Marvel Studios Killing Entire Project Division
Marvel Studios continues to recalibrate its approach after some underwhelming responses to recent projects, and it seems part of that recalibration is cutting ‘Special Presentations’ from the ongoing content plans.
No More Marvel Special Presentations
Comicbook.com reported that these presentations are supposedly being cut after the underperformance of Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+.
While both of those projects were almost universally praised, it seems like they may not have received the viewership numbers for Marvel to justify more of these mini-films.
Marvel Studios is certainly cutting down on its output, presumably to help combat the wave of superhero fatigue that has taken a toll on the company’s box office performance.
Other Marvel Projects, Just Not These
Notably, the studio is only releasing one film in theaters in 2024, the highly anticipated Deadpool 3. Even the Disney+ output is slowing down, with Echo, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and X-Men 97’ all premiering throughout the year.
With that being said, fans are no doubt going to be disappointed about the Special Presentations being cut by Marvel Studios. Even if they didn’t perform up to expectations, Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special were both great additions to the MCU.
The former was unlike anything else in the MCU and gave us a truly great throwback to black-and-white monster films, while the latter was a hilarious and heartfelt star-studded holiday outing.
Projects To Come?
Of course, if Marvel Studios is cutting future Special Presentations, it does leave fans wondering what will become of the announced specials and the rumored specials that were on the slate.
Following the release of Agatha, we were supposed to see a special about the Witches’ Road, so that is presumably up in the air or it will be integrated into the MCU some other way.
Disappointingly, this also likely means that we won’t be seeing the rumored specials about characters like Nova and Silver Surfer.
Nova And Silver Surfer?
Of course, the Marvel Studios Special Presentations for Nova and Silver Surfer were rumored to merely be introductions for the characters. If these are cut, we’ll likely be introduced to them in other projects.
Still, it seems like we’re missing out on opportunities to spend time with these characters that we wouldn’t be getting if they were competing for screen time in other projects.
Releasing On Disney+
It seems likely that Marvel Studios is making this decision from a financial standpoint, considering both Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special were so well-liked by fans.
Since Marvel is releasing these projects on Disney+, it’s a lot harder to see tangible financial returns from either of them. While fans may love these projects, it doesn’t make much financial sense if it isn’t bringing in new subscribers to the Disney+ streaming platform.
Plans For The Future?
It will be interesting to see if Marvel Studios decides these Special Presentations are worth bringing back in the future, but for now, it seems like we probably shouldn’t count on any new ones anytime soon.
For now, you can check out the most recent Marvel series, Loki, on Disney+. You can also check out the newest MCU film, The Marvels, in theaters.
