Marvel had a small round of layoffs on Monday that affected 15 staffers at Marvel Entertainment in New York, as well as Marvel Studios in Burbank, TheWrap has learned.
The layoffs affected junior-level staffers in production and development as the company reassesses and reduces its slate of upcoming projects. No further layoffs are expected beyond Monday.
The job cuts stem from Disney absorbing Marvel Entertainment into Disney’s larger business units after the 2023 exit of former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter. The former exec previously ran consumer products, the comic book publishing arm, game licensing and arena shows.
The layoffs also come as Marvel Studios refocuses its slate and content strategy after the streaming wars content boom. Marvel had previouslyy ramped up productions to feed Disney+.
As part of the strategy, the company is releasing just one movie this year: late July’s “Deadpool and Wolverine.” The footage presentation from the upcoming ensemble film wowed exhibitors at CinenamCon last week.
During Disney’s previous earnings call in February, its CEO Bob Iger said that he expected the company to focus on quality projects and lower Marvel’s output.
“We’ve reduced output, particularly at Marvel. When you fix or when you address these issues with — in movies, you do three things,” Iger said. “You get aggressive at making sure the films you’re making can be even better. Sometimes, you kill projects you don’t believe in. And, of course, you put new things in the pipeline that you do believe in that you have much more confidence in — and we’re doing all of that.”
Deadline first reported the news.
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