Ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday this December, it’s been learned that Disney’s latest round of layoffs is now hitting Marvel Studios hard.
Earlier today, Deadline confirmed Disney plans to cut up to 1,000 employees over the next few months, marking the first major layoffs under new CEO Josh D’Amaro.
The report said many of the cuts are tied to Disney’s marketing consolidation under Chief Marketing and Brand Officer Asad Ayaz as the company looks to eliminate duplication across film, TV, and streaming.
Marvel Studios among the hardest hit
A new Forbes report says Marvel is one of the divisions getting hit the hardest, with layoffs affecting both New York and Burbank across film and TV production, comics, franchise, finance, and legal.
The report adds that nearly the entire Academy Award-winning visual development team at Marvel Studios has been let go.
As noted, those artists and designers helped shape the look of Marvel’s movies and shows, working on everything from characters and environments to early visual concepts used across the MCU.
According to Forbes, only a small skeleton crew of full-time production staff remains, with future work expected to be handled more through project-based hires and contractors.
Not said to be tied to AI
Forbes also reported that the layoffs do not appear to be tied to AI.
Instead, the cuts are said to be connected to Disney’s broader cost-cutting and Marvel Studios scaling back its production slate (Bob Iger previously confirmed a $4 billion loss).
Some visual development artists are expected to move from full-time roles to contractor status depending on the project.
Following the report from Forbes, Deadline separately reported that Marvel was among the Disney divisions affected, alongside teams connected to marketing, TV publicity, casting, development, and corporate financial operations.
Bad look for Marvel
The Marvel Studios visual development team has played a key role in building the MCU’s identity for years, so losing nearly the entire group is a major blow behind the scenes.
It also comes at a time when Marvel has already been cutting back, following a stretch of underperforming projects, delays, and a reduced release slate.
Disney may view it as streamlining. For Marvel fans, it looks like another sign the studio is still in reset mode.
You’ll notice I touched upon this last summer.
