Marvel Exec Victoria Alonso Steps Down – What Does This Mean For Kevin Feige And The MCU? [UPDATE]
[UPDATE]: A report from Variety on March 22, 2023 stated that Victoria Alonso was was fired as Marvel's president of physical production, post-production, VFX and animation, which differs from the initial reports that Alonso stepped down from her position. Representatives for Marvel and Alonso have yet to comment. Our original article is as initially published below.
Trouble might be brewing on Asgard. The news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, which delivered some shocking Marvel news from multiple sources. Longtime Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso, who is often credited alongside Kevin Feige as one of the studio's key figures, reportedly left the company last week for undisclosed reasons. Alonso had worn many hats throughout Marvel Studios' lifetime, from visual effects supervisor to executive producer, having been promoted to the president of physical and post-production, visual effects, and animation production in 2021. However, only two years later, that position is notably vacant.
Neither Alonso nor Marvel Studios have provided comment on her departure. That being said, it's not hard to see that this key departure, especially from a figure with as long of a tenure as her, does not look good for the company. Many outlets publications, such as the aforementioned Hollywood Reporter and Variety, have consistently named her one of the most powerful female executives in the entertainment industry, but that's not all her legacy stands for. As an openly gay Hispanic woman, she also made headlines in 2022 when she defied her parent company's silence on Florida's Don't Say Gay bill. To deny Alonso's contributions to the Marvel franchise, from its groundbreaking visual techniques to its diverse and exciting casting decisions, would be to deny what made the Marvel Cinematic Universe so great in the first place.
A difficult obstacle to overcome
However, it can't be denied that Alonso's leadership in the visual effects and post-production sectors is a complicated one. Under her leadership, Marvel Studios has come under increasing scrutiny for allegedly overworking and underpaying contracted visual effects artists. Most recently, Marvel was accused of rushing post-production VFX work on "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania," resulting in grueling working hours and public criticism over the movie's lackluster effects. The studio also allegedly allocated resources away from the film to "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," which was considered the studio's top priority.
While the reports regarding these claims do not specifically cite Alonso as a specific problem, it's not hard to see how they could rub off on her greater legacy. It's important to note that The Hollywood Reporter's sources claim she left on her own accord and was not fired. Regardless, Marvel Studios is now faced with a major problem of succession. Given Alonso's illustrious and intimate knowledge of the MCU, who will be up to the task of filling her shoes? We might not know the answer right now, but it's going to have to be solved sooner rather than later if the MCU still wants to press forward in Phases 5 and 6.