You’ve all probably heard of the article from TheWrap titled no one cares about Marvel, Star Wars or Pixar, well, here’s my coverage and reaction. First of all, the highlights of the piece, you can check the full article at the link above.

The premise of the article is that that Disney+ launch followed by the mandate to produce content for that platform has irrevocably hurt the three biggest Disney brands. Based around comments made by Kevin Feige, and a few other details, I would say I agree somewhat, but I have a few specifics I disagree with or would add other factors onto.

Then, my reaction, agreement or disagreement with what is presented. Here we go,

Marvel

‘Later, Feige got more blunt: “The expansion is what devalued [the Marvel brand]. It was just too much. It was a big company push. And it doesn’t take too much to push us to go. There was a mandate that we were put in the middle of.”

‘Feige’s admission that Disney+ — with its countless streaming series, animated shows and “special presentations” — had actively damaged the Marvel Studios brand is startling but also unsurprising.’

‘Nearly every one of Disney’s core brands – in addition to Marvel Studios, Pixar and Lucasfilm – have been diminished by the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform and that platform’s insatiable thirst for fresh content.’

I agree with Pixar and Marvel being hurt by the push of Disney+. However, I’d say the cram for more content on both fronts ultimately hurt Marvel. The films were consistently decent to great pre-Endgame. Afterwards it was like a flip of a switch and it was consistently bad to great. On the Disney+ side, things were arguably worse.

‘Over the last five years, Marvel and Star Wars Disney+ shows — with some exceptions — have seen declining streaming minutes as each subsequent series debuts, with Star Wars peaking with the second season of “The Mandalorian” in 2021 through “Skeleton Crew” in 2024, which failed to even make the weekly top 10 for Nielsen.’

This is where I may disagree slightly, I don’t think Disney+ necessarily hurt Star Wars. I think the damage to this franchise was inflicted way before the launch of Disney+, but I’ll get to that below.

Affect on the Box Office

‘It’s impossible to compare what those box office results might have been in the absence of Disney+, or how other factors like audiences getting accustomed to staying home during the pandemic may have impacted the desire to go to theaters to see these movies. But overall, TheWrap spoke to half a dozen executives and experts who agreed that the imperative to drive content to Disney’s streaming service hurt the company’s most cherished brands.’

“Given the quality of the Marvel Disney+ output has been incredibly mediocre, it’s dragged the entire brand down and diluted its creative,” said a producer with franchise experience. “People don’t care now.”

Yes, all accurate I think. However, I’ll add a few aspects no one is mentioning. Being stuck at home during lockdown changed everything for a lot of people. For a start, whilst the U.S. may be financially still performing, a lot of the rest of the globe fell on hard times. The people who go see these films couldn’t afford to see them all, especially when the magic has begin to die off.

Arrrrr

Secondly the rise of piracy bloomed during lockdown. People with less money looked for cheaper ways to access the streamers, of which there were far too many, at too great a cost. Thus the rise of the IPTV wave was born. Cheap, affordable access to all the streamers best shows, at reduced quality and technical delivery. However, you also get the new movies from cinema showing up within a week or two. I genuinely think that’s hurt Fantastic Four: First Steps, because online I hear there’s a near perfect copy available, or it’s been around for 4-5 days at least.

Then add that even for those doing nothing illegal and paying full price, there’s a drive to get those cinema films onto the streaming platform as soon as the box office dries up. Subscribers will just wait… They should really get back to offering a pay per view to people who don’t like cinemas. Those fans are not turning up anyway, so it’s not killing theatres faster, they’re already dying.

Star Wars

‘“The Mandalorian” kicked off Disney+ and it was an undeniable hit. People went crazy for Jon Favreau’s lone gunslinger and, in particular, his diminutive sidekick, who people quickly referred to as Baby Yoda. It arrived a month before the ninth film in the “Star Wars” film saga, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” hit theaters. In its first week, it racked up 791 million minutes watched, according to Nielsen.
That early success opened the floodgates for multiple “Star Wars”-centered projects a year.’

“When you went to a Star Wars movie, it used to be special,” said a marketing exec from a rival studio. “But there’s a difference between let’s have a movie every four years versus let’s have three shows on the air all the time and have a movie every year.”

This is where I disagree, or at least partly. Yes, some of the Disney+ Star Wars shows were rubbish and hurt the franchise. But Initially, The Mandalorian was a ray of light in the dark hole Disney had left Star Wars in. Yet, as we progress, the quality drops. The Mandalorian Season 3 felt cartoonish compared to S1 and S2. Obi Wan was cheap looking and canon breaking and just silly at times (The barrier to nowhere, Leia inside his coat). Ahsoka was a live-action cartoon with as much drama as you’d expect from a kids show. The we have the real disasters, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. What can I say, this is not where Star Wars should ever go. However, Andor, was an absolute delight. If we didn’t get that show, I feel the world would be worse place.

RELATED: Black Panther 3 Rumored Release Date – Fantastic Four Has Big Second Week Box Office Drop

I maintain the downgrading of the Star Wars franchise from special to meh happened way before Disney+. The sequel trilogy was awful, simply awful. Not only was it a poorly received story in its own right, but the third movie in the trilogy even destroyed the ending of Return of the Jedi and the whole point of the Skywalker Saga up till that point. They killed off all Skywalkers and made Vader’s redemption mean nothing but a hollow victory for a few decades.

The Rise of Skywalker was the first time a third part of a Star Wars trilogy hasn’t made as much as the middle part. Half the people who watched The Last Jedi hated it, the other half liked it. Lucasfilm tried to course correct in the final one and neither set of fans liked it. It’s a universally hated movie and Star Wars has never been the same since.

Not All The Blame

It’s not Disney+’s fault though that someone signed off on Obi-Wan Kenobi script. The Acolyte as a pitch is not a bad idea, but it was poorly written and executed. Skeleton Crew should never have gotten past the pitch stage, it’s just little kids show that would work best unattached to Star Wars.

Disney+ cannot also be blamed for how many movies have been announced by Lucasfilm and never materialised. Hence the soon to be departure of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

Good Star Wars under Disney for me?

Disney+

Mando S1 and S2, BOBF (Episodes 5/6 only), Andor.

Cinema

Rogue One… Some will argue The Force Awakens, but not me. Abrams has to take the blame here. The director gave us a nostalgia fest from the OT era with nowhere to go.

You can read the full article for everything, but you get the general idea. I just think there’s several factors not explored in the article. Especially when it comes to how Disney has handled the Star Wars franchise.

So, does no one care about Marvel, Star Wars or Pixar anymore? Probably some do, but that number is a lot, lot smaller than it was pre-Endgame for Marvel. Massively smaller than it was pre-The Last Jedi for Star Wars, and probably there’s a trigger point for Pixar as well. Though I’m less familiar with some of their recent films.

There are people who care about these franchises still. They still get more traffic on our site than any other stories we cover. However, a lot of fans who used to care, no longer care about Marvel or Star Wars, fact.

What do you think of all this, do you agree with the article? Do you think my additional factors are warranted? Thoughts below as always.

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