Once upon a time, Marvel Studios had the Midas touch—everything they released turned to box office gold, but those days seem to be fading. Since the Multiverse Saga kicked off, the once-bulletproof MCU has cranked out many duds, including a slew of critically panned films and underwhelming box office performances.
Marvel’s uneven track record has added fuel to the "superhero fatigue" conversation that some in Hollywood are all too happy to push.
Meanwhile, longtime fans have voiced frustration over shaky storytelling, questionable creative choices, and a noticeable drop in consistency and cohesion across projects. After spending years churning out content to feed Disney+’s appetite, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is reportedly shifting the focus from sheer volume back to delivering “quality.”
A recent article from The Wall Street Journal, published over the weekend, offered further behind-the-scenes details, noting that Feige came to the realization that Marvel Studios had built a system that created a "no new fans club." Apparently, Feige "recently told his Marvel Studios colleagues that watching every new Marvel TV show [and] film had started to feel more like homework than entertainment."
The most interesting anecdote from WSJ’s investigative piece has an in over his head Feige playing a central role in shaping each film, deeply involved in the creative process—frequently stepping in to rework scenes or add new ones when needed.
During Marvel’s heyday in the 2010s, Feige was heavily involved in film development. He deployed lower-ranking executives to supervise shooting, then got his hands dirty again in the editing room, often making significant changes and ordering new scenes. His longtime deputy, Louis D’Esposito, had a recurring joke: “We can fix any movie if we shoot it again.”
This more or less correlates with a previous report that tackled Feige’s obsessive nature in controlling every part of the creative process, to the point where directors are barely in control of directing MCU movies, and with Feige dictating all the shots.
Kevin doesn’t have directors, writers, and visual effects artists figuring into the calculus.
Back in March 2023, former Marvel exec Victoria Alonso berated an unnamed Marvel director on-set, saying that “they don't direct the movies, we direct the movies.' Meaning, the filmmakers we hire don't have creative control over the look or feel of the films.
Regardless, Marvel Studios is aiming to reignite its former momentum with a high-profile slate of upcoming films, including “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” “Avengers: Doomsday,” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
The key takeaway from the report is that Marvel Studios recognizes the missteps of recent years and is actively working to address them — will it work out for him? That remains to be seen.
I should warn you: based on everything I’ve heard, this teaser is a total misdirection. The movie is not at all what it’s being portrayed as here. In fact, most of the footage in the teaser comes from the first few minutes of the film.