Jonathan Majors, who at one point was quickly climbing the Hollywood ladder, was in the midst of a significant film franchise commitment when he was embroiled in a domestic violence scandal in March 2023. While in a car in New York, with his then-partner, Grace Jabbari, Majors received a text that sparked the incident. Jabbari saw a text from another woman suggesting more than a platonic relationship, prompting her to confront Majors. As reported in a court case, Majors reacted violently, wresting the phone from Jabbari’s grasp with such force that it resulted in her sustaining a fractured finger, bruising, and a laceration behind her ear. It seemed to prosecutors to signify the most recent instance of Majors using physical and emotional abuse to manipulate his girlfriend.
Majors was slated to be the primary antagonist in Marvel’s ambitious 17-film storyline, in which he would have rubbed shoulders with iconic heroes such as Thor, Iron Man and Hulk. This epic cinematic journey that Majors would have led is part of one of the most globally impactful entertainment franchises of the 21st century, making the role he lost one of the most coveted in the film industry.
Majors was subsequently found guilty of assault, and his punishment was participation in a year’s domestic violence intervention programme. This verdict caused turmoil for the MCU, an enterprise worth $50 billion dollars that is under the Disney umbrella. Following his conviction, Marvel made it clear Majors would not be involved in their future plans, thereby stunting the meteoric rise of his career. Although Majors evaded incarceration, he found himself in a long-lasting phase akin to a celebrity’s wilderness period, a stark contrast to his prior glamorous lifestyle.
The weight piled on when I hit 47 or 48 as I went through menopause and HRT (Hormonal Replacement Therapy). I didn’t experience the hot flushes, I just felt myself dwindling away.
In the recent years, Disney found themselves in a problematic phase highlighted by significant layoffs, leaving a void at the core of its golden-world. So where did the problem arise?
The motion pictures paving the way to Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, right before the global pandemic took hold, steadily charted a course to a combined celluloid spectacle which was admittedly impressive. Post that, however, Disney took the plunge into the streaming battles, apparently pushing Marvel Studios to its limits with visual effect creators voicing concerns about overworked hours and reduced teams.
Marvel deserves commendation for its progressive treatment of women, assigning them roles usually filled by stern action heroes and for attempts in fostering cultural diversity with Ms Marvel and Shang-Chi. Nonetheless, with a record-high number of media releases for Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, the franchise lauded for its originality found itself spiralling into a web of bland fan service, shallow characters, and a relentless series of minor engagements. The narrative protection was nearly as dense as Iron Man’s armour.
Last year, Marvel spewed out two dreadful movies and two average ones. However, the Guardians of the Galaxy instalment was, as ever, enjoyable. They also padded their score sheet with mediocre shows on their digital platform, which upset fans with the mishandling of Secret Invasion, one of the highly revered stories in the comic books. The reception for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was an overwhelming indifference, typical of the CGI saturation that seems to have impaired the creative judgement of the studio over the last 15 years.
The year closed on a low note for Marvel with Majors’s being found guilty of reckless assault and the release of its least profitable film, The Marvels, a follow-up to Brie Larson’s film from 2019 and two Disney+ series. It bombed spectacularly, with this paper terming it a strong competitor for Marvel’s worst movie ever.
Enduring through each dismal endeavour would be like ripping out our discerning spectators’ eyes, however, it’s enough to mention that the previous spring was gloomy for the franchise. Already committed to numerous interconnected projects and with the audience suffering from superhero weariness, the situation seemed akin to a particular Austin Powers clip where a man is gradually and quite avoidably crushed by a steamroller. Here, Kevin Feige, the captain of Marvel Studios, found himself on a challenging route from which it was tough to deviate, and the steamroller was closing in.
Oddly, around this time, the most captivating tale to emerge from Disney took place in the form of a Succession-style boardroom showdown that resulted in the company’s CEO, Bob Iger, overpowering proactive shareholders in a tight battle. It was largely perceived as a test of Iger’s capability to revitalise the company’s prosperity, and the investors were evidently delighted when the announcement of the company’s unparalleled dominance over the summer box office came out the previous week.
From May 1st to the last Sunday, Disney’s movies made up 42 per cent of ticket sales in American and Canadian theatres, a substantial rise from last summer’s 27 per cent. It serves as a reminder that despite its artistic difficulties, audiences still flock to watch a Disney film. The credit for this goes to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Inside Out 2 and Alien: Romulus.
Marvel has finally managed to get another commercial success – with Deadpool & Wolverine. Although my fellow worker Donald Clarke dismissed Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s “atrocious heap of childish, sarcastic parody” with a meagre one-star rating, the film has already topped $1 billion at the box office, the 11th Marvel movie to achieve this feat. Thus, studio chiefs might finally exhale in relief.
Essentially, Marvel is in need of a substitute to fill the void left by Majors at the heart of its upcoming series of movies. Fans of the comic book genre flocked to the San Diego Comic-Con last month, an event often likened to a holiday season for enthusiasts, to see what surprises Feige and Disney’s head honchos had in store. What better method to convince them of their ability to replicate the magic of the Infinity Saga – in other words, the initial line-up of 23 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from 2008-19 – than to resurrect the most renowned star, Robert Downey Jr., who was influential in the franchise’s infancy as Iron Man. This time, however, he returns not as protagonist but as antagonist, playing the role of Doctor Doom and supplanting Major’s Kang the Conqueror.
While this news was met with intense excitement by hardcore fans, the regression in casting exposes a striking absence of originality for a firm which monopolises a purportedly artistic sector. Marvel’s proven readiness to dust off any fading star from its multiverse for a lift in profits displays a risk-averse approach to recasting that could erode the industry, signalling a cautious strategy and reluctance to nurture fresh talent. Disney’s green-lighting of further instalments of Toy Story and Lion King also reflects this trend.
The inclusion of Marvel’s multiverse plot element has permitted some entertaining guest appearances and innovative conjectures but at the expense of genuine peril, a fundamental issue for a franchise constructed on this premise. We swallowed their narrative when they wrote off Tony Stark. Now, they seem poised to resurrect this capricious renegade until Robert Downey Jr. – an actor with a scope and capacity far beyond what the MCU demands of him – is completely drained, akin to a worn-out action hero.
Marvel’s demise will not emerge at the ticket sales counter but in its gradual decline towards uniformity and mediocrity. Viewers are growing savvy to the clichés and yearning for a change. The popularity of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series demonstrates that audiences are willing to invest in science fiction that defies the standard template.
In the year 1993, the cinema industry was ruled by original masterpieces like Schindler’s List, Sleepless in Seattle, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Jurassic Park, the latter subsequently excessively exploited for its prehistoric appeal. Contrastingly, in 2023, only a single movie from the internationally top performance list wasn’t derived from an existing franchise or brand, being Oppenheimer – a stellar performance that awarded RDJ with a well-earned Oscar for the best supporting actor.
As we approach 2053, there’s a looming risk if cinemas continue in their current form, that they will lack the ingenuity that established a foundation for countless precious narratives we cherish today.
Disney and Marvel, with their endless line of super-powered protagonists clad in Spandex, are setting a precedent for future cinema – standardized, harmless, and uninspired. It ultimately falls on audiences to make a choice, to either support authentic storytelling or engage in more hollow thrill rides. Sadly, the latter seems destined to prevail.