The Marvel Cinematic Universe Is Being Creatively "Retooled"

The landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is undergoing a makeover at the moment, with insiders calling it a "retooling" and not a reboot. Marvel Studios was riding high off the success of Avengers: Endgame, which wrapped up the studio's Infinity Saga and bid farewell to stalwarts like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson. Marvel started focusing on developing original content for Disney+, as well as introducing new heroes and franchises, which haven't always resonated with fans. After dismal performances by last year's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Jonathan Majors' legal issues, the MCU appeared to suffer from "superhero fatigue." However, a renewed focus on quality over content hopes to keep the MCU from hitting the reboot panic button.

The Hollywood Reporter released an article focusing on how Marvel is quietly retooling its future catalog. They discuss some of Marvel's recent misses, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Secret Invasion. Moves and decisions made behind the scenes look to rectify some of these duds but also point out how February has delivered good vibes in the form of the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer that dropped during the Super Bowl, the first trailer for X-Men '97, a continuation of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series, and the announcement of the cast of The Fantastic Four.

Marvel making changes behind the scenes to clean up MCU

Things are looking up for the MCU. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has brought in several figures to help clean up scripts for upcoming projects, and reshoots for a Disney+ series are getting rave reviews. THR reports Marvel completed reshoots on Agatha: Darkhold Diaries in February. The show is a spinoff of WandaVision starring Kathryn Hahn. Marvel typically budgets five days for reshoots, but Agatha: Darkhold Diaries reportedly finished in one day, meaning the outlook looks positive, according to sources.

Eric Pearson was also reportedly hired to tidy up the script for The Fantastic Four, with shooting scheduled in London this summer. Bear showrunner Joanna Calo is reportedly working on the script for Thunderbolts, with filming scheduled in March in Atlanta. As far as Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, there are reports Marvel is looking to minimize the character's importance moving forward, especially after the bad reviews of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Avengers 5 was originally titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but that title will be reportedly changed.

"The focus is internal this year," an insider said about the Marvel changes. "Some of our studios lost a little focus. So the first step that we've taken is that we've reduced volume," Disney CEO Bob Iger said on an earnings call in February. "We've reduced output, particularly at Marvel," in order to ensure "the films you're making can be even better."

So while all these changes may look bad on the surface, it demonstrates Marvel Studios is looking to reboot its cinematic universe, but rather clean up some of its rough edges lately, which is where the "creative retooling" phrase comes from.