Disney's Struggles Exposed: Why Star Wars and Marvel Are Losing Their Magic

The world of entertainment has witnessed Disney's remarkable rise and continued success over the years. However, recent times have shown a shift in the winds for the media giant. With highly anticipated projects falling short of expectations and some not performing well at all, the conversation around Disney's struggles is gaining momentum. In a recent conversation between Julian Martinez and Cristian Rogers, the duo dives deep into the reasons behind Disney's recent struggles. From the slowing down of Star Wars to Marvel's TV expansion, this blog post will dissect the key issues highlighted in their discussion and explore potential solutions.

Star Wars Slowdown Reflects Lucasfilm's Mistakes

A significant point of contention is the handling of the beloved Star Wars franchise. As Cristian points out, the rapid release of Star Wars content, while financially lucrative, may be harming the franchise's overall quality. Disney's zeal for quantity could be overshadowing the need for quality storytelling. A possible solution could be to slow down and focus on creating compelling narratives that resonate with both dedicated fans and newcomers to the Star Wars universe.

Marvel's TV Expansion Impacts MCU Quality

The expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) into the realm of television has led to mixed results. While some shows like "WandaVision" and "Loki" have been well-received, others have fallen short. Cristian expresses concern that the writing has become lazy and the expansion may be diluting the overall impact of the MCU. The solution could be striking a balance between quantity and quality. While more content is appealing, ensuring that each show is well-crafted and meaningful to the larger narrative is crucial.

Pixar's Disney+ Releases Face Backlash

The decision to release movies directly on streaming platforms, as seen with Pixar's releases, has faced criticism. The lack of a theatrical release may have contributed to the perception that the films are not of the same quality. This raises the question of how to adapt to changing viewing habits while maintaining the allure of a cinematic experience. A potential solution could involve a hybrid model that allows for both streaming and theatrical releases, depending on the type of content.

Disney's Zeal for More Content: Quality Over Quantity

While Disney's eagerness to produce more content is understandable, it raises concerns about the potential sacrifice of quality. Cristian and Julian agree that sometimes less is more, and focusing on delivering fewer, but outstanding, projects could prove more successful in the long run. This requires careful planning and execution to ensure that each project is given the attention it deserves.

Many Recent Disney Releases Underperform

The underperformance of multiple recent Disney releases further adds to the company's challenges. Cristian highlights that relying solely on established properties and franchises may not be enough to guarantee success. This emphasizes the need for innovation and originality in storytelling. While established franchises are beloved, fresh and unique narratives can captivate audiences and rejuvenate the brand.

The conversation between Julian Martinez and Cristian Rogers sheds light on the multifaceted challenges Disney currently faces. Whether it's the quality and quantity balance, the handling of beloved franchises, or the need for innovation, the entertainment giant must navigate these obstacles to regain its footing. By revisiting its strategies, focusing on compelling narratives, and considering a hybrid approach to distribution, Disney has the potential to recapture its magic and once again captivate audiences around the world. As fans eagerly await the company's future moves, it's clear that careful consideration and adaptation are key to Disney's continued success.

