Marvel laid off 15 staffers on Monday, including lower-level production and development employees in Marvel Studios in Burbank as well as employees in the Marvel Entertainment division in New York.
The layoffs were predicated by the overall reduction in Marvel’s slate of film and TV titles after the challenges of the 2023 releases led the company to reassess the rapid increase in productions to feed the launch of Disney+. They’re also meant to address Disney’s decision in March 2023 to absorb the Marvel Entertainment banner, which had operated as an independent unit, into other divisions of the company, which created redundant positions.
The latter decision has already led to the dismissal of Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter from his position as chairman of Marvel Entertainment, as well as two other top executives. Perlmutter was a staunch supporter of Nelson Peltz’s recent failed attempt to join the Disney board of directors.
In the February earnings call, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger unveiled a strategic initiative to recalibrate the studio’s production slate. The move responds to various industry challenges with an eye on elevating the quality of the company’s cinematic offerings.
“So, the first step that we’ve taken is that we’ve reduced volume,” Iger said on the call. “We’ve reduced output, particularly at Marvel. When you fix or when you address these issues within movies, you do three things. You get aggressive at making sure the films you’re making can be even better. Sometimes, you kill projects you don’t believe in. And, of course, you put new things in the pipeline that you do believe in that you have much more confidence in, and we’re doing all of that.” Marvel Studios has just one movie this year — “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
The studio is not anticipating any additional impacts.
From Variety US