Disney CEO Bob Iger outlines new strategy to prioritise quality over quantity

Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced the company’s plans to gradually reduce the number of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films and TV shows released annually.

Last year, Marvel saw nearly all of its movies, including "Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania" and "The Marvels", underperform at the box office. As a result, critics began to question whether the recent influx of content had alienated fans, leading to "superhero fatigue".

During the company’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday (7th May), Iger addressed Disney’s plans to prioritise quality over quantity, particularly with Marvel.

“We’re gradually going to decrease the volume and probably move to about two TV series a year instead of the four that had become standard, and reduce our film output from perhaps four a year to two, or a maximum of three,” he said, according to Variety.

“And we’re working hard on determining that path,” he added, mentioning that next year will feature “a couple of strong films” before “moving towards more Avengers, which we’re extremely excited about”.

“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 exploring, including all the sequels that we’re developing, is second to none,” Iger said.

Regarding television, the Disney CEO mentioned that many forthcoming releases, such as the new "WandaVision" spinoff "Agatha", are “a vestige of basically a desire in the past to increase volume”.

Elsewhere on the call, Iger discussed the company’s plans to strike a balance between sequels and original films.

“We’re going to balance sequels with originals,” he said. “Specifically in animation, we had gone through a period where our original films in animation, both Disney and Pixar, were dominant. We’re now swinging back a bit to focus more on sequels.”

In an interview last month with The Independent, "The Batman" star Paul Dano argued that the public’s superhero fatigue is the result of an erratic film industry.

“It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to think, ‘OK – what now?’ Hopefully, from that, somebody either breathes new life into [comic book movies], or something else blossoms which is not superheroes,” he said. “I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment.”

This summer, on 26th July, Marvel will debut its first movie of the year, "Deadpool & Wolverine", marking the start of Phase Five. The upcoming Deadpool sequel will see Ryan Reynolds’ titular superhero team up with Hugh Jackman’s X-Men character to defeat a common enemy.