Bob Iger Plans to Cut Back on STAR WARS and MARVEL Streaming Content in 2023
By Movieguide® Staff
Disney plans to pull back on the amount of Star Wars and Marvel content on Disney+ as the company tries to rebound from a financially shaky year in 2022.
The Disney CEO said: “We want the quality on the screen, but we have to look at what they cost us.”
The Hollywood Reporter notes:
The directive to rein in costs and output arrives as Disney prepares to release Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Feb. 17 and as The Mandalorian season three awaits its March 1 Disney+ debut. Marvel is Disney’s most important supplier of product, the subsidiary with the highest output — and under Iger’s directive, it could feel cuts the soonest. “There is going to be a level of rigor on Marvel and across the entire company,” one company insider says. “Numbers matter now, and costs are going to be outlined and enforced.”
Previously, Marvel President Kevin Feige green-lit five new Marvel shows for 2023, WHAT IF…? Season 2, LOKI Season 2, IRONHEART, and AGATHA: COVEN OF CHAOS.
According to THR, the only surefire projects for 2023 are LOKI Season 2, as well as SECRET INVASION starring Samuel L. Jackson.
In 2021 and 2022, which encompasses Phase 4 of Marvel Studios release slate, there were 18 new projects.
Despite Feige’s initial vigor in creating new movies, spinoff series and other MCU-related content, he confirmed Iger’s decision to slow down.
“The pace at which we’re putting out the Disney+ shows will change,” Feige told Entertainment Weekly.
Despite Marvel’s presence on the big screen, STAR WARS fans haven’t had a theatrical release since 2019.
Disney has released a number of animated and non-animated series, such as THE BAD BATCH Season 2, ANDOR, and a third season of THE MANDALORIAN coming March 1.
“Lucasfilm may ramp up, but it will have to abide by the same fiscal discipline as the rest of the company,” a source revealed to THR.
As streamers navigate a financially challenging year, Disney hopes to focus their efforts on their already successful IP.
While a less amount of content will inevitable save Disney money, promoting moral, pro-family, and uplifting content will win back their loyal, family audiences.
The same goes for their theatrical releases, as they work to recover from box office bombs from 2022, LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD.
Movieguide® previously reported:
With returning CEO Bob Iger at the helm, Walt Disney Studios recently revealed that sequels for successful franchises TOY STORY and FROZEN are in the works.
The company also announced a sequel to 2016’s ZOOTOPIA to round out their upcoming slate of animated projects.
After Iger took over as CEO, the former Disney exec made it clear that Disney would return to its creative style that made its brands like TOY STORY and FROZEN profitable.
“We are leaning into our unrivaled brands,” Iger said on a recent earnings call.
After 2022’s box office bombs LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD, Iger and Disney hope to course-correct by returning to what fans love; moral, uplifting, and family-friendly animated adventures.
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