James Gunn has provided clarification to fans regarding his “it killed them” comment about Marvel and the MCU. Gunn has directed the GOTG films for Marvel Studios. Currently, Gunn is occupied with the promotion of his upcoming Superman movie. Starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, along with Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult in key roles, the film is slated to arrive in theaters on July 11, 2025.
James Gunn explains ‘it killed them’ comment for Marvel and MCU
Director James Gunn recently interacted with his fans on Threads and explained his ‘it killed them’ statement about Marvel Studios.
Recently, in a Rolling Stone interview, Gunn shared his views on Disney’s previous decision to increase Marvel’s product output. He expressed that the decision didn’t have a positive impact and said, “That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. And it killed them.”
Gunn clarified the statement on Threads by stating that he “didn’t say ‘it killed them’ like they’re over.” He added that he meant Marvel was “screwed by the situation they had no control over.” He further shared, “They’re on the other side of that now, which is good. The sacrifice-everything-for-streaming craze killed many good things by forcing a demand for ‘content’ that couldn’t possibly be met, putting movies on TV before they had a proper theatrical run & much more.” The filmmaker wrote, “The insanity has died down & balanced out everywhere.”
In May 2024, Disney CEO Bob Iger canceled the previous approach and announced that they would reduce Marvel Studios’ output. Iger also emphasized that they would focus more on quality.
He stated that the studio is “going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year” during Disney’s quarterly earnings meeting (via Variety). Iger also added that the company plans to “reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three.”
