Is Marvel making too many series?
This question has not come up very often in the past – generally all of Marvel’s films, and most of its series, have been very successful. But recently some of the Marvel series have not been well received. Thor: Love & Showers it was largely unsuccessful with critics Thor: Ragnarok, and it grossed about $90 million less worldwide to boot. And Marvel’s latest big-screen release, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has earned some of the worst reviews in Marvel history and now it looks like it won’t be even that crowded worldwide Ant-Man and the Waspdespite its much larger stakes and setting (and apparent budget) and the debut of the new Marvel mega-villain, Kang the Conqueror.
Apparently, the issue of the product of the Marvel series is something that the new CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, has also been thinking about. At an appearance this week at a tech conference (via Deadline), Iger said that Marvel has “many more stories to tell” thanks to its vast library of thousands of characters.
“What we need to look at at Marvel is not necessarily how many Marvel stories we tell,” he said, “but how many times we go back to the well on certain characters.” Sequels usually work well for us. Do you need a third and a fourth, for example, or is it time to switch to other characters?”
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Marvel has currently officially announced nine films on its upcoming slate. Of those nine, six are series: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Captain America: New World Order, Deadpool 3, Avengers: The Kang Dynastyand Avengers: Secret Wars. And of the three “original” films, two are remakes previously made by other studios (blade and Fantastic Four). And the third original, Thunderboltsis also a series of sorts, as it mostly features characters that have appeared in other Marvel shows and movies like Bucky Barnes, Black Widow, Red Guardian, and US Agent.
We’ll have to see if these ideas are reflected in what Marvel announces for the rest of Phase Six and beyond. Actually, Iger’s thoughts may mean less than you might think; he’s only supposed to stay on as CEO of Disney for a few more years, and Marvel has already announced its slate of spring 2026. By then, another CEO will likely be in charge, and comments could have a different take on where the MCU should go. .
The next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3payable in theaters onwards
Every Marvel movie ever made, ranked from worst to first
From the Captain America linear to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawe ranked all of Marvel’s history at the movies.
