Kevin Feige Reveals Marvel Will Cut Back On Disney+ Shows After No Marvel Series Cracked The Top 15 Streaming Shows Of 2022
Kevin Feige, chief executive of Marvel Studios, announced that Disney+ will reduce its production of Disney+ shows after a disaster 2022 in which none of their shows made it to the top 15 streaming shows.
Bob Iger, Alan Bergman, Kevin Feige and Alan Feige attended the Ant-Man, The Wasp Quantumania World Premiere at Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, CA on Monday, February 6, 2023.
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Nielsen’s Top 15 Streaming Programms of 2022 was revealed back in January by Nielsen, and only three Disney+ programs made the list. Encanto, BlueyAnd The Simpsons.
2022 Top 15 Streaming Programs (Overall) via Nielsen
When looking at Nielsen’s Top 15 Original Streaming Programs, nothing from Disney+ made the list and that includes the Marvel Studios productions that released in 2022: Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, I Am GrootAnd She-Hulk: Attorney at law.
2022 Top 15 Streaming Programs (Originals) via Nielsen
In Entertainment Weekly interviewed me for a broad range of topicsFeige stated that Disney+ programming would be cut.
Feige said, “We want Marvel Studios and the MCU projects to really stand out and stand above. So, people will see that as we get further into Phase 5 and 6. The pace at which we’re putting out the Disney+ shows will change so they can each get a chance to shine.”
He was asked if he would spread them out or put out fewer shows per annum. “Both, I think.”
Later on in the interview, he would reveal. “I think when we are doing about eight projects a year — and again, I said this is going to shift a little bit — they all have to be different. They all have to stand apart and stand alone and be different from one another.”
Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso and Kevin Feige attend the Ant-Man & The Wasp Quantumania World premiere at Regency Village Theatre, Monday, February 6, 2023, Westwood, CA.
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Feige also indicated that future television programs will be episodic and not serialized.
He said, “We want to do shows that can only be shows. I want to continue to make them even more episodic, which may seem counterintuitive. But I do think there is something fun about leaning back and watching an episode that can be relatively self-contained.”
“Lost was an incredibly influential show because it was this serialized story, which was not seen in television much. Now it’s been how long, 20 years? Since then, almost everything has become like that,” Feige tated.
“So now — and I think you’re seeing this not just with our shows, but with many other shows — you’re starting to see the fun of a self-contained, episodic story week to week. We’re going to experiment with that in some of our upcoming things,” He said.
Kevin Feige, Dominique Thorne, and Kevin Feige attended the Ant-Man, The Wasp Quantumania World premiere at Regency Village Theatre Monday, February 6, 2023 in Westwood (CA).
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Feige continued to say that “Yes. I mean, cliffhangers are great, and I like watching a show where you should go to bed, but you see the cliffhanger and you just have to watch the next episode. You certainly want to keep people engaged.”
“But I’m a big Star Trek fan, and I still find it soothing to watch an episode of Next Gen with a beginning and an end. So, I think we’re going to keep experimenting with that going forward,” he reiterated.
(L-R): Griffin Matthews as Luke Jacobson and Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Marvel Studios. Photo by courtesy. © 2022 MARVEL.
He went on to say that much of the episodic storytelling would be done in future episodes. Daredevil: Born Again series.
Feige responded to questions about the series. “It’s Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, and they’re amazing actors and storytellers in their own right. That’s sort of what I was talking about with the fun of episodic television: That’s really where we’re experimenting with that, with Daredevil in particular.”
Daredevil (Charlie Cox), happily accepts the walk-of shame in She-Hulk Season 1 Episode 8 “Ribbit and Rip It” (2022), Marvel Entertainment via Disney Plus
Feige’s comments about cutting back at Marvel also come after The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios’ parent company, announced they would be taking significant cost cutting measures to the tune of $3 billion in non-sports related content and even laying off around 7,000 employees.
Disney’s CFO Christine McCarthy detailed these cuts would primarily come from the company’s marketing. She stated that it would be 50% marketing and 30% labor with 20% technology.
It’s quite possible Feige is trying to put on a pretty face as Iger and Disney leadership axe the amount of streaming content they are creating especially when it can’t even break into the top 15 lists of most streamed programs.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: (L-R) Producer and Marvel Studios President and Marvel CCO Kevin Feige and Producer Stephen Broussard attend the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania world premiere at Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, California on February 06, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Disney
Feige’s announcement that the company would reduce the number of series it makes and shift from serialized programming to episodic is what you think.
NEXT: James Gunn Attacks Past DC Leadership, But Also Appears To Blame Marvel Studios And Kevin Feige
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