Victoria Alonso Reportedly Out At Marvel Studios After Disney CEO Bob Iger Called Into Question Quality Issues At Marvel And ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania’ Failed At The Box Office
John F. Trent
|
A new report claims that Marvel Studios Vice President Victoria Alonso is no longer part of the company less than a month after The Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger called into question the quality of recent Marvel Studios film and TV series and the most recent film release, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania collapsed at the box office.
Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard attend the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania World Premiere at the Regency Village Theatre on Monday, February 6, 2023 in Westwood, CA.
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit and Aaron Couch report Alonso has exited the company on Friday, but “the reasons for the exit are unclear.”
Alonso joined Marvel Studios in 2006 as the Chief of Visual Effects and Post-Production and was a Co-Producer on the 2008’s Iron Man. She would go on to co-produce Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger before becoming an Executive Producer on Avengers.
In 2021, she had recently been promoted to President of Physical and Post-Production, Visual Effects and Animation Production.
Executive Producer Victoria Alonso attends the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever World Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on October 26, 2022 in Hollywood, CA.
(photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Alonso’s exit comes as Marvel Studios’ most recent release, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania collapsed at the box office. According to The-Numbers, the film has so far grossed only $205.8 million domestically and $256.8 million internationally for a global gross of $462.6 million.
This past weekend the film only grossed a little over $4 million domestically. It also played in 455 less theaters. Given it’s current trajectory it’s unlikely the film will top the unadjusted totals for Ant-Man and the Wasp. That film grossed $216.6 million domestically and $406.4 million internationally for a global gross of $623.1 million.
In fact, it might not even surpass the unadjusted totals for the first Ant-Man film. Ant-Man grossed $180.2 million domestically and $338.6 million internationally for a global gross of $518.8 million.
Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Marvel Studios’ ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2022 MARVEL.
Not only does Alonso’s exit come amid one of the worst performing Marvel Cinematic Universe films to date both at the box office and with audiences, but it also comes amid The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger calling into question the quality of Marvel films and TV series.
Iger spoke at a recent Morgan Stanley conference where he said, “What we have to look at at Marvel is not necessarily the volume of Marvel storytelling, but how many times we go back to the well on certain characters.”
He continued, “Sequels typically work well for us, but do you need a third or a fourth, for instance? Or is it time to turn to other characters? There’s nothing in any way inherently off in terms of the Marvel brand. I think we just have to look at what characters and stories we are mining.”
“And if you look at the trajectory of Marvel over the next five years, you’ll see a lot of newness,” Iger added. “Now, we’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise, but with a whole set of different Avengers, as an example.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: (L-R) The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger and Disney Studios Content Chairman Alan Bergman attend the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania world premiere at Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, California on February 06, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Iger then briefly discussed Star Wars before pointing to the quality of the films and TV shows being produced under Disney’s big brands.
He said, “You know, there’s so much consumer choice right now, and it comes back to, What is differentiated? That’s one thing obviously we have talked about, is those brands: Star Wars, Marvel and Disney and Pixar, for instance. But quality is also a differentiator.”
“I think HBO proved that well, you know, in their halcyon days when high-quality programming made a big difference, and not volume,” he added. “And because the streaming platforms require so much volume, one has to question whether that’s the right direction to go, or if you can be more curated, more — I used the word ‘judicious’ a few times — but I guess, more picky about what you’re making, and to concentrate on quality and not volume.”
Kevin Feige, Alan Bergman and Bob Iger attend the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania World Premiere at the Regency Village Theatre on Monday, February 6, 2023 in Westwood, CA.
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Another factor that could be at play is Alonso’s comments directed at former CEO Bob Chapek during an appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards back in April 2022.
While accepting an award, Alonso said, “If you are a member of the LGBTQIA community and you work at the Walt Disney Company, the last two or three weeks have been a sad event. I’ve asked Mr. Chapek for courage in a 45-minute sit-down.”
“I asked him to look around and truly if what we sell is entertainment for the family, we don’t choose what family. Family is this entire room. Family is the family in Texas, in Arizona, in Florida, and in my family, in my home,” she said.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: (L-R) Oscar Isaac and Victoria Alonso, Executive Producer and Marvel Studios Executive VP of Production attend the Moon Knight Los Angeles Special Launch Event at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 22, 2022. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
RELATED: Marvel Studios Executive Victoria Alonso Blasts Disney CEO Bob Chapek At GLAAD Media Awards
She went on, “So I ask you again Mr. Chapek: please respect—if we’re selling family—take a stand against all of these crazy outdated laws. Take a stand for family.”
“Stop saying that you tolerate us. Nobody tolerates me, let me tell you that. You tolerate the heat in Florida, the humidity in Arizona or Florida, the dryness in Arizona and Texas, and you tolerate a tantrum in a two-year-old. But you don’t tolerate us. We deserve the right to live, love, and to have. More importantly, we deserve an origin story,” Alonso professed.
