Bob Iger Speaks on Marvel’s Future and Being Careful with Upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Movies

Do we need more Marvel sequels? Where are the original stories? With the saturation of superhero content, it’s a fair question. And it’s one that Disney CEO Bob Iger is asking.

However, Iger isn’t looking to pull back on Marvel movies as a whole. But he’s showing interest in fresh faces and stories with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in comparison to the MCU continuing to focus more on a select group of characters.

Marvel’s Future Will Include A Lot of “Newness”

“Marvel – there were 7,000 characters, and there are a lot more stories to tell,” Iger said while speaking at Disney’s presentation during Morgan Stanley’s Technology Media and Telecom Conference.

“What we have to look at, at Marvel, is not necessarily the volume of Marvel storytelling. But how many times we go back to the well on certain characters,” Iger explains, “Sequels typically work well for us. Do you need a third or a fourth, or is it time to turn to other characters?”

Iger, who recently returned as Disney’s CEO last year, also added, “There’s nothing inherently off in terms of the Marvel brand. I think we just have to look at what characters or stories we’re mining. And if you look at the trajectory of Marvel over the next five years, you’re going to see a lot of newness. We’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise, but with a whole set of different Avengers.”

Iger on Future Star Wars Movies: “We’re Being Really Careful.”

Iger also commented on what Star Wars fans can expect moving forward. After the disappointment that 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story was at the box office, he notes that the studio is being careful with the franchise and the stories they take to the big screen. 

“‘Solo’ was a little disappointing to us. It gave us pause to just to think maybe the cadence was a little too aggressive. So we decided to pull back a bit,” he notes “We still are developing ‘Star Wars’ films. We’re going to make sure that when we make one that it’s the right one. And so we’re being really careful out there.”

The news also comes in parallel with the news that the studio has decided not to move forward with Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars: Rogue Squadron or with  Kevin Feige/Michael Waldron’s Star Wars project.