Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which kicked off in January 2021 with Disney+’s WandaVision, saw the MCU’s most content-filled phase ever, with seven films released in its duration (Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) as well as 11 television offerings (WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, I Am Groot shorts, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special).
If you thought so much content from the MCU would be a tough act to follow, you were right, as a new report has revealed that Marvel Studios will be reducing its TV and movie output for the remainder of Phase 5 and heading into Phase 6.
“Marvel’s target output has been reduced,” Above the Line’s Jeff Sneider revealed on The Hot Mic podcast “I don’t know if this has been reported, or if this was a line in the trades, or whatever, but I’m told that the target output has been reduced from four shows and four movies a year to two shows and three movies a year. And of course that’s malleable. You could get one on either side of that, or whatever.”
Recent comments from Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige seem to reinforce this cutback of content notion, with Feige saying, “I do think one of the powerful aspects of being at Marvel Studios is having these films and shows hit the zeitgeist. It is harder to hit the zeitgeist when there’s so much product out there — and so much ‘content,’ as they say, which is a word that I hate.”
As of this writing, 2023 still has Guardians of the Galaxy (May 5, 2023) and The Marvels (November 3rd, 2023) slated for release. 2024 sees Captain America: New World Order (May 3rd, 2024), Thunderbolts (July 26th, 2024), Blade (September 6th, 2024) and Deadpool 3 (November 8th, 2024) slated for release. 2025 currently has Fantastic Four (February 14, 2025) and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2nd, 2025) on the schedule, with five more unrevealed Marvel movies to release in 2025 that will lead into Avengers: Secret Wars in May of 2026. How the news that Marvel Studios will be reducing its TV and movie output heading into the next phases will reconfigure the release schedule of these upcoming movies is still unknown, but we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
What do you think of the fact that Marvel Studios will be reducing its TV and movie output heading into the next phases? Let us know in the comments.
