The Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s fandom has become divided over the studio’s output in recent years. While there are some universally acclaimed projects that have been released since Avengers: Endgame, a majority of titles have faced backlash over a lack of quality, rushed production schedule, and complaints that there’s just too much content to keep up with. Now it looks like some Marvel executives agree – including one exec that blames Disney specifically for the current problems the MCU has been facing.
Many of these issues came to light after Marvel Studios began producing content for Disney Plus. Disney’s streaming service was quickly attempting to compete with major platforms like Netflix and at a time when it looked like streaming would potentially replace theaters and other traditional moviegoing experiences. As such, many Marvel shows and specials were greenlit for the platform, something that former MCU director James Gunn has commented on recently.
After participating in an interview with Rolling Stone, where Gunn shared that Marvel executive producer Louis D’Esposito told him about Marvel being pushed to its limits during this time, Gunn further clarified his intentions to do the opposite with the DC Universe. He took to Threads and explained that streaming in general caused a lot of issues within the industry:
“The sacrifice-everything-for-streaming craze killed many good things by forcing a demand for ‘content’ that couldn’t possibly be met.”
It seems this sparked quite a few conversations on the matter. CosmicBook went a step further to share that they “overheard a heated discussion between a former Marvel executive and a prominent Hollywood VFX artist.”
In addition to the aforementioned executives, it’s worth noting that VFX artists have also been a topic regarding Marvel, with the rushed production schedules said to be overwhelming for VFX artists. As such, it stands to reason that they also wouldn’t be happy with the recent mandates followed by Marvel Studios, and that does seem to be the case.
“The two were in full agreement,” CosmicBook continues, “the blame for the MCU’s current problems lies squarely with Disney—not the creatives or execs that were already at Marvel.”
Interestingly, while there weren’t many specific details revealed from their conversation, they’re both said to have been “pretty livid about Disney ruining the MCU, and the takeaway was clear: that they backed James Gunn’s recent comments that Disney corporate is to blame for the issues with the MCU.”
We already know Disney has been restructuring their plans for Marvel content on platforms like Disney Plus, with shows like Daredevil: Born Again being ran more like a traditional television show than other MCU projects like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We can only hope that more changes are made to keep the MCU on track, especially with major projects like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on the way.
In the meantime, James Gunn seems to already have learned his lesson from their mistakes, with the DC Universe being operated in a much different way. Whether or not that plan ultimately succeeds remains to be seen, but things seem off to a good start with Superman. Hopefully Disney will likewise learn a thing or two from the DCU’s model as well.