New Rumor Claims Marvel Studios Is “Re-Evaluating Its Release Lineup For Phases 5 & 6” Over Concerns About Poor Quality
A new rumor claims that The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios are looking at changing their release lineup for their upcoming Phase 5 and Phase 6 films and television shows over internal concerns about the poor quality of shows and movies in Phase 4.
This rumor comes on the heels of The Walt Disney Company announcing that Bob Iger returned to the company as CEO and replaced Bob Chapek. Along with the announcement of Iger’s return, The Walt Disney Company revealed in a SEC filing that they would be making significant changes to the company’s structure and specifically how it approaches distributing its content.
The SEC document states, “As contemplated by the leadership change announcement, we anticipate that within the coming months Mr. Iger will initiate organizational and operating changes within the Company to address the Board’s goals. While the plans are in early stages, changes in our structure and operations, including within DMED (and including possibly our distribution approach and the businesses/distribution platforms selected for the initial distribution of content), can be expected.”
“The restructuring and change in business strategy, once determined, could result in impairment charges,” it adds.
For those unfamiliar with DMED, it stands for Disney Media and Entertainment Division and is one of two of The Walt Disney Company’s main segments, the other being Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (DPEP).
As noted on the company’s website, “DMED is responsible for the P&L management and all distribution, network and engineering operations, sales, advertising, data, and certain key technology functions worldwide for the Company’s content engines. DMED also manages operations of the Company’s streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ Hotstar; and domestic broadcast and cable television networks.”
Following this confirmation that The Walt Disney Company will be making significant changes to the way it does business and specifically the way it distributes its content, a rumor from The Cosmic Circus claims “Marvel Studios is currently re-evaluating its release lineup for Phases 5 & 6.”
The site adds, “As Phase 4 comes to a close, we’ve been informed of internal negative feedback about how Phase 4 was handled regarding product distribution and quality.”
In order to correct the poor performance and quality of the Phase 4 films and television series, Marvel Studios will be implementing “a quality-over-quantity approach to these phases.”
One of the changes that the site claims Marvel Studios will implement is a change in the release schedule as well as changes in format of various projects.
They also note that similar to David Zaslav axing various DC related projects like Batgirl, Marvel Studios could do the same. The site asserts, “in the most extreme (and unlikely) of cases, a postponement or outright cancellation of a project” could occur if it doesn’t align with Marvel’s overarching plans for the Multiverse Saga.
It’s not a surprise to anyone but the biggest of Marvel shills that Marvel Studios’ fare following Avengers: Infinity War has been subpar.
One need only look at box office revenue to see that people aren’t going to the theatres to see these films. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Black Widow, and Eternals are all at the bottom of the worldwide total gross charts for Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
Thor: Love and Thunder performed worse than Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is nowhere near matching the box office sales of the first Black Panther film. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home are the only two films to break the mold of Phase.
Not only did Phase 4 films not bring people to the box office, they are also some of the poorest rated films on IMDb.
Eternals and Black Widow are the lowest rated MCU films with a score of 6.3. Thor: Love and Thunder sits in third worst with a score of 6.3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might have had higher box office grosses, but its the 7th worst rated film with a score of 6.9. Their most recent release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is also in the bottom half of all MCU films. It’s tied for 13th worst.
The only Phase 4 film that truly breaks the mold is Spider-Man: No Way Home. It is the third best rated film with a score of 8.3 It’s behind both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which are tied for first at 8.4. Shang-Chi has a score of 7.4, which ties it for 18th worst.
Again, while it’s abundantly clear to anyone but the biggest Marvel shills that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a quality problem, it’s hard to take this rumor seriously given CEO Bob Iger’s recent comments he made during a town hall addressing The Walt Disney Company employees.
During that appearance Iger made it clear he would be doubling down on woke content and would continue to Disney’s goal of trying to groom children into disordered lifestyles.
RELATED: Bob Iger Confirms Disney Will Double Down On Woke Content: “We Can’t Lose That, We Just Can’t”
He later added, “That said we’re not going to make everybody happy all the time and we’re not going to try to. We’re certainly not going to lessen our core values to make everybody happy all the time. So it’s complicated and there’s a balance.
In response to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, Iger said Disney would still promote “inclusion,” but suggested that the company must strike a “delicate balance” and “listen to [its] audience” and “have respect for the people that [it’s] serving.” This is a retreat. pic.twitter.com/bZBnQdm616
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) November 29, 2022
Bizarrely, Iger went on to claim that he and The Walt Disney Company employees are the arbiters of what is right and wrong.
He said, “And at one point, I said, ‘We do what we believe is right,’ and someone criticized me saying, ‘Well, who are you to say that’s right?’ Well, when you are in a job like mine or you are responsible for the storytelling that many of you are responsible for, you get paid to have a sense for what is right. Not everybody will agree with you.”
“That’s just not the way the world is these days, but it doesn’t mean you should stop trying to do the right thing,” he concluded.
On top of Iger’s comments actress Tatiana Maslany, the star of the most recent Disney+ release of She-Hulk told Variety, “Reading the script, it was so true. There’s so much resistance to a woman just existing in that space of superheroes. There’s always going to be that. I sort of anticipated it. It’s why I also feel it’s important. There’s such an entitlement to space held by certain people, and to even exist as She-Hulk is like a f***-you, and I love that.”
In the same interview, the show’s writer Jessica Gao stated, “Our writers room opened three years ago. The fact that we were able to predict what the reaction was going to be, what a lot of the trolling comments were going to be, really shows how very tired and unoriginal these trolls are. That really tickled me because the little troll that lives inside of me really loves trolling the trolls.”
What do you make of this rumor? Do you think Marvel Studios really thinks they have a quality problem? Will they make changes?