After a string of disappointments at both the box office and Disney+, The Walt Disney Company is changing its Marvel Cinematic Universe plans.
It didn’t take long for Marvel’s latest project to falter at the box office, unfortunately by a lofty amount. The Marvels (2023), starring Brie Larson, made just $206 million at the global box office despite a budget of more than $274.8 million. This failure, as well as the backlash that Disney received over certain Disney+ shows and the SAG-AFTRA strikes that put some reported projects behind schedule, caused the company to take a serious look at what is working and what might need to be the strategy moving forward.
Credit: Marvel Studios
In the MCU’s Phase 6, several films, including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, Blade, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars, were all delayed due to the strikes. Reported last year, Disney removed two Marvel projects completely that would have premiered before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Disney CEO Bob Iger has shared that the company intends to focus on “quality over quantity” moving forward.
As uncertainty abounds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many fans have rightly wondered what might be next for Tom Holland and the MCU’s Spider-Man projects. Just recently, Tom Holland trended all over social media due to viral rumors that he and Zendaya, who plays MJ in the Spider-Man franchise, had broken up.
Credit: Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Holland put those rumors to bed and even gave a little glimpse into what it’s like to play Spider-Man by sharing a joke he always likes to tell when he sees one of the movies pop up on streaming services.
“I’m scrolling through Netflix, and it’ll pop up. I’ll always do the stupid joke of ‘I’ve heard this movie’s great. Apparently, the lead actor is unreal. Let’s watch 10 minutes, see what it’s like,’” he said to Access Hollywood before adding, “…But no one ever laughs.”
Holland continues to publicly discuss the potential for a fourth installment of the franchise, even revealing in an interview back in November that he was “protective” over the role and that he wants to make sure the next movie is a success.
“All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character,” Holland told Collider. “Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing. I feel very protective over Spider-Man. I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie, that got more successful with each movie, which I think is really rare, and I want to protect his legacy.”
Credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios
Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which brought in a box office of more than $1.916 billion, has been the biggest success of the MCU following Avengers: End Game (2019). As a matter of fact, it was the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie ever made and is the third highest-grossing MCU movie of all time, just behind Avengers: End Game and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which both brought in more than $2 billion.
While Disney continues to search for what its next plans look like in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would stand to reason that producing another Spider-Man film would be at the top of the list.
Credit: Marvel Studios
Though the expectation from insiders is that Disney could abandon more MCU projects in the future, as the company has already canceled shows and delayed films, there is no reason to believe that Tom Holland won’t become Peter Parker yet again in a future installment of the franchise.
The real question here: If Tom Holland is going to essentially become the next Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), who could be the next Hulk and Thor?
What do you think the future holds for the MCU? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!
After a string of failures at both the box office and Disney+, The Walt Disney Company is changing its Marvel Cinematic Universe plans. Read More