Iron Man 3 Writer Explains Why Marvel No Longer Creates MCU One-Shots

What’s the one thing The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3 all have in common? And no, we’re not talking about Marvel über-producer Kevin Feige…

You guessed it: each Blu-ray featured a Marvel One-Shot, a sort-of in-universe short film designed to flesh out the wider world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Those superhero shorts included the likes of Item 47, Agent Carter and All Hail the King, but not since The Dark World (2013) have we laid eyes on an MCU One-Shot.

The reason is pretty simple, too: ever since Marvel Studios expanded to three films per year, One-Shots have taken a back seat as they “take up too much time.” Or so says Drew Pearce.

Pearce is well versed in the Marvel machine, having helped pen the script for Iron Man 3. And while promoting his near-future thriller Hotel Artemis on the Empire Podcast (h/t ComicBook.com), the writer-director leveled on the apparent lack of Marvel One-Shots.

Here’s what Drew Pearce had to say:

They literally just take up too much time. Because [Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige] cares so much about everything that goes out the door that he throws as much commitment and time into making one of the shorts as he does one of the films. At some point – even timewise – economically, that is a feasible thing for him to do, particularly now, that they have three films a year rather than two.

To date, the Powers That Be have crafted five Marvel One-Shots. All short films have reached home video, while some – like, say, Item 47 and Agent Carter – helped lay the foundations for what would become Agent Carter and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the latter of which is currently preparing for a truncated sixth season.

Meanwhile, Drew Pearce’s Hotel Artemis is playing in theaters now, and we can expect to revisit the MCU early next year thanks to Captain Marvel‘s maiden flight.