Marvel enjoyed both box office and critical success in the years leading up to Avengers: Endgame. During this period, the MCU had one of the most loyal fan bases in cinema. Endgame saw the pinnacle of that success, becoming the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, making almost $2.8 billion. In recent years, there has been a stark fall-off in both critical and commercial success within the MCU. Much of the original Avengers cast is transitioning out of main roles, so some growing pains are to be expected. However, X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo (The Witcher, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) believes that management within Marvel must share some of the blame. He recently took to X to share his thoughts.
One of his many complaints about the studio was Marvel’s perceived lack of respect for the source material. He stated that instead of actually reading the comics, many of the execs would work from development documents that their assistants created. Assistants reading material is not uncommon within Hollywood, but it is typically used as a filtering process for executives, producers, and other key talent who will then read the best work.
He claims that Marvel’s “problem” is “Kevin’s Parliament”, a group of executives who lack knowledge of the source material but still give a seemingly endless stream of notes. DeMayo believes that X-Men ’97 came out unscathed because it was not prioritized by Marvel executives.
DeMayo appears to be an avid fan of the X-Men comics, believing that one voice alone was not enough to truly encapsulate their impact.
According to DeMayo, Marvel declined to pay for a wrap party for the crew. A tradition which he took upon himself, claiming to pay $7,000 out of his own pocket. Additionally, he stated that Marvel executives elected not to attend the premiere of X-Men ’97.
Perhaps his most controversial claim was that Kevin Feige (Black Panther, Thunderbolts) said that he would be “happier” with X-Men ’97 if fans were not using it as a “referendum” for the future of the MCU. DeMayo believes that executives saw him as a “threat’ to the current status quo. X-Men ’97 currently has a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91 percent rating on Popcornmeter, their audience-based metric.
Some fans in the replies to this post appear to agree with Demayo.
Just modern Hollywood man. They are hell bent on destroying anything doing good or with hope… we’ve seen it many times over the last 5 years. Theyre in full collapse.
— Scott (@_STRound) August 15, 2025
Whether or not Demayo’s claims about the MCU are true, the decline of popularity of Marvel is undeniable. According to ScreenRant, Marvel’s Phase Five has been its least successful in terms of total box office. Phase two also contained six movies and grossed approximately $1.6 billion more. Even when the MCU was in its infancy, Phase One grossed approximately $200 million more than Phase Five. Phase One also contained six movies.