Bob Iger says it’s time for ‘newness’ from Marvel movies

‘I think we just have to look at what characters and stories we’re mining’

Disney Results (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Disney’s Bob Iger has said that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs some “newness”.

During an appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference this week, the 72-year-old businessman was asked whether Marvel needs to carry on with multiple sequels for individual characters.

“Sequels typically worked well for us,” Iger responded. “Do you need a third and a fourth, for instance? Or is it time to turn to other characters?

“There’s nothing in any way inherently off in terms of the Marvel brand,” he added. “I think we just have to look at what characters and stories we’re mining, and you look at the trajectory of Marvel over the next five years, you’ll see a lot of newness.

“We’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise, but with a whole different set of Avengers.”

Iger’s remarks come after box office disappointment for the most recent MCU film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

According to reports, the film earned $363.6m at the worldwide box office. The numbers include $167.3m from the domestic market and $196.3m from overseas territories.

The film dropped 69 per cent at the box office in its second weekend, marking the second-biggest drop in MCU history.

In other news, last month, Iger announced that the Walt Disney Co will cut about 7,000 jobs as part of a companywide cost-savings plan and “strategic reorganisation”.

He said that Disney is embarking on a “significant transformation” that management believes will lead to improved profitability in the company’s streaming business.

The company, which owns Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar, will focus more on its core brands and franchises, Iger said.

The executive also announced changes to how executives will operate Disney’s various divisions. Specifically, creative executives will now be responsible for determining what movies, TV series, or other content to produce, as well as the marketing and distribution.