Marvel’s diplomatically up-and-down recent history has sat alongside a desire from its parent company Disney to see the studio capitalize on the post-Endgame era with Marvel content overflowing from not just the box office, but our TV screens as well. It’s meant that in the last 5 years, there’s been a lot of Marvel, and not all of it has necessarily been great or even particularly good Marvel. Now, Disney is hoping to reign in its previous impulses just a tad.
“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,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told shareholders during Disney’s quarterly earnings call this morning (via Variety) “and we’re working hard on what that path is,” in terms of Iger’s overall plans to see Disney reduce output in the hope it can focus on big-ticket successes.
From Star Wars to Disney animation and Disney’s own live-action output, since the launch of Disney+ the company has faced an increased pressure to get out not just a huge swath of theatrical releases, but original content to boost its streaming platform’s profile. Sure there’s been hits across the board—and Marvel has one arguably right now with the excellent X-Men ‘97—for the most part it’s lead to the stunning realization on Marvel Studios’ part that its approach to making movies doesn’t exactly translate to making television at all, quality or otherwise, necessitating a still-ongoing re-examination of its slate across the board.
But two-to-three blockbusters and two seasons of TV is still a lot of Marvel, either way, and Iger is bullish on what’s next for the studio. “There’s couple of good films in ’25 and then we’re heading to more Avengers, which we’re extremely excited about,” Iger noted “Overall, I feel great about the slate. It’s something 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.”
Speaking of the slate, that might change once again if Iger’s new demand holds true. Currently, Marvel is releasing four films in 2025—Captain America: Brave New World, Blade, Thunderbolts, and Fantastic Four, and presumably after whatever the Agatha Harkness TV show ends up being called drops later this year, we’ll have at the least Daredevil: Born Again next year, and potentially the long-in-the-making Ironheart. Perhaps another shuffle will be due, unless Iger sees a packed 2025 as ‘making up’ for what’s going to be a relatively subdued current year for Marvel.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.