One of Marvel’s longest-serving executives, Victoria Alonso, has left the studio, raising questions about how integral she was and why she left.
Victoria Alonso – one of Marvel Studios’ longest-serving producers – has left the company, which has led many to wonder just how involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe she was and why she left. News broke in March 2023 that Alonso had parted ways with Marvel Studios, with little to no comment from Disney’s subsidiary as to why this was the case. Since then, plenty of reports have surfaced detailing multiple contrasting accounts of exactly why Alonso is no longer working with Marvel Studios.
However, one of the more interesting aspects to delve into following this news is exactly how integral Alonso was to one of modern Hollywood’s most successful franchises. Spending the better part of two decades at the company, Alonso played a massive role at Marvel prior to the Marvel Studios executive’s exit from the MCU. That being said, here is every vital part of Alonso’s Marvel exit explained, from what the producer did prior to her work with Marvel, which MCU projects Alonso was involved in, why the exit occurred, and what the future looks like for Marvel Studios without Alonso’s presence.
What Victoria Alonso Did Before Joining Marvel Studios
With Alonso joining Marvel Studios in 2005, the question remains about what work she was involved in prior to this. Before working on Iron Man and helping to kickstart the MCU, Alonso worked on nine major feature film projects, primarily as a VFX producer. These films included Sordid Lives – the only film of the nine on which Alonso worked as a producer rather than a VFX producer – The 6th Day, Shrek, Cats & Dogs, Darkness Falls, The Core, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, and Kingdom of Heaven.
The latter film, Kingdom of Heaven, was released in 2005, the same year Alonso joined Marvel Studios. In the decades since then, Alonso’s work has come entirely in the Marvel Cinematic Universe aside from one producer credit on the Argentine legal drama film Argentina, 1985. Given the bulk of Alonso’s carer in Hollywood comes with Marvel Studios, it is worth exploring what role she played with the company.
What Victoria Alonso’s Role At Marvel Was: Post-Production, VFX & More
Initially, Alonso was hired as the executive vice president of VFX and post-production at Marvel Studios. This meant that Alonso was primarily responsible for overseeing the post-production side of the studio’s filmmaking. The post-production process is almost as extensive as the prior two stages of filmmaking (pre-production and production itself) and includes important processes like editing, sound mixing and editing, score production, and visual effects work, to name but a few.
As expected from such an important role, being vice president of post-production, Alonso had a hand in the vast majority of MCU projects after filming had wrapped. Also, Alonso’s role specifically outlined her overseeing VFX, meaning it was in the production of Marvel’s CGI elements that Alonso had arguably the biggest part. This led to her gaining many credits in the MCU both before and after Disney’s acquisition of Marvel Studios. Since 2005, Alonso has had two promotions, the first seeing her rise to Executive Vice President of Production in 2015 before again being promoted to President of Physical, Post Production, VFX, and Animation in 2021.
Victoria Alonso Worked On Almost Every MCU Movie & Show
In terms of which credits Alonso has to her name at Marvel Studios, Alonso is credited as working on every single MCU project to date aside from The Incredible Hulk. The likely reason behind her lack of credit for The Incredible Hulk comes from the complicated rights issues of that film, meaning the production was split between Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures. That being said, Alonso is credited as the co-producer of all MCU Phase 1 films: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, with a VFX producer credit for Iron Man.
Beginning with 2012’s The Avengers, Alonso has been credited as an executive producer for every single MCU film. This even extends to the two upcoming 2023 superhero movies Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels, set for release after Alonso left the company in March 2023. Similar to her extensive credits on Marvel Studios’ feature films, Alonso is also credited as an executive producer on all Disney+ Marvel projects to date, including the TV shows and the Marvel Studios Special Presentations.
Why Victoria Alonso Has Left Marvel Studios
Given Alonso’s illustrious Marvel Studios career and her integral role in every single project barring The Incredible Hulk, the most burning question is why she left Marvel Studios. Initially, Alonso’s departure from the company was unclear. However, in the days after her departure, reports began surfacing claiming different reasons for her exit. One report from Variety states that Alonso’s exit from Marvel Studios was not amicable:
While the cause of Alonso’s termination is unclear, the sources said, the decision was made by a consortium including human resources, Disney’s legal department and multiple executives including Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman (to whom all of Marvel Studios reports). Alonso’s longtime boss and Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige felt mired in an impossible situation and, ultimately, did not intervene, one source added. Alonso was blindsided, another insider added.
Should this be the case, Alonso’s firing from Marvel Studios would link to the claims of Vulture reporter Chris Lee who took to social media after Alonso’s departure claiming that she is solely responsible for the toxic work environment of Marvel Studios’ various VFX houses. This would track with Alonso’s role as the president of VFX and post-production at Marvel. This work environment could have led to the consortium of Disney-related groupings that pushed for Alonso’s termination at Marvel, should the reports of her being fired hold any weight.
On the other hand, however, other reports – such as The LA Times – simply stated that Alonso departed her role at Marvel for unknown reasons. It is entirely possible that the reports of Alonso being fired are unfounded and Alonso left for a change of scenery after working with Marvel Studios for almost 20 years. Regardless, while the details behind Victoria Alonso’s exit from Marvel remain unclear – to say the least – it will likely have some effect on Marvel Studios going forward.
What Does Victoria Alonso Leaving The MCU Mean?
Given Alonso’s integral role as the president of VFX, post-production, animation, and even production itself beginning in 2021, there are likely to be some impacts on the franchise itself. Firstly, Marvel Studios will likely begin looking for a replacement for Alonso swiftly, in the hopes that the projects of Phase 5 ready to move into production or post-production soon are as unimpaired as possible. This is not to say that Marvel’s currently in-development projects will suffer from Alonso’s departure, as Bob Iger’s reinstatement as Disney CEO could alleviate some stress on the franchise.
Since Iger was reinstated as Disney’s CEO in November 2022, rumors have circulated that he wishes to slow down production on Marvel projects. This comes as many Phase 4 projects were criticized for their lackluster scripts or CGI elements, which could have been refined given longer production times. If this is to be the case, it is likely the Marvel machine will be much less encumbered by deadlines in order to allow each project room to breathe and fulfill its potential.
With rumors surrounding Alonso’s poor handling of post-production in the VFX department, the departure combined with Iger’s potential new Marvel regime could be for the best. Regardless, Marvel losing an executive with such an important history with the company is always going to be a big blow. However, without concrete details about Alonso’s exit from Marvel – and given the contrasting reports surrounding her departure – it is unclear exactly how the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be impacted, if indeed it will be at all.
source: screenrant.com
