It’s no secret that MCU’s Phase 4 struggled significantly, holding the lowest approval rating in the franchise with most projects deemed “mediocre” at best. It’s forever going to be remembered for gems like She-Hulk and Eternals, Phase 5 appears to be on a better trajectory, largely supported by successful projects such as Deadpool & Wolverine, Loki, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

However, it was the disastrous performance of The Marvels that prompted major changes within the studio. Bob Iger himself acknowledged that Marvel will be scaling back its creative output and prioritizing quality over quantity, implicitly admitting the film’s shortcomings.

Recent rumors from Chris Gore, founder of Film Threat, shared via Critical Drinker’s YouTube channel, suggest that in response to the poor results of Phase 4, Feige and other Marvel executives have quietly “cleaned house,” firing producers who could be considered activists.

I do know people who work at Marvel. They have cleaned house, They quietly, months ago, fired all the producers that could be labeled activist. […]Kevin Feige recognizes… basically, he said that ‘we tried it, it didn’t work. […] He’s talking about Phase 4. It didn’t work. No Kang. None of these side characters that don’t have the legacy of classic characters. And if Deadpool & Wolverine proves anything, you’ve heard that phrase ‘male and pale is stale’ — that was spoken aloud across studios, but if you look at box office this year, I would say male and pale is money. And that’s the phrase that I think people should more adopt.

Wokeness is frequently blamed for the MCU’s struggles, but not for the reason you might expect. It’s becoming evident that the targeted demographics for these projects aren’t showing up in large numbers to support them.

While the studio can tolerate poor reviews if a project remains profitable, when faced with both harsh criticism and financial losses, the situation becomes untenable. The clear message is that changes need to be made.

The problem extends beyond apparent bias towards certain demographics; it also involves the quality of writing, a point Gore has highlighted. Remember Eternals, which introduced an ambitious storyline but left an unusually high number of loose ends in the MCU, and Secret Invasion, a series that only vaguely resembled its comic book namesake. Both projects suffered from poor writing and execution, and a lack of familiarity with the source material seemed to be a contributing factor.

Gore argues that Feige and Marvel have removed creatives who lack comic book expertise. He points to Marvel producer Nate Moore, who controversially handled Eternals and has expressed a reluctance to hire comic readers. Moore is now listed only as a producer on Captain America: Brave New World, which has undergone significant changes and costly reshoots. Gore also notes that the director of Secret Invasion was instructed not to read the comics and highlights Marvel’s hiring of Rick & Morty writers.

Additionally, they fired people that don’t know the comics. … But it’s going to be a sea change that will take years. Years. That’s why they are announcing this now. ‘We know we screwed up and failed, but look at what’s coming.’ So we’re going to get two bad movies, two bad TV shows, and maybe a good Fantastic Four film.

Gore also addressed the state of Star Wars under Disney, asserting that it’s a lost cause due to the executives’ decision to “double down” on the perceived “wokeness.”

Unlike Lucasfilm. Lucasfilm is lost. They’re lost. They are doubling down on all the nonsense. You will never get anything good out of Lucasfilm and Star Wars. That’s it”

We recently reported on a similar issue: it appears that the upcoming Skeleton Crew is facing internal dissatisfaction for allegedly lacking sufficient DEI principles and political content. However, these remain unconfirmed speculations, and Gore’s statements may never be verified. Only time will tell if his claims about MCU projects are accurate.

What is clear is that “The Message” no longer seems effective—at least when it comes to the bottom line, which has always been about money.

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