The biggest comic book franchises have had enough revamping, or at least that's what Disney CEO Bob Iger said. The big boss signals that Thunderbolts* is only the beginning of the major changes both Marvel and Star Wars will undergo from this point forward.
Disney Boss Bob Iger Declares It Only Gets Better From Thunderbolts*
Fans were initially skeptical about just how much of a spectacle and box office success Thunderbolts* will be prior to its debut.
However, given the positive reception and ongoing support from fans to see more of the unconventional team, Iger believes this is the "first and best example" of the MCU's return to their original form of producing higher quality movies.
"In our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more," Iger recently shared in a conference call with Wall Street Analysts (via Deadline).
He continued to reassure fans that they've "learned over time" that quality matters over quantity and should be, starting from that point, "Frankly, we've all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much."
However, he clarified that there's a new strategy brewing behind the scenes, "By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe it will result in better quality. I think the first and best example of that is Thunderbolts*."
Considering that the Multiverse Saga hit a snag, the MCU is slowly transitioning to a new direction to face its newest big bads: Galactus and Doctor Doom.
But how the franchise could execute this in the upcoming Avengers films remains a mystery.
What to Expect From Marvel and Star Wars After Thunderbolts* Success
The role of Thunderbolts* was a hit or miss in the early stages of development, especially since there had been other projects that fans would've wanted Marvel Studios to prioritize for their upcoming releases.
However, fans were utterly surprised when the early reviews and Rotten Tomatoes ratings indicated that Thunderbolts* indeed brought the phase one formula that reminded everyone why they adored the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Apart from the previous connections that built up to how Yelena (Florence Pugh), Alexei (David Harbour), Ava (Hannah John-Kamen), John (Wyatt Russell), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), and Sentry (Lewis Pullman) formed their team, Thunderbolts* introduced the newest anti-hero in the franchise: Sentry, and his darker alter-ego, Void, which opened floodgates to endless possibilities on what else they could do for the MCU.
After Thunderbolts*, as teased in the post-credit scenes, coming next are The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25, and the Ironheart series releasing on June 24, while Star Wars premieres Andor season 2 on April 22 on Disney+, and their theatrical opening, The Mandalorian & Grogu, will be heading to the big screens on May 22, 2026.
If Iger's promise for more quality Marvel and Star Wars does come to fruition, then fans can expect story-driven narratives in forming their teams and rebuilding the world they're set to protect in the coming years.
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