Disney is suddenly freaking out about losing its “boy” audience. No, really—they’ve finally noticed that the demographic they’ve spent the last decade ignoring might actually matter.
Variety is reporting that the studio has been quietly putting the word out to producers and writers: bring us films that can lure young men (ages 13–28) back into the fold. That Gen Z demo has been drifting for years, preferring video games and viral meme cinema (“Minecraft”) to whatever Marvel or Star Wars are serving up.
The irony is rich. This is the same Disney that bought Marvel and Lucasfilm precisely because they guaranteed a male audience. However, Marvel fatigue is real (”Fantastic Four: First,” “Thunderbolts”), and the Star Wars beand has been destroyed by Kathleen Kennedy . Meanwhile, live-action Disney has leaned hard on remakes and female-centric IP, leaving nothing in the pipeline that resembles a “guy movie” since “Pirates of the Caribbean” or “Indiana Jones.”
Maybe they should have listened to George Lucas, who recently admitted telling the Disney brass, and Solo director Ron Howard, to “not forget” that Star Wars should be targeted at “12-year-old boys.” Kennedy clearly didn’t get the memo.
Regardless, the task of winning Gen Z men back has fallen to David Greenbaum, a prestige-leaning executive (ex-Searchlight) now running Disney live-action, with help from Daria Cercek, who oversaw hits like “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Smile” at Paramount. They’re said to be seeking pitches ranging from globe-trotting adventure to horror.
The idea that the studio most synonymous with franchise IP is suddenly chasing “originals” for a hard-to-crack demo shows just how shaky the foundations of Marvel and Lucasfilm have become.
Asking for “original, guy-leaning” IP now feels like Disney admitting that their formula just isn’t working in 2025. Gen Z men are increasingly the group refusing to play along with their old tricks.
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