Appearing at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Disney CEO Bob Iger is making waves within the Marvel Cinematic Universe online community with statements regarding The Marvels.
Some fans are taking Iger's comments as a not-so-subtle jab at director Nia DaCosta, stating that the Captain Marvel sequel lacked supervision during filming.
"The Marvels was shot during Covid,” Iger explained. “There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.”
It's no secret that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige keeps a tight grip on the overall narrative of the MCU's trajectory. However, it's a lesser-known fact that Feige's team of executives essentially act as his eyes and ears on set: members of this executive-level team include Louis D'Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Nate Moore, and several others.
It seems Iger is stating that COVID-related protocols kept Feige's eyes and ears off set, and that's how The Marvels got off track.
Some MCU fans coming to DaCosta's defense are pointing out that no one is suggesting Peyton Reed needed supervision on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($476.1 million gross from a $200 million production budget) or that James Mangold needed someone looking over his shoulder on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($384 million gross from a $295 million production budget).
Iger could have pointed to any number of factors that led to the film's underperformance, including the actor's strike and their inability to promote the film or the small but vocal faction of MCU fans who proudly spewed vitriol across the internet that they were never going to support a film starring three women.
The Marvels is currently on track to end its theatrical run at roughly $300 million worldwide from a production budget of $219 million. It's certainly a gigantic misfire for the once unflappable MCU but it's not exactly great PR for Iger to throw DaCosta under the bus, either.
The Marvels stars Brie Larson (Short Term 12, Fast X) as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris (The Photograph, Candyman) as Monica Rambeau/Photon, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, Zawe Ashton (Not Safe For Work, Nocturnal Animals) as Dar-Benn.
Also appearing in supporting roles are Gary Lewis (His Dark Materials, The Bay), Park Seo-joon (Itaewon Class, Concrete Utopia), and Samuel L. Jackson (Secret Invasion).
Teaming up changes everything everyone.
Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team-up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as ‘The Marvels.'