In a seismic shift that’s rocking the entertainment world, Disney is scrambling to repair the wreckage of its once-unstoppable franchises, Star Wars and Marvel, after alienating their core male audience. Insiders reveal the House of Mouse is in full-blown panic mode, with executives issuing urgent directives to Hollywood creatives to craft new stories that will lure back Gen Z men—ages 13 to 28—whom they’ve driven away with years of divisive storytelling. What was once the golden goose of blockbuster cinema has become a cautionary tale of hubris, as Disney’s attempts to rebrand its male-driven sagas have backfired spectacularly, leaving fans disillusioned and box offices bleeding. This is the story of a titan’s fall and its desperate bid to reclaim the hearts of the audience it scorned.

The numbers don’t lie. Star Wars, a franchise that once defined cinematic heroism with lightsaber duels and rebel grit, hasn’t produced a theatrical film since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, a movie that left fans groaning over rushed plots and fractured legacies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which soared to dizzying heights with Avengers: Endgame’s $2.8 billion haul, has stumbled through a string of flops in 2025—Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million worldwide), Thunderbolts ($382 million), and Fantastic Four: First Steps ($470 million despite glowing reviews). These figures pale against the MCU’s glory days, when billion-dollar hits were routine. Meanwhile, unsold Star Wars action figures pile up in discount bins, and Marvel’s Disney+ shows like She-Hulk and Secret Invasion have failed to crack Nielsen charts. The verdict is clear: Disney’s crown jewels are tarnished, and the kingdom is in crisis.

How did it come to this? For years, Disney chased a broader, more “inclusive” audience, reshaping Star Wars and Marvel into what critics call “lifestyle brands” heavy on messaging and light on the pulse-pounding adventure that defined them. Star Wars fans, 65-70% male according to 2024 industry data, grew up idolizing Luke Skywalker’s journey from farm boy to Jedi legend. Yet, under Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, the franchise pivoted hard. The 2018 “The Force is Female” campaign, tied to a Nike event, became a lightning rod, signaling to many that the saga was no longer for them. The Last Jedi (2017) sparked outrage by portraying Luke as a bitter recluse, while The Acolyte (2024) leaned into Force witches and sisterhood, straying from the Jedi action fans craved. The show’s $200 million budget couldn’t save it from cancellation after fans slammed its lore-breaking choices. Social media echoed with dismay: “Disney broke Luke’s legacy,” one X post lamented, capturing the sentiment of a fandom adrift.

Marvel’s story mirrors this collapse. The MCU, with a 60-65% male audience, thrived on everyman heroes like Iron Man and Captain America. Post-Endgame, however, the focus shifted to female-led projects dubbed the “M-She-U” by frustrated fans. The Marvels (2023) grossed a dismal $200 million, the MCU’s lowest ever, as audiences skipped theaters, confused by Disney+ tie-ins like Ms. Marvel. She-Hulk’s meta humor and Secret Invasion’s muddled spy plot flopped, with viewership so low that even Daredevil: Born Again missed Nielsen’s top charts—a first for an MCU show. Kevin Feige, Marvel’s chief, admitted to The Wrap in 2025, “The expansion is what devalued [the Marvel brand]. It was just too much.” Disney’s push for Disney+ content diluted the MCU’s cinematic magic, leaving fans feeling burned out and disconnected.

The fallout is palpable. Disney’s once-loyal male fans—those who packed theaters for Iron Man’s quips or A New Hope’s starship chases—have walked away. Merchandise sales, a lifeline for these franchises, are crumbling, with toy shelves overflowing with unsold Rey and Captain Marvel figures. The 2023 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny added insult to injury, turning the iconic adventurer into a broken, irrelevant shell, further alienating the male demographic that made him a legend. As one X user put it, “Disney turned Star Wars and Marvel from boy brands into girl brands, and now they’re shocked men aren’t showing up.” Another quipped, “If you can’t get boys to watch Marvel and Star Wars, you don’t belong in the audience business.”

Now, Disney is sounding the alarm. According to industry insiders, CEO Bob Iger and his team are pushing for a radical pivot: original intellectual properties (IP) designed to recapture Gen Z men. Forget more sequels or reboots—Disney wants splashy, guy-centric adventures akin to Pirates of the Caribbean’s swashbuckling glory or treasure-hunt epics that spark the imagination. David Greenbaum, president of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios, has been tasked with this mission, soliciting pitches for bold, male-leaning stories—think global quests, high-stakes action, and heroes with grit. The studio’s $1.5 billion stake in Fortnite signals a broader strategy to tap into gaming culture, where Gen Z men spend hours battling in virtual worlds. A Minecraft Movie’s near-billion-dollar success at Warner Bros. showed what’s possible when studios lean into this demographic’s passions.

But can Disney pull it off? The challenge is steep. Years of dismissing fan complaints as “toxic” have eroded trust. Star Wars fans still sting from The Last Jedi’s divisive choices, like Snoke’s abrupt death or Rose Tico’s polarizing arc. Marvel’s insistence on interconnected Disney+ shows created a barrier to entry, with audiences feeling they needed to watch every episode to follow the films. “People aren’t sick of superheroes,” one X user argued, echoing industry sentiment. “They’re sick of bad movies.” Disney’s own successes prove this: Deadpool & Wolverine (2025), a male-driven, irreverent hit, soared by embracing the action and humor fans crave, free of heavy-handed messaging. Meanwhile, the Lilo & Stitch remake crossed $1 billion by sticking to theatrical roots rather than streaming.

The irony is biting. Disney, which owns the most iconic male-oriented franchises in history—Star Wars, Marvel, Indiana Jones—finds itself begging for the audience it once took for granted. George Lucas himself reminded Solo director Ron Howard in 2017, “Star Wars is for 12-year-old boys.” That vision of wonder and heroism seems lost in Disney’s current slate of nostalgia-driven shows and sanitized heroes. Fans on X are skeptical: “Disney thinks new IP will fix this? They need to fire the people who broke Marvel and Star Wars first,” one wrote. Another jabbed, “They labeled us trolls, now they’re begging us to come back. Good luck.”

Disney’s desperation is a wake-up call. The studio’s pivot to original IP could spark a renaissance if it delivers stories with heart and adventure—think Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Guardians of the Galaxy’s wit. But rebuilding trust requires more than shiny new projects. It means listening to the fans who felt lectured and sidelined, not just throwing money at the problem. Iger’s admission that Disney+’s overexpansion hurt Marvel and Star Wars (losing $4 billion, per reports) is a start, but the road ahead is treacherous. Upcoming projects like The Mandalorian movie and Ahsoka Season 2 face scrutiny, with rumors swirling that budgets are slashed and cancellation looms if they falter.

For now, Disney’s empire is at a crossroads. The fans who once cheered for Captain America’s shield or Han Solo’s swagger are watching from the sidelines, waiting for a reason to return. Will Disney deliver heroes worth rooting for, or will it cling to the strategies that drove its audience away? The answer lies in the stories it chooses to tell. As one X post summed it up, “Make movies for guys again, Disney. It’s not that hard.” The clock is ticking, and the galaxy is watching.