According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bob Iger has admitted to analysts that mistakes have been made. Specifically, he was talking about quantity being taken over quality for some key Disney brands. On a call to discuss the quarterly earnings, the CEO said the solid quarter is as a direct result of them doing less, and taking more time.
He pointed to the critical reception of Thunderbolts as more evidence that their reduced output is paying quality dividends. He told analysts a year ago that Marvel, for instance, would reduce its television output from four series a year down to two. At the movies, the output would also fall by a similar amount.
This means less rushing and more of an exclusive event feeling around the releases:
“In our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more […] We’ve also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality.
Frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much. By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe it will result in better quality. I think the first and best example of that is ‘Thunderbolts.’”
Iger said he has high hopes for a 2025 / 2026 slate that includes live-action Lilo & Stitch, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Tron: Ares, and Avatar: Fire and Ash in 2025, then Avengers: Doomsday, The Mandalorian & Grogu, and live-action Moana next year.
On television, Daredevil: Born Again was significantly better than anything Marvel has put out on streaming for a number of years.