Marvel Studios is changing how they make their TV shows, and they’re not spending as much money on them anymore.
Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation, recently told Variety that the company is focusing on keeping budgets ‘reasonable’ moving forward. This allows them to have more creative freedom while keeping costs under control.
One example of this change is the new Disney+ series ‘Agatha All Along.’ Winderbaum said that this lower-budget approach was intentional. “I can tell you it’s our least expensive show, and I think that was by design,” he admitted. “We are looking to make these shows for a responsible cost. Frankly, it gives us a little bit more freedom creatively when we can bring them in at a reasonable budget. ‘Agatha All Along’ has minimal CG, way less than we’ve ever done before. It’s mostly practical effects, and I think you can feel it in the show.”
Winderbaum didn’t share exact numbers, but it has been reported that ‘Echo’ had a budget of $40 million for five episodes. He also mentioned that the upcoming Vision series won’t necessarily have the same high budget as earlier Marvel shows. “I think it’s about how you use the effects, as opposed to the scale of the effects,” he explained. “And we’re responding to our own recent history here, and how effective effects really are in increasing the value of a story.”
Marvel’s TV shows often had budgets that were as high as their movies in the past. Many cost more than $150 million, but this strategy is shifting. Winderbaum explained that future shows like ‘Daredevil’ and those planned for 2026 and 2027 will also be made with smaller budgets. “That’s certainly the goal,” he said.
‘Agatha All Along’ is a spinoff of ‘WandaVision,’ but it doesn’t feature any characters from the Marvel films. It’s also the first show to come out under Marvel Television’s rebranding. The new plan is to make shows that people can enjoy without having to follow all the details of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The approach seems to be working. ‘Agatha All Along’ had 9.3 million views in its first week on Disney+. This is close to the 11.1 million views ‘The Acolyte’ received in five days. ‘The Acolyte’ had a much larger budget of $180 million, though.
‘Agatha All Along’ is currently airing on Disney+, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday and the finale set for October 30.
