Disney CEO Bob Iger has offered an update on Marvel Studios’ new movie and series rollout plan. They will now release no more than two to three movies and two shows per year.
So, up to five Marvel projects a year. That’s still a lot of content in a year, but they are going to make sure things don’t get out of hand.
Iger explained that this is part of Disney’s strategy to reduce output and focus on quality, a strategy “that’s particularly true with Marvel.”
He said: “We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three, and we’re working hard on what that path is.”
Iger went on to say that Marvel has “a couple of good films in ’25 and then we’re heading to more ‘Avengers,’ which we’re extremely excited about.”
He added: “Overall, I feel great about the slate. It’s something that I’ve committed to spending more and more time on. The team is one that I have tremendous confidence in and the IP that we’re mining, including all the sequels that we’re doing, is second to none.”
As of right now, though, the 2025 release calendar has four films coming from Marvel Studios including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four, and Blade.
There are also four Marvel movies set for 2026, including the fifth Avengers movie. This year, 2024, we are only getting one Marvel movie with Deadpool & Wolverine, because that will make all of the money.
In regards to the TV side of things, Iger says that a portion of the upcoming series are “a vestige of basically a desire in the past to increase volume.” Those upcoming shows include Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Daredevil: Born Again, and Iron Heart.
Iger talked about Disney’s focus on sequels and original films saying that the focus is more on franchise films: “We’re gonna balance sequels with originals. Specifically in animation, we had gone through a period where our original films and animation, both Disney and Pixar, were dominating. We’re now swinging back a bit to lean on sequels.”
I hate that they are going to lean on sequels. Some of those upcoming sequels include Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 5.
What are your thoughts on Marvel’s release plan? Hopefully, the quality of the films will be better moving forward.