A Marvel concept artist became the subject of widespread online discussion after reports and social media posts claimed he was laid off during a meeting held in a room that displayed artwork he had previously created. The story circulated widely after the artist...
The Black Widow movie that audiences got was apparently a much different story than the one originally conceived.
Hollywood promised that the summer of 2025 would be the big comeback. Bob Iger told Wall Street earlier this year that Marvel and Disney’s film slate would be the strongest since 2019 in terms of summer box office. Analysts across the trades said the industry could finally hit a $4 billion summer, marking the first real rebound since the 2020 lockdowns. The message was clear: after years of decline, Hollywood would deliver a box office season worth celebrating.
The summer box office is supposed to be Hollywood’s surest bet. Big-budget blockbusters, loaded with effects and franchise branding, are meant to draw in global crowds and deliver the kind of revenue that keeps the industry afloat. Instead, the 2025 summer box office season has ended not with fireworks but with alarm bells.
Avengers: Doomsday is in production with still no script finalized. So how in the world are they filming months into the movie’s process with no finished roadmap? According to sources, it’s based on the idea of shooting big action sequences required for the film and then filling in narrative gaps in between. Some might say that’s called “knowing the beats without the reasons”.
For years, Hollywood insisted the superhero genre was too big to fail. Marvel and DC might stumble here or there, but whenever the chips were down, a tentpole reboot would swoop in and restore audience faith. That was the expectation for 2025, when James Gunn’s new Superman and Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrived to great industry fanfare.
These were the movies that were supposed to stop the bleeding, unite audiences, and reignite box office firepower.
Instead, they proved the exact opposite: even the biggest names in comic book history can’t save a genre audiences are walking away from.
When Marvel Studios released Eternals in late 2021, the company thought it was launching the next Avengers-level franchise. According to Variety, Kumail Nanjiani, one of the “stars” of Eternals, had signed on for an ambitious six-picture deal across a decade, complete with appearances in a video game and even a planned theme-park attraction.
For more than a decade, comic book movies were Hollywood’s surest bet. Audiences could count on at least one Marvel or DC (usually Marvel…) release smashing past $700 million globally every single year. However, that comic book movie box office hot streak is now broken.
For years, Disney has been accused of alienating men and boys, the very audience that once made Marvel and Star Wars global juggernauts. Now, according to a Variety exclusive, the company is quietly admitting its mistake. Executives are instructing their film division to create content specifically targeted at Gen Z males—boys and young men between the ages of 13 and 28, who Disney has been pushing away for years.
Sometimes the entertainment press can’t resist making a mountain out of a molehill. Case in point: Bella Ramsey appeared to joke about playing Spider-Man at an HBO Emmys event, and suddenly Variety and other outlets acted like Marvel Studios had a new stunning and brave casting announcement.
Disney’s Marvel Studios is pulling the plug on Georgia as a production hub, and the fallout is already being felt across the state. Once hailed as the “Hollywood of the South,” Georgia built its entertainment economy around Marvel blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Black Panther.
For the last week, the internet has been set ablaze with Avengers: Doomsday cast rumors. One day, Spider-Man is reportedly in the movie. The next, Hulk. Then, out of nowhere, outlets insist Steve Rogers is returning alongside Deadpool, Ironheart, and She-Hulk. Depending on which “scoop” you believe, Doomsday might contain every Marvel character that’s ever existed plus a few extras for good measure.
Marvel fans may want to keep their expectations in check when it comes to the Merc with a Mouth. Two of Hollywood’s top trade outlets — The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline — are publishing directly contradictory claims about whether Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool will appear in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.