The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Victoria Alonso, a longtime and high-profile executive at Marvel Studios, left the company last Friday.
There's currently no word on the reason for her shock exit, but she's been part of the MCU from the very start, joining Marvel Studios in 2006 as head of Visual Effects and Post-Production. Part of the original team that famously formed the studio above a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Beverly Hills prior to being acquired by Disney, Alonso was a massive part of this franchise.
A co-producer on all the early Marvel Studios movies - starting with Iron Man in 2008 - she later became an executive producer on The Avengers in 2012. She's served the same role on all subsequent releases and was heavily involved with the Disney+ TV shows as well.
In 2021, Alonso was upped to President, Physical and Post-Production, Visual Effects and Animation Production.
Until an official statement is released or we receive clarification from insiders, Alonso's departure from Marvel Studios is bound to be the talk of the town. Given that the studio has had well-publicised issues in recent years working with VFX teams and an animation arm that's seemingly in disarray (we keep hearing conflicting reports about that entire slate of projects, including What If...? season 2 and Spider-Man: Freshman Year), we can't help but wonder what's happened.
Alonso has long been a big part of Marvel Studios' inclusivity efforts and, as a gay woman herself, was outspoken when it came to Disney's dispute with Florida's "Parental Rights in Education" bill.
Of course, many of you might remember her best for saying the X-Men name was "outdated" due to how many female superheroes are part of the team!
Alonso's contributions at Marvel Studios were invaluable, though, and at a time when the MCU has delivered some critical and commercial disappointments in the midst of a messy start to its Multiverse Saga, this is another big blow.
Stay tuned for updates.