According to insider sources, Marvel Studios is in the process of a management shakeup to crack down on activist employees who seek to project their views onto storylines.
But Lucasfilm — the studio behind Star Wars — would continue to let progressive employees call the shots. Both Marvel and Lucasfilm are owned by Disney, but they have separate studios and their own creative teams.
Chris Gore, founder of Film Threat and acclaimed writer, made the claims about Marvel during an appearance on The Critical Drinker podcast on Friday.
“I know people who work at Marvel — they’ve come clean. They quietly fired any producer who could be labeled as ‘activist’ months ago,” Gore said.
Gore explained that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige acknowledged that being woke wasn’t working for them, revealing that “[Feige] He said he tried it, but it didn’t work.’
A film studio behind some of the most iconic superhero films has reportedly purged its staff of woke activists in a last-ditch effort to save its franchise, while its rival studio focuses on progressive storylines.
Insider sources suggest Marvel Studios is overhauling its leadership to address recent setbacks, while Lucasfilm continues on a creatively troubled course
“He’s talking about Phase 4,” the noted film critic continued. “That’s it. Tried it, didn’t work. No Kang, none of these supporting characters who don’t have the legacy of classic characters.
“And if Deadpool & Wolverine proves anything… have you heard that line ‘male and pale is stupid’? That was said out loud by all the studios. But if you look at the box office this year, I would say ‘male and pale is money.’ And that’s the line I think people should embrace more often.”
Gore, on the other hand, said rival studio Lucasfilm, also owned by Disney, “is lost.”
“They’re doubling down on all this crap. You’re never going to get anything good out of Lucasfilm and Star Wars. That’s it,” Gore said.
Gore predicted that the Marvel franchise would become successful again as they continued to release “woke” films, instead of focusing solely on entertaining viewers rather than preaching to them.
“I think we’re going to have a year of bad Marvel shows,” Gore said, referring to the upcoming television series Agatha All Along and Ironheart and the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four.
Marvel recently sent shockwaves among their fans when they revealed that Robert Downey Jr., who played Iron Man, would be returning to the Marvel Universe as villain Doctor Doom in the upcoming duology Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars – a possible attempt to woo their audience.
Chris Gore (pictured), founder of Film Threat and acclaimed writer, weighed in on Marvel during an appearance on The Critical Drinker podcast on Friday.
Recently, Marvel sent shockwaves among their fans when they revealed that Robert Downey Jr., who played Iron Man, would be returning to the Marvel Universe as villain Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars duologies – a possible attempt to appease their audience
Marvel fans have been eagerly awaiting the introduction of Dr. Doom, a typical villain, and a possible return of Iron Man by Robert Downey Jr.
However, the recent announcement that Downey Jr. would be playing the role of Dr. Doom has left them stunned.
“We’ll see how Robert Downey Jr. is going to be used,” Gore said, intrigued by the studio’s decision to bring back an actor who is “a variation of Tony Stark? Is he just an actor playing a different character? So, whatever it is, I think it’s interesting.”
Avengers: Doomsday is expected to be released in 2025.
Claims of woke filmmaking have rattled other Hollywood studios — including a third Disney entity, Pixar. Buzz Lightyear prequel Lightyear sparked controversy over a lesbian kiss, with a Disney executive caught on camera vowing to use as many “queer” storylines as possible.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has since changed course, emphasizing that the entertainment giant values its storylines over activism.