Marvel’s VFX Artists Assemble – Vote To Unionize Against Harsh Workplace Conditions

Even in the post-“Avengers: Endgame” era, the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains one of the hottest commodities in the entertainment world. Fans still flock to the movies and switch over to Disney+ whenever a new entry arrives, and they’re still popping up left and right. For several years now, the MCU has maintained a pretty hefty slate of television shows and movies, shrinking the gaps between them dramatically. Thus, the VFX artists tasked with bringing Hulks to life with stunning realism, de-aging heroes and villains alike, and giving moviegoers big, bombastic battles have been worked to the bone and grossly underpaid.

During a chat with Vulture back in July 2022, a Marvel VFX artist highlighted the troubles of working on MCU productions. In addition to having to crunch to get one project done before the next arrives, Marvel’s VFX team has to constantly deal with last-minute changes from higher-ups and make creative decisions with certain scenes due to a lack of proper guidance, resulting in some fights and action scenes appearing out of place. As if these issues weren’t enough to put some serious strain on VFX artists, as seen with the divisive title sequence of the Disney+ series “Secret Invasion,” Marvel Studios has begun toying with A.I. — a tool that could evolve to take VFX jobs away on a massive scale.

All of this is to say that Marvel VFX artists gaining union protections is long overdue. We’ll have to wait and see what becomes of their push to join IATSE in the coming weeks.