Marvel Studios has received harsh criticism from members from the VFX community for difficult working conditions. Visual effects artists have slammed the studio for being the ‘worst’ to work for, and accused it of imposing stringent deadlines despite the employees being overworked.
The allegations were detailed on a Reddit thread, titled ‘I am sick and tired of working on Marvel shows!’ Several artists shared stories about why working with Marvel left them exhausted and disappointed.
One person wrote in the Reddit thread, “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.”
Another person expressed their frustration and wrote, “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. It’s 6 am now and I am making a reel to apply someplace that has projects other than Marvel because I can’t do this anymore.” Dhruv Govil, a former VFX artist who worked with Marvel on Guardians of the Galaxy, shared an article that detailed the accusations and tweeted, “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.”
Marvel has often faced criticism for the sub-par quality of the VFX in their projects. In 2018, the visual effects in the final battle scene of Black Panther attracted much backlash, as did the first trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Marvel is yet to address these allegations. The studio’s most recent release, Thor: Love And Thunder, has received harsh criticism for the same too.
