Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito has owned up to releasing too much content, too fast, and has vowed that the company is now shifting gears.
Speaking to Empire, D’Esposito said, “It’s been a rough time,” before adding that he believes this July’s Deadpool and Wolverine could help Marvel find its footing again.
“If we just stayed on top, that would have been the worst thing that could have happened to us. We took a little hit, we’re coming back strong,” he said. “Maybe when you do too much, you dilute yourself a little bit. We’re not going to do that anymore. We learned our lesson. Maybe two to three films a year and one or two shows, as opposed to doing four films and four shows.”
That’s the same range that Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned on an earnings call when he was discussing Marvel’s output going forward.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige is also quoted in the piece, and he remarked that he feels “much more comfortable being the underdog.” Most would agree Marvel Studios as a movie company is very far from being an underdog given the size and scale of its operation, but Feige said Marvel’s struggles in 2023 might set the company up for success in 2024 and to “exceed expectations.”
“You’d have to live under a rock not to know that the last few Marvel movies have failed to ignite the world in the way that so many did,” he said.
Before this, Iger pushed back against the idea that so-called superhero fatigue led to Marvel’s movies coming up short at the box office recently. Instead, Iger admitted that Marvel’s latest films were simply not good enough to convince people to go see them.
Deadpool and Wolverine releases on July 26. It’s directed by Shawn Levy and features a long list of cameos, including potentially Taylor Swift as Dazzler.
