Every Upcoming Marvel Show & Movie That Disney’s Mass Layoff May Affect

Credits: Marvel Studios

The massive layoffs at the Walt Disney Company could be the end of the aesthetics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that fans have known and loved. A recently shared memo from the new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, announced that approximately one thousand employees were laid off at the company to “streamline operations” (via Forbes). All divisions have been affected, including Marvel, raising fears about losing the ‘MCU look’ fans have been loving so far in Marvel movies and TV shows.

The studio has lost employees in multiple organizations, including film and TV production, comics, franchise, finance, and legal, which includes the visual development team. With upcoming Marvel movies and shows still in production, fans could see the artistic difference in these projects compared to the ones they are used to. Here are some projects that could get affected:

Show/Movie	Release Date/Window
Avengers: Doomsday	December 18, 2026
Daredevil: Born Again Season 3	2027
Avengers: Secret Wars	December 17, 2027
Black Panther 3	2028
X-Men	TBA
Wonder Man Season 2	TBA
Armor Wars	TBA

1 Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026)

The fifth Avengers film is set up to be the beginning of the end of the studio’s Phase 6 Multiversal Era. Robert Downey Jr. returns, but as one of the richest villains in Marvel Comics, Doctor Doom. Fans have been thoroughly excited about this film, which potentially brings back the original Avengers on the same screen, along with new characters. The movie was last known to be in post-production, with some extra filming scheduled to take place in early 2026.

Even if the movie has finished production, any visual details that need to be added at this point can be missed by fans altogether. Avengers: Doomsday will be packed with CGI and visual effects, which might be reminiscent of Avengers: Endgame. As major heroes are returning to the screens, the studio could get away with it if a dominant part of the film is already made. However, fans have high expectations from the studios to bring back the same quality as Endgame.

2 Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 (2027)

After the events of the first season and the ongoing second season, Daredevil: Born Again has been renewed for Season 3. The studio usually gives the superhero series a cold and gloomy look, which some fans have appreciated, and the Daredevil series has been widely loved by fans.

Daredevil: Born Again is usually packed with action scenes, incredible visual effects, and beautiful cinematography. However, with the layoffs, fans might see some changes that this brings to the project. The studio has reportedly started filming for Born Again‘s third season, and it will likely be difficult for them to maintain the quality they chose for the series with such mass layoffs.

3 Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17, 2027)

The sequel to Doomsday will be Avengers: Secret Wars, which will include a large ensemble of superheroes, and of course, villains, including Doctor Doom. The movie is set to be the final installment of Phase 6 and the Multiversal Saga. If Doomsday is regarded as the Infinity War of the studio’s Phase 6, Secret Wars would be the Endgame, which means double the visual work, the effects, and the CGI of the previous movie.

Secret Wars will need to have the same quality of visuals and work as Doomsday did, or even better. However, Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to release by December 2026, which means it is in post-production, indicating that even this movie itself requires hands-on work from people who have made the entire production and visuals up to the point of the layoffs. Scary times indeed.

4 Black Panther 3 (2028)

Black Panther has seen major shifts because of the untimely demise of the actor Chadwick Boseman. Despite the absence of its main character, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever managed to give an emotional tribute to the actor and honoured his memory with the sequel. It sets up the franchise to move forward after T’Challa’s death, leading to Black Panther 3, which will be more important to set the future for the franchise.

At the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fans see Shuri (Letitia Wright) take over the mantle of Black Panther. Fans loved the storyline; however, with recent changes at Marvel, the writing could take a different turn altogether. The movie franchise is known for its cultural significance and how the story lets the characters shine, coupled with the fight sequences, which require heavy reliance on the entire creative team, which could also be completely changed. The studio might have a difficult job meeting the standards they themselves had set once.

5 Marvel X-Men Movie (Release Date: TBA)

The X-Men saga has been long-awaited by fans, where they expect Marvel to do justice to the adaptation of the mutants from the Marvel comics. This might set up the next phase of the studio. Mutants are reportedly being introduced with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as the majority of the fans are hoping that Sadie Sink has been cast as Jean Grey. Fans think the actress will set up the stage for mutants in the MCU.

However, to adapt the X-Men into the MCU better than the previous Fox Studios movies, Marvel will need its trusted team that set up the entirety of Phases 1-5. The studios will need their character and environment designers to create a design for every character that fans have known and loved from the comics. Only time will tell if the remaining skeleton of the crew can set up this new phase for the MCU as successfully as the entire team once had.

6 Wonder Man: Season 2 (Release Date: TBA)

The Marvel Spotlight Series Wonder Man has been renewed for its second season after its debut in January 2026. It is different from other MCU projects and stands alone in a distinct way, visually as well as with its character-driven story arc. With amazing performances from Yahya Abdul Mateen as Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, the show has won over fans.

With a brand new show deemed as “different” and “refreshing” by fans, the studio might face a challenge to keep it consistent if a portion of the team that made it happen is simply laid off. With the usual trajectory of Marvel shows like WandaVision, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel, all starting amazingly but being left without a second season, even if successful, the fate of their new favourite superhero they came to like might be undecided.

7 Armor Wars (Release Date: TBA)

Led by Tony Stark’s best friend, Rhodey (Don Cheadle), aka War Machine, Armor Wars has been reportedly in development since 2025. The movie was supposed to be Tony Stark’s worst nightmare come to life, where his brilliance falls into the wrong hands. The project was initially announced as a Disney+ series but was later changed into a theatrical release.

The studio will definitely require a good visual effects team to match the beauty created with the Iron Man movies, for the possibility of showcasing the technology made by Stark. The project might get delayed yet again due to the absence of the visual development teams. Armor Wars was originally scheduled to be released after Avengers: Secret Wars, but whether the project will be released remains to be seen.

And there you have it! These are the Marvel projects that could see changes with the way they are shot, the stories, their quality, and visual effects, too. But there might still be hope for fans, as some of the full-time visual development artists have been transitioned to contractor status. They will be hired on a per-project basis, which still means the studio could bring some of their original team members.

Ultimately, with massive layoffs seen across the entertainment, advertising, and other media production industries, companies like Marvel that run on a continuity of projects rather than movies about different characters and stories might find it difficult to transition.

What do you think about this massive change at The Walt Disney Company? Will there be a change Marvel cannot adapt to? What movies or TV shows do you think Marvel will postpone due to their teams being laid off?

All Marvel movies and TV shows can be streamed only on Disney+.