Bob Iger Says Marvel Will Release No More Than Three Movies Per Year

During the company’s quarterly earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger implied that we’ll be seeing less of the MCU with his intentions to drop the number of Marvel movies to “maximum” three a year. Um … isn’t that still an excessive amount? Iger said this is part of Disney’s overall strategy to reduce output and focus on quality.

We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.

Right now, there are four MCU movies set to be released in 2025: “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts,” “Fantastic Four” and “Blade.” I’m thinking “Blade,” which is the last one to shoot, probably gets pushed to 2026.

In the call, Iger added that Marvel has “a couple of good films in ’25 and then we’re heading to more Avengers which we’re extremely excited about,” adding: “Overall, I feel great about the slate. It’s something, as you know, that I’ve committed to spending more and more time on. The team is one that I have tremendous confidence in and the IP that we’re mining, including all the sequels that we’re doing, is second to none.”

Later in the call, Iger said that Disney would be focusing more on sequels than originals: “We’re now swinging back a bit to lean on sequels.” Iger cited Disney’s plans for the next “Toy Story” movie and this summer’s release of “Inside Out 2” and said these films have an increased value because known IP costs less to market.

Recently, Iger refused to believe that what many are calling, “superhero fatigue” was a real thing, saying that it was “not an accident” that Marvel’s first 33 films generated just under $30 billion at the box office.

I don’t know, Bob. I believe that there are plenty of audiences out there who are now being more selective in what they want to see, and that definitely includes superhero fare. Sure, “Deadpool and Wolverine” might be a hit this summer, but there are no guarantees that “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts,” and “Fantastic Four” will be major hits.

One can make the case that 2023’s “Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3” made nearly $850 million worldwide and squashed this narrative, but what about other recent films that failed to ignite a spark? ‘Ant-Man 3,’ “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and “The Marvels” come to mind.

Quite honestly, it comes down to quality. If you can make a good superhero movie then there’s a far greater chance that audiences will buy a ticket to it. However, based on the filmmakers chosen to helm some of these upcoming MCU flicks, I’m not very optimistic.