In a shocking twist of events, longtime Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso has left the company.
While the reasons for her exit are still unclear, inside sources say that she left the company on Friday.
Photo: Deadline
Joining Marvel Studios
Victoria Alonso joined Marvel Studios in 2006 at the behest of her friend, Louis D’Esposito, who was working on the first Iron Man film with Jon Favreau.
Although initially brought on as a VFX producer, Alonso took on a bigger role during the film’s production. She eventually received co-producer credit.
For the rest of Marvel’s Phase 1 films, Alonso held the title of chief of visual effects and post-production,. In 2012, she was named Executive Vice President and Chief of Production and Post-Production at Marvel Studios. Beginning with 2012’s The Avengers, Alonso received Executive Producer credit on all of Marvel’s releases.
Leader in the Industry
While working at Marvel, Alonso formed something of a triumvirate with President Keven Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito.
Photo: Marvel
While D’Esposito focused largely on talent and pre-production, Victoria oversaw the physical and post-production. Kevin Feige, on the other hand, continued to craft the studio’s master plan.
In this role, Alonso thrived and helped launch Marvel Studios from relative obscurity to pop culture behemoth. Fan favorite characters such as Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Spider-Man all shined on the big screen thanks to Alonso’s vision.
Photo: Marvel
In 2021, Marvel began to expand their horizons into animation. At this time, Alonso was given the title of President of Physical, Post Production, Visual Effects, and Animation.
Turmoil With VFX Artists
Although Alonso had continued to be highly respected inside the entertainment industry, as Marvel ramped up its release schedule, VFX artists began to air their complaints.
Photo: Disney
After a slew of criticism surrounding the VFX and CGI work on recent releases such as Thor: Love and Thunder and She-Hulk, things finally hit a breaking point.
In January 2023, Vulture reported that VFX artists were being pushed to the brink by Marvel, and many artists shared that they experienced emotional breakdowns over the stress. Within that report also came the revelation that Alonso kept a blacklist of employees who failed to hit scene quotas or left a project early.
Photo: Marvel/Empire
“The main one that everyone’s quite scared of is Victoria Alonso. She is known in the industry as a kingmaker. If she likes you, you are going to get work and move up in the industry. If you have pissed her off in any way, you’re going to get frozen out,” a former Marvel VFX employee said.
A Rocky End To A Great Career
With Marvel Studios facing increased pressure from Disney CEO Bob Iger to “push for profit,” an estranged relationship with the VFX community was not a good look.
While the reasons for Alonso’s departure remain unclear, the studio’s reputation among animators and recent struggles with critics and fans alike was certainly a problem.
Recently, Marvel Studios was accused of rushing post-production VFX work on Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which made have led to subpar effects.
Photo by Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
In the end, however, despite a tumultuous couple of years, Victoria Alonso will be remembered as one of the luminaries of the superhero movie genre. Her work at Marvel Studios has not only launched an international brand, but it changed the shape of cinema as we know it.
Photo: Also Disney
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