Julian Martinez: [00:00:13] All right, Cristian. So the troubles at Disney have been well documented. They haven't really had as hot of a year as they were expecting Indiana Jones flopped for them. They recently had a little bit of a flop with Ant-Man Quantumania. It just doesn't feel like the same like it did when they initially took over the MCU and a lot of these other properties Star Wars. Is it working out as well as they would like either? So Screenrant actually released a list of the top five major reasons that Disney is struggling. Actually, this is coming from Bob Iger himself, the man in charge of Disney. He actually just recently took back power after like just being unhappy with the product that they're putting out. So I'm going to read them out to you and you just tell me what you think after we go through this list. So, number one. Star Wars slowdown shows lucasfilm's mistakes. Lucasfilm. That's been a big, touchy subject. Yeah. Number two, Marvel's TV expansion hurt the Mcu's quality. I think we can all agree to that one. Number three, Pixar is Disney plus releases backfired massively. Yeah, no, releasing on streaming platforms has not been kind to them at all. Number four, Disney's zeal for more content hurts things. Sometimes less is more. Number five, many recent Disney releases underperformed. Again, I just mentioned a handful of them out of that five. Like, what do you think is the biggest problem? [00:01:48][94.5]
Cristian Rogers: [00:01:49] I think right now it's Marvel's TV expansion. Hurt the MCU's quality. Ever since they started the TV shows, just the movies aren't as good. Like the two that I think are the best ones is definitely Wandavision and Loki. Those two are great, but the other ones just have not been good. She-Hulk I did not like at all. Never saw Ms. marvel. Mm hmm. Which one was it? The Winter Soldier one. Sorry. Falcon And the Winter Soldier Wasn't that good? It does hurt the MCU quality, especially for a story. Yeah, they just. A lot of the MCU shows just seem, like, shoehorned in which I really don't like it. Honestly. Makes me worried for the new Daredevil show that's going to come out. And then I'm trying to revive the Netflix shows. I'm really I'm really scared for that one. But the movies themselves also haven't been that good. I, I just feel that the writing I feel like Disney is just trying to release more and more MCU content and people are getting tired of it. And the writers are it's just becoming lazy writing now It's Yeah, it's as good anymore. [00:03:13][83.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:03:14] Yeah, it's a little repetitive on Screenrant list here but like the Disney zeal for more content hurts things that that relates obviously to the MCU it so there is a little redundancy in that but it's true because like how many TV shows have gone release I just can't keep up with them all. I just can't like I have a job, I have a life. Like I can't just sit in front of the TV for hours just watching all the new shows the Disney is putting out. Also with the expectation, especially with the MCU shows, that they relate to the grander universe. Yeah, and if I don't watch this, like, Yeah, and if I don't watch this, the next movie won't make sense. [00:03:54][40.0]
Cristian Rogers: [00:03:56] Yeah, I believe the one that ran into that problem was Wandavision and Doctor Strange. A little bit. Not too bad, but Wandavision was a really good show because it expanded on the MCU. Loki is a really good show because it also expanded, but the other shows just don't. It's just like, why? Like She-Hulk? I just, I was just questioning why did you make this? [00:04:22][25.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:04:22] But will it hold up though? Like it sounded like you actually were excited. Whenever they do relate to the movie in the grander universe, I'm saying I think that that's kind of part of the problem. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if the shows were more self-contained because when they dictate what makes sense in the next movie, it's an issue for me. Like because if I can't watch the show like you meant, you didn't watch Ms Marvel. I didn't watch Miss Marvel either. Can I watch this next Marvel movie, Captain Marvel movie? Will it still make sense to me without first being introduced to the Ms. Marvel character? Yeah. And is there any other shows that I can't sacrifice? Because if I do, then they won't make sense for the movie. Like the new Captain America coming out. If I didn't watch Captain America in the Winter Soldier, will that. Next movie not make sense to me. Secret Invasion right now. I haven't watched an episode of Secret Invasion yet. [00:05:18][56.1]
Cristian Rogers: [00:05:19] Yeah, neither have I. [00:05:20][0.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:05:20] Like, how far behind am I going to be as a result of it? [00:05:23][2.6]
