Memes galore as MCU fans target Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige for alleged unrealistic VFX deadlines

Marvel Studios is doing an unbelievable job of bringing life to the still panels of our beloved comic books. Be it the multiversal journey of Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, Kamala Khan’s hard light powers in Ms. Marvel, or the immense world of Wakanda and Atlantis, the fictional countries as seen in the trailer of Wakanda Forever.

However, real heroes are people beyond our sights, working behind computers, bringing life to the otherwise lifeless footage riddled with green screens and tracking markers. From highly detailed superhero suits to massive battles and set pieces, everything is created from the ground up thanks to the VFX wizards.

What started as a humble beginning in 2008 with just six films each in Phase 1 and 2, Marvel Studios is going all out with more than six projects (both movies and series) in the span of a year. While fans rejoiced as Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige announced the future of the MCU, the overworked and underpaid VFX artists have raised their voices against toxic work relations with Marvel Studios.

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VFX artists claim Marvel Studios have made their lives a living nightmare

Many VFX wizards have taken to Twitter and Reddit to express their grievances with Marvel Studios. An anonymous VFX artist shared his experience with Vulture stating they had to work continuous overtime for six months, seven days a week, accounting for about 64 hours and more every week. They went on to say:

“Marvel genuinely works you really hard. I’ve had co-workers sit next to me, break down, and start crying. I’ve had people having anxiety attacks on the phone.”

The artist further expressed that Marvel, a colossal Hollywood studio that it is, would oppress the various partnered VFX houses with unrealistic deadlines, unjust demands, and impractical last-minute changes. If the VFX house, which is already underpaid and understaffed, is not able to meet the perfect requirements of Marvel Studios, will be blacklisted, their work will be ceased, and no further work will be provided to them. The incomplete work will then be assigned to another VFX house with an even more absurd deadline thus creating a vicious circle of toxic work relations.

A subreddit r/VFX consists of many posts that discuss the Studios’ poor work ethics. A Reddit user Independent-Ad419 posted:

"Marvel has probably the worst methodology of production and VFX management out there… They can never fix the look for the show before more than half the allocated time for the show is over. The artists working on Marvel shows are definitely not paid equivalent to the amount of work they put in."

Thanks to the internet, the issue has been noticed by netizens. The internet experts are helping spread the woes of VFX artists by doing what they can do best, through memes:

The workload has affected the industry so much that a few artists have decided to step down from their jobs, and a few have completely quit the VFX industry because of Marvel Studios’ maltreatment. Redditor RANDVR posted on the r/VFX thread:

“I am on my third Marvel project in a row and literally just woke up 5.30 am on a Saturday with stress going "I don't want to do this anymore". I don't give a shit if the Marvel fanboys eat it up and make Marvel billions (we don't see any of that anyway). All you get from Marvel movies is stress and nothing else.”

VFX artist Dhruv Govil, who has worked with Marvel on movies like Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, took to Twitter to state:

Working on #Marvel shows is what pushed me to leave the VFX industry. They're a horrible client, and I've seen way too many colleagues break down after being overworked, while Marvel tightens the purse strings.

Hopefully, Marvel Studios will acknowledge these concerns and work towards a better working environment.