ROME, ITALY – OCTOBER 24: Victoria Alonso attends the photocall of the movie “Eternals” during the 16th Rome Film Fest 2021 on October 24, 2021 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images for Marvel)
After pointing out a member of the audience named Max, Alonso then declared, “I encourage all of you to stop being silent. Silence is death. Silence is poison. But if you don’t stand up, if you don’t fight, if you don’t give your money, and if you don’t vote, then all we can do is have a party and be gay.”
“Fight, fight, fight! As long as I am at Marvel Studios I will fight for representation for all of us,” she proclaimed.
#VictoriaAlonso no solo es de las mujeres más poderosas en Hollywood (presidenta ejecutiva de producción en Marvel) sino también es de las más valientes porque no le tiene miedo a su jefe Bob Chapek (CEO Disney) a la hora de defender los derechos LGBT+
pic.twitter.com/vuiBqUmJE5— Stivi De Tivi (@StiviDeTivi) April 3, 2022
It’s possible current Disney CEO Bob Iger might not want people like Alonso using awards ceremonies to publicly call him out as Alonso did to his predecessor.
It is unlikely to do with the content of Alonso’s speech given Iger indicated the company would double down on wokeness during a town hall event. When asked about the Florida law that banned the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools, Iger responded, “Well, first of all, our LGBTQ employees are very important to us and we care deeply about them. That is a given.”
He continued, “Secondly, this company has been telling stories for a hundred years, and those stories have had a meaningful, positive impact on the world. And one of the reasons that they’ve had a meaningful, positive impact is one of our core values is inclusion, acceptance, and tolerance. And we can’t lose that. We just can’t lose that.”
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
Still another factor are the reports from VFX artists and and companies describing horrid conditions put on them by Marvel Studios.
Following the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, one VFX artist told CNET, “Working on Marvel projects ends up being incredibly stressful, and this is a widely known issue throughout the VFX industry, it’s not specific to any one VFX house.”
Another artist told the outlet, “I have worked on several projects for Marvel and other tentpole films. For many years, I did work long hours, mostly unpaid. No longer. At no time do I work for free, nor will I work an all-nighter for a perceived emergency.”
(L-R): Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor and Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
It’s unclear what Alonso’s exit means for Marvel Studios at this stage. Alsono was one of the biggest advocates for “representation” and woke ideology within Marvel Studios.
Back in June 2021 during an appearance at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Alonso said, “The reason we have that success consistently is because our audience is global. You cannot have a global audience and not somehow start to represent it… For us, it was really, really, really important to have that.”
She continued, “For the longest of time, we heard a woman-led film will never open. I say, ‘Please check, Captain Marvel made a lot of money.’ Then they always told us that Black Panther was never going to open and that nobody wanted a completely Black cast, and that made $1.3B.”
“So you can look at it from the social point of view, the cultural point of view. But truthfully, this is a business. From a fiscal point of view, you are leaving money on the table by not representing,” she explained.
Xochitl Gomez and Executive Producer Victoria Alonso attend the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness World Premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Monday, May 2, 2022.
(photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
She then provided some numbers about Marvel’s audience, “I think 51% of our audience is female, 28% of our audience is Hispanic. If we don’t represent the people that watch what we make, eventually they’ll go elsewhere because somebody else will figure it out.”
Alonso concluded, “We can only tell stories if we succeed and actually have money to make them. So the idea being, ‘If it makes money, why not make it?’ To me it seemed like a very simple equation, but it took a lot of time, a lot of talking.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 29: (L-R) EVP of Production at Marvel Studios Victoria Alonso and Lia McHugh attend the Black Widow World Premiere Fan Event at Dolby Theatre on June 29, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
While some might be quick to point out her exit might signal a change in direction at Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company, the ideology Alonso pushed has already captured Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige who has repeatedly indicated he would be using Marvel Studios films to promote the sin of sodomy.
Back in 2021, Feige said, “There have been gay heroes before in the comics. It is more than past time in the movies. It’s just the start.”
“There have been gay heroes before in the comics. It is more than past time in the movies,” Kevin Feige says of the Marvel film’s first gay superhero. “It’s just the start.” https://t.co/F6rov2HB1g pic.twitter.com/XZXMs5G4zo
— Variety (@Variety) October 19, 2021
Feige also recently lavished praise on the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series that went out of his way to attack former Marvel Studios fans.
On the show, Feige told Entertainment Weekly, “She-Hulk, for example, was an experiment: ‘Let’s just do a legal comedy.’ What if Ally McBeal was a superhero? How do we do a legal sitcom with an incredibly expensive CG character in the middle of every episode? And I couldn’t be happier with the tone that Jessica Gao has set for that. It’s a very different tone than many of other projects have, and that was totally intentional.”
So while Alonso might be gone, Feige is still in charge and he’s clearly captured by the same ideology that has lead to box office failures like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
NEXT: Marvel Producer Victoria Alonso Believes The Name X-Men Is “Outdated”
More About:Movies Television