Highlights
- Marvel Studios is allegedly scrapping sequels to Eternals, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel due to Disney’s cost-cutting measures.
- Rumors claim Kevin Feige wanted an Eternals sequel, but Disney CEO Bob Iger believes it will flop at the box office.
- Recent MCU movies like The Marvels and Ant-Man 3 did not perform well financially, leading to a focus on stronger franchises.
MarvelStudios won’t make sequels to 3 MCU franchises anytime soon due to Disney’s cost-cutting measures.
Marvel Studios is reportedly making huge changes in its line-up of superhero movies. Previous reports claimed that Eternals is getting a sequel and it’s already in development. Meanwhile, there are rumors that Ant-Man and Captain Marvel are returning for another installment despite both films not getting a green light yet. However, Marvel Studios has remained mum about Eternals 2 and Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger recently confirmed that they would reduce the Marvel output and focus on its stronger franchises.
According to Daniel Richtman, the anticipated Eternals, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel sequels are no longer coming to the big screens. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige reportedly wanted to produce an Eternals sequel, but Iger allegedly does not, believing it’s a guaranteed box office flop. Consequently, projects like Ant-Man 4 and Captain Marvel 3 are not happening, as Disney wants to avoid risks and focus on likely hits.
Marvel Studios Phase 5 is expected to feature plenty of sequels, but it’s also not a secret that the recent movies fell short at the box office. For instance, The Marvels underperformed at the box office and only made $206 million worldwide. The sequel titled The Marvels had a production budget of $274.8 million and the worst opening weekend in the MCU history. It also broke records for being the lowest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Marvel Studios losing money on the sequel, it is understandable that the company will not bet on another Captain Marvel movie. Ant-Man 3 also didn’t perform well at the box office. Its numbers were better than the Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but the film failed to surpass its predecessors’ success, which was also not a good sign for Marvel Studios to push through with the franchise. Thus, Ant-Man 4 is unlikely to see the light of day.
Eternals, which featured new faces of superheroes, including Thena (Angelina Jolie), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Black Knight (Kit Harrington), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) and Eros (Styles), to name a few, was Marvel Studios’ biggest outing since The Avengers. There were massive expectations from the game-changer movie, and it did well at the box office. However, Eternals wasn’t well received and was one of the worst-reviewed MCU movies.
Eternals became a subject of numerous controversies for several reasons. First, it featured the first openly gay main character, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), causing the film to be banned in several Middle Eastern countries, including Kuwait and Oman. Second, it raised eyebrows due to a sex scene between Ikaris and Sersi. Marvel Studios’ audience includes kids; the sensitive scene is a no-no for younger viewers. There were also concerns about the casting. Considering all these facts and Marvel Studios’ decision to play safe and only bet on guaranteed hits, it’s understandable if the studio will not release Eternals 2.
Marvel Studios films are available on Disney Plus.
Source: Daniel Richtman
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