Marvel Studios Hit With Layoffs

Marvel Entertainment is the latest corner of the entertainment industry to reportedly be hit with layoffs. On Monday afternoon, it was reported that the company has laid off fifteen employees, both at Marvel Entertainment’s New York offices and Marvel Studios’ offices in Burbank. According to reports, the layoffs included a number of junior employees at Marvel Studios’ production and development arms.

The decision was reportedly made amid the company’s efforts to both streamline its slate of upcoming projects, something that both Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger have hinted at the company doing. Marvel Studios currently only has one film, Deadpool & Wolverine, scheduled for its 2024 slate. Other layoffs were reportedly done to cut redundancies caused when Marvel Entertainment was folded into Marvel Studios in the spring of 2023.

Will Marvel Studios Make Less Movies?

Iger has hinted that Marvel Studios might be scaling back on future projects, both with regards to Disney+ original series and theatrical ventures. As Iger put it, the franchise will be able to better prioritize Marvel projects — and the needs of the audience — going forward. 

“A lot of people think it’s audience fatigue, it’s not audience fatigue. They want great films,” Iger said during an interview with CNBC last month. “And if you build it great, they will come and there are countless examples of that. Some are ours and some are others. Oppenheimer is a perfect example of that. Just a fantastic film,” Iger said. “Focus is really important. We reduced the output of Marvel, both number of films they make, and the number of TV shows, and that really becomes critical, but I feel good about the team. I feel good about the IP we’re making. I talked about a lot of the projects. We look years ahead, really. And it’s iterative.”

What Is Marvel Studios’ Next Movie?

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wolverine. The film will star Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, Hugh Jackman as Logan Howlett / Wolverine, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, Matthew Macfadyen as Agent Paradox, and Emma Corrin in a currently-unknown role. Jennifer Garner is expected to reprise her role as Elektra from the Daredevil and Elektra films of the 2000s. Deadpool & Wolverine is directed by Shawn Levy, with a script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

“As far as crafting the Deadpool and Wolverine story, I just felt privileged every day because you’re talking about two massive movie stars in their most iconic roles,” Levy shared in a recent interview with ScreenRant. “It also gave me an opportunity. It’s the third Deadpool movie, but it’s not Deadpool 3. It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool & Wolverine. And it’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.”

What do you think of Marvel Studios being hit with layoffs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

h/t: Deadline