its shooting schedule from Atlanta and not making its 2025 release. It seems the studio is still committed to making the film but is giving it time and, most likely, filming it next year with a possible 2026 release. Currently, it is being rewritten by writer Michael Green (The Blue Samurai). Finally, Avengers 5 has dropped the subtitle The Kang Dynasty as writer Michael Waldron looks to move away from Kang following the Jonathan Major conviction.
On the TV side of things, the studio was extremely disappointed with the release of Secret Invasion. Head writer Kyle Bradstreet was sidelined from the project for a year, and it was edited by executives internally. Luckily, a highlight of last year was Loki season 2 by fans and critics alike. Now, the studio has to retool its projects and allow some breathing room between film and television. While the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes hurt most of Hollywood, it gave Marvel Studios time to retool internally.
They had already begun this with Daredevil: Born Again, which had a complete creative overhaul while the strikes were ongoing. They are also allowing showrunners more power than before, which was much more a movie-by-committee type of creative process forced into a TV show. They will only release Echo and Agatha (and technically X-Men 97) in 2024 to give the Disney+ shows some breathing room. Ironheart has already completed filming but won’t release until 2025. This is a departure from Disney’s former CEO Bob Chapek’s plan to churn out a Disney+ show every few months to boost subscription numbers on the streaming platform. That mandate not only Marvel Studios but Lucasfilm as well.
Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26th
Source: The Hollywood Reporter