Damon Lindelof: Make ‘Less Marvel Movies’ So ‘Each One Can Be a Bit More Special’

Damon Lindelof watches every Marvel movie, but he’s starting to think there’s simply too many of them. The “Lost” and “Watchmen” showrunner joined Vulture’s “Into It” podcast to discuss his preference for endings, which he said is the opposite mentality of the never-ending Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lindelof shared his belief that the sheer number of Marvel movies actually works against the brand because it ends up making each entry feel less special.

“It’s always going to be hard because once you’ve got someone’s attention, you want to keep it. And so the idea of letting it go and not knowing if you’re ever going to get it back again is sort of like, it’s antithetical to the way that we’re wired,” Lindelof said about ending film series and TV shows.

“From a slightly sort of more cynical standpoint, this is a business,” he continued. “It’s an industry. And if you make a couple of great Marvel movies, the instinct is, ‘We need to make more Marvel movies, and we need to expand this.’ And I have this sort of interior feeling of like, ‘Wow, I wish they made less because it would make each one that came out a little bit more special. But I watch all of them. … People don’t want things to end. I do.”

Marvel’s output isn’t slowing down anytime soon. This year has seen the release of two Marvel movies already (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”). The third and final Marvel movie of 2022 arrives in November with the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Over on television, the Aug. 18 launch of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” marks the third Marvel series of the year, and there’s still the “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” to come. That makes for seven different Marvel entries in one year.

Then there’s Marvel’s future, which studio president Kevin Feige detailed during Comic-Con. There are four Marvel movies set for theatrical release in 2023 (including “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Blade”), and potentially up to six Marvel series (including “Secret Invasion” and “Loki” Season 2).

“I don’t begrudge them the right to keep it going,” Lindelof said about studios keeping their franchises alive without a clear ending in sight. “I’ve made prequels and sequels and reboots, so I can’t be a hypocrite and say, ‘God, come up with an original idea.’ Meanwhile, I’m making two ‘Star Trek’ movies and ‘Prometheus.’”