The systemic problems of Disney are finally taking a toll on Marvel Entertainment. As troubles shake the board and Disney stock keeps falling under Bob Iger’s tenure, Marvel is laying off employees.
Marvel Studios is coming off of its worst year ever, as The Marvels broke records for low sales, and fans were apathetic to the high-budget Secret Invasion and the subsequent diversity fest of Echo. Coupled with Jonathan Majors being ousted as Kang for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it looks like the next phase of Marvel’s plans unraveled right before viewers’ eyes like Thanos snapping it out of existence.
The first warning for the industry came last year as IDW Publishing laid off nearly 40% of its staff. The license-heavy company posted major losses and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange amidst its troubles, with many wondering when the shoe would drop to hit one of the larger comic entertainment companies.
In March, Bob Iger hinted changes would be coming to Disney after this recent round of expensive failures. He said, “You have to kill things you no longer believe in, and that’s not easy in this business, because either you’ve gotten started, you have some sunk costs, or it’s a relationship with either your employees or with the creative community.”
Bob Iger also said in February, “We’ve reduced output, particularly at Marvel. When you fix or when you address these issues with — in movies, you do three things. You get aggressive at making sure the films you’re making can be even better. Sometimes, you kill projects you don’t believe in. And, of course, you put new things in the pipeline that you do believe in that you have much more confidence in, and we’re doing all of that.”
After a fight with the board to keep his post, Marvel Entertainment is now laying off fifteen employees. According to Hollywood Reporter, these will be positions in production and development at Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios. No word has come from the comic book end of the industry yet if the slashes might eventually impact there.
Disney has already been producing less Marvel content and pushing back releases of shows they had slated for their latest M-She-U diversity fest, like Ironheart, a black female replacement for Iron Man. It appears the higher-ups realize the writing is on the wall, and fans have had enough of this type of content.
However, they’re still charging ahead in some regards, with Disney slated to release The Acolyte this year in the Star Wars realm. It will be a very expensive lesson for Disney to keep trying to force DEI into their programming and not allow fans to enjoy what they want out of properties like Marvel and Star Wars.
What do you think of Marvel Entertainment’s layoffs? Leave a comment and let us know.
NEXT: Disney Doubles Down: Nelson Peltz Loses Proxy Fight As Bob Iger Takes A Victory Lap
Leave a Reply