The recent wave of layoffs under Disney's new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, has notably targeted Marvel Studios, a division that was once the company's most reliable profit generator. This move highlights a dramatic fall from grace for the superhero franchise.

Marvel's decline did not happen overnight. It is the result of a confluence of long-term strategic missteps. The most glaring was a period of aggressive overproduction, akin to killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. At its peak, Marvel was releasing four theatrical films and four streaming series annually, flooding the market with new content every few weeks. This proved to be a disastrous decision.

The interconnected narratives between shows and movies created a burdensome "homework" requirement for audiences. Viewers felt compelled to watch every piece of content to follow the main storylines, a mandatory viewing load that alienated a significant portion of the casual audience.

This, however, was just one facet of a multi-layered crisis. In a few short years, how did Marvel Studios transform from Disney's star performer into one of its most disappointing units?

**Marvel Becomes the Primary Target of Layoffs**

With the appointment of Josh D’Amaro, the former head of Disney's Parks division, as CEO, Disney has a new leader once again. Interestingly, D’Amaro, like his predecessor Bob Chapek, comes from an operational background in theme parks, with limited direct experience in film and streaming. This likely explains why veteran entertainment executive Dana Walden was appointed President and Chief Creative Officer to oversee film and TV content.

D’Amaro's first major action was to announce approximately 1,000 job cuts, aiming for a leaner, more agile organization. While layoffs were expected following earlier restructuring under Bob Iger, the severity of the cuts at Marvel was striking.

Approximately 8% of Marvel's workforce was eliminated across offices in Burbank, California, and New York, affecting departments from production and comics to finance and legal. The most significant blow was the near-total dismantling of Marvel Studios' iconic Visual Development team.

This team was the core force behind the cohesive visual style of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), responsible for character design, environment art, and effects from *The Avengers* to *Guardians of the Galaxy*. Post-layoffs, Marvel will retain only a small core staff, shifting future visual development work to a project-based, outsourced contractor model. Disney CFO Hugh Johnston indicated the company is moving toward an "efficiency culture," leaving the door open for further cuts.

This means the institutional knowledge and expertise built over a decade—professionals who understood the historical evolution of every character and ensured visual continuity—will be largely absent from the brand's daily operations.

Former employees and actors, including Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), have publicly criticized the decision as shortsighted, arguing it dismantles Marvel's core creative strength.

**From Money Printer to Major Liability**

D’Amaro's targeting of Marvel clearly had Iger's backing. Iger has expressed dissatisfaction with Marvel's recent output for years, publicly criticizing its films and performance. Allowing D’Amaro to make deep cuts may also serve as a power move for the new CEO.

Why has Marvel, once a cash cow, become a problematic asset in just a few years? Its fall is lamentable for fans.

2019 was Marvel's peak year, with three films each grossing over $1 billion, culminating in a record-shattering $2.798 billion for *Avengers: Endgame*. While the pandemic caused understandable disruptions, Marvel has struggled to regain its former box office dominance post-pandemic, with few successes largely reliant on nostalgia.

*Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3* (2023) proved residual appeal with $845 million, but it was the finale of a beloved trilogy. The same year saw major disappointments: *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* ($476 million) and the historic low of *The Marvels* ($206 million), estimated to have lost $273 million.

2024's only release, *Deadpool & Wolverine*, earned $1.3 billion, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film ever, but this success was largely fueled by nostalgia for the X-Men franchise, not Marvel's ability to create new IP.

2025's results were alarming. *Captain America: Brave New World* and *Thunderbolts* failed to crack the global yearly top ten. *Fantastic Four: First Steps* became Marvel's top earner of the year with $521 million—a figure that would have been merely average during Marvel's heyday. This marked the first year no Marvel film entered the global top ten.

The box office failures mirrored critical reception. *Quantumania* scored a rotten 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, a then-series low. *Brave New World* scored 48% and a dismal B- CinemaScore, indicating even core opening-night fans were dissatisfied. Notably, audience scores for some films were higher than critic scores (80% for *Brave New World*), highlighting a divide where loyal fans defend the brand while general audiences have largely left.

