‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’: Why Marvel is facing same ‘woke’ allegations that doomed ‘Snow White’ and other high-profile Disney projects

The Walt Disney Company has been around for more than 100 years, and during that century-plus the studio has developed a reputation for wholesome, all-ages entertainment. Because of that reputation, Disney is often an easy target when it dares to stray from a very narrow definition of "family-friendly."

It’s not uncommon for Hollywood studios to be attacked by conservative for anything resembling diversity in race, gender, or sexuality. But many right-wing outlets have pushed Disney into the middle of the culture war even when its executives — including CEO Bob Iger — clearly want nothing to do with that.

Within the past week, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has drawn ire among social media commentators for revealing a female Silver Surfer (played by Emmy winner Julia Garner) in the latest trailer, which is being presented among some quarters as evidence of Mouse House's alleged “woke agenda.” If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it’s happened to several Disney-produced projects during the last few years.

Lightyear (2022)

Rarely has so much anger been made out of such a small moment. Pixar really struggled after the pandemic, but it didn’t help when conservative outlets accused the studio of dropping Tim Allen — a conservative-leaning actor who has portrayed Buzz Lightyear since 1995’s Toy Story — in favor of a more liberal actor, Chris Evans, to topline the animated feature Lightyear.

Lightyear was meant to be the movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy from the Toy Story films. But it drew right-wing anger when it was revealed that the film had a very brief scene in which Buzz’s partner and friend, Alisha Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba), kisses her wife. It’s a moment that goes by very quickly, but apparently not quickly enough to avoid the faux outrage. 

Lightyear underperformance was due to a number of factors beyond Pixar’s control, including the lingering effects of the pandemic; however, the vocal backlash over the kissing scene undoubtedly contributed. In the end, with only $226.4 million in worldwide ticket sales, Lightyear cost the studio more than $100 million in losses. 

Strange World (2022)

Disney seemed to downplay Strange World’s most controversial aspect during the film’s promotional cycle, most likely because the wanted to avoid the inevitable backlash. Ethan Clade (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White), one of the young heroes in the movie, was Disney Animation’s first openly gay hero in a leading role.

Once that aspect of the character became public, the predictable conservative backlash began. Strange World was also saddled with a visually unappealing art style and bad word of mouth that sank its prospects at the box office. The film only made $73.6 million worldwide, and Disney is estimated to have lost almost $200 million. That gave Strange World the unwelcome distinction of being one of the biggest flops of all time.

The Marvels (2023)

There’s a group of male fans who have had it out for Brie Larson ever since her comments about A Wrinkle in Time in 2018. Somehow, Larson’s remarks that the film was “a love letter to a woman of color” and “I do not need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn’t work for him about A Wrinkle in Time; it wasn’t made for him” were perceived by these people as if she said something truly outrageous, like “I hate all men.” 

None of that backlash kept Larson’s leading role in Captain Marvel or her smaller appearance in Avengers: Endgame from becoming blockbusters. The Marvels, however, was another story. The negative discourse went into overdrive when it was revealed that the film would team up Larson’s Captain Marvel with Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan as they faced Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn. The fact that the film was also directed by a Black woman, Nia DaCosta, didn’t escape the discourse.

But what really doomed The Marvels is it wasn't a particularly good movie. Between the tonal disconnect — is it a drama? a comedy? a musical? — plot holes, and distinct similarity with Mel Brooks’ atmosphere-stealing plot from Spaceballs, critics weren't impressed (the film has a 45 percent "rotten" ratings from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes).

It’s not the only Marvel movie in recent history to have quality-control issues, but it was one of Marvel’s biggest bombs, with only $206.1 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $374 million before tax incentives. 

The Acolyte (2024)

Given everything else on this list, it should be unsurprising that the most vocal anti-woke Star Wars fans gave The Acolyte an unflattering nickname: “The Wokelyte.” In addition to an ensemble primarily comprising women and diverse actors, the series was targeted in part because the creator, Leslye Headland, and the star, Amandla Stenberg, are openly queer and non-binary, respectively. The creative team was accused of pushing a LGBTQ+ agenda on the show, and their reaction to The Acolyte being dubbed "the gayest Star Wars" was taken wildly out of context.

Review bombs were only the start of the backlash against the show, as Stenberg was the target of vicious and racist remarks online. For all the anger over how supposedly gay The Acolyte was, Stenberg’s character, Osha, was openly attracted to Manny Jacinto’s unnamed Sith master, especially when he was naked in front of her. 

The Acolyte also suffered severe drops in viewership on a weekly basis, which, combined with a budget in excess of $200 million, ultimately doomed the show and led to its cancellation. Dedicated fans have petitioned for Disney+ to reconsider, but there’s not much hope for The Acolyte to continue. 

Snow White (2025)

Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White was targeted years before it hit theaters, primarily for daring to cast a Latina actress, Rachel Zegler, as Snow White. Zegler herself was outspoken about the dated aspects of Disney’s 1937 Snow White. And in her defense, she’s not wrong about that. Times have drastically changed in the 88 years between the two films.

Most of the online anger was directed against Zegler, who was also vocal about her support for the Palestinian people in the Gaza War. Zegler’s costar, Gal Gadot, was on the opposite side with her support for Israel. Snow White was also widely criticized for the bizarre CGI faces of the seven dwarfs. 

Zegler received some strong reviews for her performance, but Snow White didn’t exactly whistle while it worked. The film’s $184.9 million worldwide box office wouldn’t have been such a disaster if it hadn’t cost $240 million to 270 million to make. Disney was reportedly so shaken by this outcome that future live-action adaptations of classic Disney films, notably the Rapunzel retelling Tangled, are on hold.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Surprisingly, the casting of Chilean actor Pedro Pascal to play Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps barely raised an eyebrow online. Michael B. Jordan was not as fortunate when he was cast as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in 20th Century Fox’s 2015 Fantastic Four reboot. Pascal may have been spared from a similar fate because of his popularity after Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, and The Last of Us.

However, Marvel has taken flak by casting Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, the herald of Galactus (Ralph Ineson). There was a comic over 25 years ago that briefly featured Garner’s character, Shalla-Bal, as the Silver Surfer. However, the version that most fans are familiar with is Norrin Radd, Shalla-Bal’s male lover who sacrificed his freedom to spare their home world from Galactus’ hunger.

The outcry was so loud that Mark Brooks, a comic artist who as worked with both Marvel and DC, took to X to explain the difference to those who claimed to be outraged.

Silver Surfer is a mantle, not an individual. Shalla-Bal has been around since the 70s and canon this entire time. Anyone reacting negatively due to her sex hasn't read and doesn't understand comics or the FF lore. https://t.co/uD5lq0Ifz4

— The Dread duck Pirate Mark Brooks (@MarkBrooksArt) April 18, 2025

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A certain segment of hardcore comic book movie fans simply hate change, especially gender- or race-swapped characters. This female Silver Surfer isn’t the one who has headlined his own comic book several times or even a Saturday morning cartoon three decades ago. It remains to be seen how Garner will play as the Silver Surfer in the final film, but Disney and Marvel could have just as easily sidestepped any controversy by either casting Garner as Nova — a female herald of Galactus — or simply by sticking with the traditional Silver Surfer. Now, however, the marketing department will have its work cut out ahead of First Steps' July 25 release to keep the focus on the film — and not the culture wars.