Cristian Rogers: [00:05:24] Yeah, I like. Like you said, less. Less is more. They're just coming out to too many Marvel properties. For example. Another one that didn't make sense was Moon Knight. I couldn't finish it. I thought. I thought Moon Knight was biting off more than it could chew. I just didn't like it. Couldn't. Couldn't stick to it. And and they they're talking about that later on. Maybe Moon Knight could be in the fall, like MCU, like within the movies and just like, okay, but like the show that the show wasn't all that. [00:06:00][35.9]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:01] So why fight a little bit on that one? I thought the first three episodes of Moon Knight were good. It just lost me towards the end there. Yeah. [00:06:10][9.0]
Cristian Rogers: [00:06:10] It lost me. It lost me on episode four and I can't get past it. [00:06:14][3.9]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:15] And you talk about Daredevil, too, like losing you throughout the season. I mean, Daredevil supposed to get 20 episodes. Can they retain quality throughout 20 episodes now? Like, come on, I would have prefer if they just gave me, honestly, the six episode seasons that they're doing now. Like for the other shows. [00:06:33][18.4]
Cristian Rogers: [00:06:34] That. [00:06:34][0.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:36] I if you just give me six quality Daredevil episodes, I'm okay with that because I can guarantee you one thing. Not all 20 of these next Daredevil episodes are going to be good. There's going to be some filler in there. There's going to be some like episodes that just don't really advance the story. It's just a problem that happens to all TV shows. So whenever you put out a 20 episode season, it's the same reason. Like I don't love a lot of the CW shows. [00:07:03][27.9]
Cristian Rogers: [00:07:05] Yeah, it's too much, too many episodes, too much filler. I believe Daredevil, it's going to have no that the nice thing that happened with Daredevil was that Netflix only gave it eight episodes. Yeah, and there were eight quality episodes. Now it's not going to be there. [00:07:20][15.6]
Julian Martinez: [00:07:21] I'm going to work back to the number one reason they're listed. So they mentioned Lucasfilm. You know, you're a big Star Wars fan. You're a bigger Star Wars fan than I am by a mile. And that's another universe, too, that just seems to be plagued by like this more abundance of content, not only the movies, but, you know, with with the prequels. Because, you know, the rarity of a Star Wars film used to be like, once every, like 20 years. [00:07:46][25.2]
Cristian Rogers: [00:07:47] Yeah. [00:07:47][0.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:07:48] Oh, yeah. And when they move to, like, we need one like every other year or every year. It just you felt that like it wasn't good. We talked about another video like Rogue One. It's probably my favorite newer Star Wars movie. Yeah, I like the. [00:08:05][17.3]
Cristian Rogers: [00:08:06] Outline of. [00:08:06][0.5]
Julian Martinez: [00:08:07] The other trilogy. Like episode seven, right? Episode seven was probably the most redeeming one, but it was good because it was basically a rip-off of the first one. Yeah. Another two rough, rough watches. I don't care how big of a fan you are of Star Wars and is probably actually fans of Star Wars that hated the most rough watches. I personally, I haven't watched the Mandalorian Come at Me if you like, but like I know everyone who loves the first two seasons. I haven't heard a lot of nice things said about the third season. [00:08:40][32.8]
Cristian Rogers: [00:08:40] I can't finish the third season, which has dropped off. I can't do it. [00:08:45][4.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:08:46] Obi-Wan was a very contentious series, like the fact they were able to get Ewan McGregor back for it was very exciting and the first couple of episodes were really exciting. There was the big fight between him and Darth Vader at the end. That was great. But as a whole, if you really rate that series, it's probably a very mid series. [00:09:05][18.9]
Cristian Rogers: [00:09:07] Yeah, I did like Obi-Wan, The one that I liked a lot though was Andor. Andor Is the one that I'm like, okay, I can't wait for season two and or was Andor was Star Wars quality like. [00:09:19][12.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:09:20] Yeah well we don't even mention the prequel with Solo you know. [00:09:24][4.1]
Cristian Rogers: [00:09:24] Oh yeah Solo is bad. [00:09:25][0.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:09:26] You know. Yeah. Like the fact is, like we can say we've had one and a half good movies with Lucasfilm in the last decade. We've had three quality seasons of TV out of, what, five or six seasons of TV given by the Star Wars series? [00:09:47][21.9]
Cristian Rogers: [00:09:48] Yeah. [00:09:48][0.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:09:50] Like if they were a major League Baseball hitter, they'd be doing okay because they'd be batting about 300. But the problem is we're rating this more on NFL field goal kicker standards. If you're hitting like 50% or less, that's a problem. [00:10:02][12.3]
