Joanna Robinson, co-author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, recently discussed how Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was perceived as a home run by Marvel before it debuted
Most would agree that the third film in the Ant-Man franchise had a lot of issues. It lacked the size-changing charm of the first two, it kept the series’ titular couple of Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne separate, and it presented special effects that could be described as sub-standard.
The box office returns for Ant-Man 3 reflected its dismal reception and contributed to the notion among fans that Marvel Studios had lost a step (or several.)
Marvel Studios Thought Quantumania Was Gold
Insider Joanna Robinson, who authored the new tell-all book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, was interviewed on the latest episode of The Watch podcast. During that interview, she spoke on the atmosphere at Marvel Studios before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hit theaters.
The general consensus among the Marvel higher-ups was that “they felt like they had something good:”
"[Marvel Studios] is aware of what's happening to their brand. My understanding, having talked to some people, is that ‘Quantumania’ really shook them, and I'm sure ‘Secret Invasion’ shook them further, but ‘Quantumania’ really shook them because they felt like they had something good. Because they all internally thought, 'Everyone's gonna love this.'”
Of course, as Robinson explained, this sentiment did not prove true, and Quantmania was met with highly negative reviews and suffered one of the worst two week-box office drops in superhero movie history:
“And then they put it out and people didn't. And then they were like, 'Oh no, our internal barometer is not attuned to what people want anymore.' With ‘Quantumania,’ they were like, 'We put out a banger.' And then that's not how a lot of people felt."
Recent Releases Have Marvel Studios Shaken
Since the 2019 release of Avengers: Endgame aka, the MCU film that most everyone cites as having delivered on what it set out to do, Marvel Studios has released over 20 additional projects. They have come in the form of more movies, Disney+ shows, and Special Presentations.
And in that post-Endgame output, more than a handful of these installments have been less than well-received. Large swaths of the audience found major faults with Thor: Love and Thunder and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, to name a few examples.
But as the Marvel machine continues to chug along with Phase 4, the mood on the franchise has shifted. No longer can the studio do no wrong. Viewers just plain hated offerings like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Secret Invasion. The data seems to back this up as well.
So, if Kevin Feige and his team really are “shook” by this recent string of flops, perhaps they should be focusing on stepping up their game. A ”quality over quantity” approach is something that most agree they should adopt.
And, by and large, they might’ve gotten the message. Daredevil: Born Again‘s creative staff, for instance, was just gutted and the series will now take a new approach. And the delays incurred as a result of the Hollywood strikes might just give crews more time to fine-tune what gets put out.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania can be streamed on Disney+ and purchased wherever movies are sold.
