In years post-pandemic, the MCU has witnessed a slew of underwhelming releases, whose poorly done VFX in projects, such as She-Hulk, Black Widow, etc, was called into question. However, it appears, that these results have little to do with the artists’ skills but more with the cinematic giants’ strenuous slate and impractical deadlines.
Several VFX artists have opted to speak against the Industry giant by shedding light on its apparent toxic work culture. However, according to one VFX artist, the cracks in the MCU’s machine were visible from 2018.
Black Panther’s VFX Artist Shed Light on Marvel’s Unreasonable Deadlines
Chadwick Boseman‘s Black Panther remains one of the most impactful releases from the cinematic giant, which went on to earn six Oscar nods on top of its $1.3B box-office gross. While fans had few complaints about its narrative and the performances of the impeccable cast, one major aspect that was heavily scrutinized was its lackluster showdown between T’Challa and Eric Killmonger.
Given the letdown in the CG department, the final fight is more in line with a video game cutscene than a movie, and fans went on to deem it as one of the weakest VFX moments in the MCU. However, according to one VFX artist, who was involved in the film’s post-production, the blame doesn’t solely lie on the artists’ shoulders, as he alleged it has more to do with MCU’s management.
Taking to X, the artist alleged that they were given six weeks to finish it, adding it was a “last-minute project with very little time and team allocation”.
Black Panther was for us a last minute project with very little time and team allocation.
I know there’s a lot of complaints on how bad the CGi looks, and I agree.
But given the time and resources we had this was the best we could do.My burnout self post project can vouch for… https://t.co/b9ory6BGqn
— dasNeves (@dasNeves_vfx) November 7, 2024
Reflecting on it, fans empathized with the artists’ struggle with impractical deadlines, as the MCU is infamous for its treatment of the VFX department.
6 weeks????
Brother that is evil.
Y’all killed it given the time constraints however my god— Rectangulator (@Rectangulator) November 7, 2024
That’s way too much work for a 6 week turnaround. I’ve been in that situation before, and y’all did a fine job pulling it off. I hope you got some time off after that.
— Mike Jamieson (@jaymojamieson) November 7, 2024
i knew it instantly the moment i watched it then and it’s so unfortunate for you & team not able to deliver your ultimate hardwork. I hate them made you compromised and suffer alot. I hope there will come the time.
— ║ 𝔱σηⓊᎶ𝕒ⓜย ║ (@tonugamu) November 7, 2024
Yeah as soon as someone brought up the time crunch my whole perspective on this kinda stuff shifted. Hope animators are able to make progress with unionizing so that they have more power in these situations where they’re forced to work inhuman hours
— Liam (@_Big_Mackey_) November 8, 2024
Moreover, Vulture previously reported that the MCU allegedly pays their VFX artists 20 percent less than the industry standard, and if true, it’s inexcusable on Marvel’s part, as their success has built up on the work of VFX artists.
James Gunn’s MCU Flicks Was an Outlier in That Front
While many of the MCU’s post-pandemic releases have struggled to deliver on the VFX front, one major outlier was James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn, who is pretty well-versed with the challenges in the VFX department, revealed that he provides his collaborators with prolonged periods to procure greater results.
If you do some research you’ll see my films have always taken a different approach and I’ve always given my VFX artist-collaborators time to do their jobs properly, and the respect they deserve. And the quality of the VFX in those films is uniformly great because of it (and because my friends at Weta and Framestore and ILM and more are amazingly talented).
Gunn further added that this is the reason why they called it a wrap on Superman‘s filming a year before its theatrical release, as it offers artists at the VFX department ample time to work their magic.
Black Panther is available to stream on Disney Plus.