Cristian Rogers: [00:10:08] I just wish Disney would go back to the old way of releasing the Star Wars movies. They would wait us for us fans. We'd have to wait every four years for an epic Star Wars movie. And every Star Wars movie ended on some kind of new revelation that just happened, some kind of battle. I just wish Disney would do that, but I don't think they will because they want they want all the money that they can get out of the Star Wars property. [00:10:35][27.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:36] Well, isn't that kind of part of the problem as well, is like even though fans aren't happy with the quality. They're still shelling out the money for it. [00:10:48][11.4]
Cristian Rogers: [00:10:49] Yeah. [00:10:49][0.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:50] Like money talks, bullshit walks, end of the day. And the fact is that if Disney is still making money on it, Lucasfilm is still making money on it, which I know they lost money with Indiana Jones, but that's one project the most Star Wars movie projects tend to make back their money. If they're still making money with it, then where's the incentive for them to really change? Like unless Bob Iger is literally going to micromanage every one, every department, every aspect of Disney. I doubt that any significant change in quality is really going to happen. [00:11:24][33.2]
Cristian Rogers: [00:11:26] Yeah, then honestly, I would kind of put part of the blame on Kathleen Kennedy as well, that there's quite a bit of decisions that have been made just did not make sense, especially for this last Star Wars movie when they brought back Palpatine. Like, what was that? [00:11:43][17.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:11:43] Oh, my gosh. [00:11:43][0.4]
Cristian Rogers: [00:11:44] You just you just completely made Return of the Jedi irrelevant. [00:11:48][4.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:11:49] Well, the big problem with the Star Wars movies, well, at least the main trilogy movies, right, is that they had that break in directors, you know, going from J.J. to Rian Johnson back to J.J. is it's like the director before that came after always had to undo the work that the director before did. So it's like Rian Johnson, obviously under a lot of things that J.J. set up in the first episode or Episode seven. And then same shit happened in episode nine, where J.J. goes in and does a lot of stuff. The Rian Johnson setup. Yeah, so that's part of the problem. It seems disjointed how they even chose Do it. How If you had J.J. do the first two and then Rian Johnson finish off the trilogy, fine, If you had in reverse, Rian Johnson does the first one, J.J. does the next two. You find that obviously that didn't happen, you know, and you could be hindsight 2020 on that one, but there's a lot of missed opportunities there. How they treated Luke's character, how they treated a lot of the main trilogy characters. The random storylines like I'll never forget the Casino Planet, which turned into a weird animal rights allegory. [00:13:01][71.7]
Cristian Rogers: [00:13:03] That was that was ridiculous. [00:13:04][0.9]
Julian Martinez: [00:13:05] The awkward love story between Finn and that one chick Like, there's so many things, so many missed opportunities there and like. [00:13:17][12.1]
Cristian Rogers: [00:13:18] A lot of missed opportunities with Finn as well. Do they could have made Finn such a good character, but oh, he is. [00:13:25][6.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:13:25] And then he has nothing great to say about his time with Star Wars either. John Boyega almost wants to forget about his time with Star Wars horror. [00:13:33][7.8]
Cristian Rogers: [00:13:33] John Boyega Dude, like he he got shafted hard. Really? [00:13:39][5.5]
Julian Martinez: [00:13:39] Well, he made money, so he I don't think he really got shafted that hard. [00:13:43][3.4]
Cristian Rogers: [00:13:44] But oh, my God, They're like, like that. So they're talking about that next movie that Rey is supposed to be back. Yeah. [00:13:51][6.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:13:52] Oh, yeah. Fucking. [00:13:52][0.6]
Cristian Rogers: [00:13:53] And I don't know. I don't. I haven't heard one person said they're excited about that. [00:13:57][4.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:13:58] But yeah, again, people will watch. People will still go to the theater. People will watch like unless they experience something like Warner Brothers is going through right now. I don't think that Disney really has much incentive to change or do things different. Like again, like one bust at of Indiana Jones and a couple busts of like the Pixar movies like that won't hurt them in the grand scheme of things if they can still make their money back with Marvel Properties and the Star Wars properties, they'll be fine. [00:14:28][30.3]
