Marvel Is Suffering Their Biggest Crisis Ever

Coupled with the troublesome reshooting issues suffered on the upcoming movie The Marvels, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has also had significant trouble with its VFX production and staff. After a long and successful stint at the top, the MCU may be facing its biggest hurdles yet. 

In September 2023, the Marvel crisis was particularly present when an annual retreat for Marvel creatives was held in Palm Springs, Florida, and the vibe of the retreat was much different than past gatherings. 

The recent Marvel crisis overshadowed a typically upbeat environment, and the feeling of the gathering was instead riddled with angst following a series of Marvel disappointments on-screen and the bad press brought on by one of the brand’s leading actors, Jonathan Majors. 

The Jonathan Majors element of the Marvel crisis was at the top of the list for discussion at the retreat. Studio chief Kevin Feige and the rest of the group had to reconsider what to do about the impact of Majors’ high-profile legal battles regarding charges of domestic violence.

Though Jonathan still insists that he is innocent of the charges and a victim in the incident, the damage to his reputation is intense, and there is a chance he will not prevail in court. 

Marvel higher-ups must consider what to do next in the midst of a crisis, as the actor is poised to take his villainous character (Kang the Conqueror) to new heights in a series of upcoming sequels, spinoffs, and television shows. Rewriting the content featuring Kang the Conqueror has also been challenging given the recent WGA strikes. 

If the Jonathan Majors incident wasn’t enough to cause stress for Marvel, the crisis continues with the fast-approaching November release of The Marvels. The studio has spent a lot of money reshooting several scenes for the movie in hopes of creating a more cohesive storyline. 

The director of The Marvels, Nia Decosta, may also be to blame for the movie’s struggle to succeed, as she reportedly left production to begin working on another project months before the film was completed. In test viewings, audiences were largely underwhelmed with the film, setting the release up to be a relative flop for the brand, adding to the already lengthy list of struggling productions via Marvel Studios. 

To top it all off, Marvel is in the midst of a crisis in its VFX department. Their FX staff feels overworked and hardpressed to keep pace with the mass of Marvel content being released, and the quality of the VFX in Marvel movies has consequently been compromised. 

Though Marvel is facing a tumultuous storm ahead, their crisis likely won’t mean an end to the franchise, but a slowdown is in order. With all of the challenges afoot, it’s clear that Marvel desperately needs to reconsider releasing less content and lowering their enormous filming budgets if they hope to stay on top of the game in the coming years.