Victoria Alonso, the longtime Marvel president in charge of physical production, post-production, VFX, and animation, was fired at the behest of Disney co-chair Alan Bergman, according to a new report by Variety.
The report follows Alonso’s sudden departure from the company, which surprised many observers. Alonso had been with Disney since 2006, and she was known as one of the company’s most influential producers. Her work dates back to 2008’s Iron Man, where she was a co-producer and visual effects producer.
It’s unclear why Alonso was fired, though problems around Marvel’s visual effects have been in the news for some time now, with Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania the latest MCU project to garner criticism. Alonso was reportedly “blindsided” by the decision. Kevin Feige, who was her direct boss, was apparently not involved in the decision.
Victoria Alonso with Alan Bergman at Ant-Man & The Wasp’s debut. | Photo credit: Alberto Rodriguez/Getty Images
IGN has contacted Disney for a statement, but has not yet received a response.
Marvel’s visual effects problem
Visual effects have become a recurring problem at Marvel, driven in large part by the grueling pace the studio has undertaken as it tries to support multiple platforms. In 2022, IGN interviewed several VFX artists who talked regarding short deadlines and relentless nitpicking amid a major fear of being blacklisted.
While Alonso played a large role in Disney’s overall strategy, many stopped short of outright blaming her for Marvel’s VFX troubles.
“[Alonso] was the epitome of professional, and knows her stuff,” a former Disney film executive is said to have told Variety.
Regardless of the reasoning behind Alonso’s abrupt departure, Marvel finds itself under more pressure than ever as Phase 5 gets underway, and with one more hole to fill amid the loss of another longtime veteran.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