The exception was *Thunderbolts*, which received strong early reviews (88%) but still underperformed commercially, suggesting a deep-seated trust crisis that even good word-of-mouth cannot easily fix.

**The Triple Roots of Marvel's Decline**

Marvel's downfall stems from three intertwined crises.

First was the **blind overproduction** mentioned earlier, which broke the carefully crafted narrative rhythm that built audience anticipation and turned viewing into a chore.

Second, **a shift in creative priorities**. During its peak, themes of diversity and social issues emerged organically from compelling stories, as seen in *Black Panther* or *Spider-Man*. Post-2021, the logic seemed inverted: stories were built around predetermined social messages. Characters became vehicles for ideology, losing their organic appeal. This was the deepest cause of the口碑崩塌.

*Eternals* (2021) was a prime example, introducing ten new characters that felt like a diversity checklist, resulting in a 47% Rotten Tomatoes score. *She-Hulk: Attorney at Law* (2022) broke the fourth wall to deliver lectures on gender bias. *The Marvels* was widely seen as prioritizing a "girl power" lineup over coherent storytelling. *Secret Invasion* bogged down its spy thriller with immigration metaphors, and *Thor: Love and Thunder* was criticized for reducing its titular hero to a joke.

Third, **a collapse in visual effects quality**. The breakneck production pace, coupled with compressed budgets and timelines, overwhelmed VFX studios. Artists worked under extreme pressure, leading to subpar, unfinished effects in films like *Ant-Man 3* and *Secret Invasion*. This was not a talent issue but a systemic failure of an overburdened pipeline.

In contrast, Pixax's recent struggles were more tied to a forced shift to streaming. Once it returned to theaters with a strong story, as with the record-breaking *Inside Out 2* ($1.699 billion), its brand power was reaffirmed.

**Marvel as a Pawn in Power Struggles**

Marvel's troubles provided a convenient scapegoat. Iger has repeatedly blamed the overexpansion and creative missteps on his predecessor, Bob Chapek, insulating himself from blame. Having D’Amaro target Marvel allows the new CEO to establish authority.

Iger has been unusually public in his criticism. In late 2023, he stated creators had "forgotten their first job" was to entertain, not deliver messages, and announced a drastic reduction in output—theatrical films down to 2-3 per year from four, and Disney+ series down to two from four.

This public dressing-down also relates to Marvel's unique power structure. Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, has enjoyed near-total autonomy for years, a privilege earned through unparalleled box office success. However, with consecutive failures, this independence became a liability. Iger's criticism and D’Amaro's layoffs represent corporate headquarters reasserting control over a previously untouchable fiefdom.

**Feige and Marvel's Final Chance**

While Feige is unlikely to be fired immediately, his pressure has mounted. He is now focused on *Avengers: Doomsday* and *Avengers: Secret Wars*, while also planning the X-Men reboot. His reporting structure has changed; he now reports to Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman, adding a layer of oversight and subtly reducing Marvel's special independent status.

The impact of the layoffs, especially dismantling the Visual Development team, is profound. It erases over a decade of institutional memory. Maintaining visual consistency across future projects, especially complex ones like the upcoming *Avengers* films, will be far more challenging with a fragmented, outsourced workforce.

The timing is critical. Major projects loom on the horizon: *Spider-Man: Freshman Year* (2026), *Avengers: Doomsday* (2026), and *Avengers: Secret Wars* (2027). The latter two, featuring the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, represent Marvel's biggest bet for a comeback.

Strategically, the contraction in output is a correct move. However, whether eviscerating internal creative teams will make a shrinking Marvel more vulnerable remains to be seen. The shift to contractors also aligns with Hollywood's broader trend of using technology, including AI, to reduce creative labor costs—a shadow D’Amaro's memo about a "tech-enabled workforce" does little to dispel.

Ultimately, Marvel's plight epitomizes the crisis of industrialized IP. When a creative brand is run as a content factory, when story serves platform strategy, and when artists become replaceable contractors, the audience votes with its wallet.

*Avengers: Doomsday* at the end of 2026 will be Marvel's high-stakes gamble. A win could herald a triumphant return. A loss could signal the final chapter for a superhero empire. In the meantime, Disney's new leadership is likely to keep a much tighter rein on Feige and Marvel's future.