Cristian Rogers: [00:14:30] Yeah, well, I guess we're going to have to see how the Marvel's does, because the Marvel's if that flops, then I think Disney might be a little bit scared. [00:14:39][9.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:14:40] Maybe, but it might just pressure them to do something like maybe they like Rush Spider-Man 4 or something, you know, and try and get that up there because they might just go back to go with what, you know, with Marvel, That might be the answer there. Reduced Marvel's size a little bit. I think they could do that a little bit easier than they can with Star Wars. [00:15:01][20.5]
Cristian Rogers: [00:15:02] Yeah, Yeah. [00:15:04][1.9]
Julian Martinez: [00:15:05] Focus on the villains. Focus on the heroes that people pay money for the villains. People pay money for Star Wars. I don't know what the right answer is to get them on the right track. [00:15:16][10.8]
Cristian Rogers: [00:15:17] I think with Star Wars, it's just quality over quantity. I think they just need to good Star Wars films, really good like competent writers like Get the Writers that made Andor to write a Star Wars movie. But well, actually but but the writers of Andor are the ones that made Rogue One get them to do another huge Star Wars movie, dude. Like that's that's what. [00:15:46][28.2]
Julian Martinez: [00:15:46] What's your focus on another Star Wars movie Like do you focus back to I guess what you would say is the main story that people care about right? Following the Jedi's and everything or you stick with. The bounty hunters have grown in popularity. Do you stick with more Star Wars politics stuff, which I don't think I would get excited about? [00:16:09][22.4]
Cristian Rogers: [00:16:10] I, I think I would do more smuggler's type storylines. [00:16:13][3.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:16:14] Okay. [00:16:14][0.0]
Cristian Rogers: [00:16:15] We we've got on a lot of Jedi, the Bounty hunters. We got Mandalorian for that do smuggler's like characters like Han Solo. You know what I mean? That that would. [00:16:24][9.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:16:25] Be So you're saying another Solo, a Solo sequel, prequel. [00:16:29][4.0]
Cristian Rogers: [00:16:30] Not another solo. Not that I said, like Han Solo. Not solo. And I honestly think that's why I liked Andor a lot because it was different. Yeah, writing the writing didn't The writing didn't make you feel like, how do you say it? The writing was competent, the writing was smart, it was just quality. It didn't need huge action set pieces you just really liked and or you really liked. Why he joined the Rebellion. Well, also, they showed the dark side of the rebellion. They had to do some stuff to get their movement going that did do some shady things, which I really enjoyed watching. [00:17:12][42.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:17:14] Probably the next big thing I could think they do would probably be a series on like Darth Vader or maybe just a Darth Vader movie. [00:17:22][7.9]
Cristian Rogers: [00:17:24] I will give Disney this though. They have made Darth Vader into a real badass. I will give. [00:17:30][6.5]
Julian Martinez: [00:17:31] Yeah. That one scene in Rogue one. Right? Just. Yes. Iconic. You know, even Hayden Christensen and Obi-Wan. Yeah. Ish. Like, I don't know. I mean, I still saw a little bit of little Annie. [00:17:47][15.8]
Cristian Rogers: [00:17:48] I love this scene, though, in Kenobi when. When half of the. Helmet is messed up and he's talking. But it's mixing with what? [00:17:57][8.9]
Julian Martinez: [00:17:58] There was a one scene that he set Obi Wan on fire. That was kind of cool. [00:18:02][4.0]
Cristian Rogers: [00:18:03] Yeah. Yeah. Then I liked. I like the part where Obi-Wan tricks him into escaping on the ship and Darth Vader just stops the ship that was sick. Like, he just stops it like nothing. That was cool. [00:18:15][12.2]
Julian Martinez: [00:18:16] Yeah. [00:18:16][0.0]
Cristian Rogers: [00:18:17] Even even in the video games, the new Star Wars, fallen Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi survivor. [00:18:23][5.6]
Star Wars Jedi : Fallen ORder: [00:18:25] I've carried so much hate for you. That doesn't look good. It isn't. [00:18:57][31.7]
Darth Vader: [00:19:12] You have failed the inquisitor of injustice. [00:19:15][3.8]
Star Wars Jedi : Fallen ORder: [00:19:19] What? No, no. [00:19:22][3.1]
Darth Vader: [00:19:27] They made Vader badass in those games. Like he he's actually horrifying in those games. It's it's pretty legit. [00:19:34][7.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:19:36] Yeah. Are we getting a young Yoda or something? I'm just thinking, like, what Disney is going to do. They're Lucasfilm. They're probably going to do something along those lines. But yeah, I mean, so those are the top five reasons, according to Screenrant, why Disney is struggling. Do you have a reason that you think was not met? Leave a like on the video, subscribe to our channel and now stay safe. Happy now. We'll see you next time. [00:19:36][0.0]
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