Apologies for forgetting the obvious overall Disney strategy of “make everything a stale copy of something else.”
Yeah, of course they have a say in what stuff gets made, but they’re not really dealing with the intricacies of how, at least not for the most part. They have nothing to do with the fact that Marvel’s movies are to an extent formulaic, for instance. I mean seriously, what’s the prerogative for that? There’s literally no reason why a studio would want everyone of their movies to have the same plot, despite what many people here have convinced themselves. If two Marvel films have similar plots it’s because of lazy writers (or ones with not enough time), it’s not because some devious studio exec walked into the writer’s room and said hey make sure to copy the plot note for note or whatever.
All the studios have the same shit. Look at Fox’s recent and upcoming slate and you’ll find all the same stuff - sequels, reboots, adaptations, etc. You can cherry pick two recent “different” films to show their range, but you could just as easily point out X-Men: Apocalypse, one of the laziest superhero films I’ve seen recently that probably deserves the critique of “same old shit” more than any recent Marvel film; and then of course there’s Fant4stic which speaks for itself.
Disney’s obviously on a recent kick of remaking their animated classics because surprise! they make a lot of money. But they’re not all mindless fan service. Pete’s Dragon is very different from the original and also happened to be one of the best films last year.
As for the stupid South Park member berry bullshit, I don’t know what to say but that yeah people like seeing things they like? There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia if done properly. Obviously sometimes it works better than others but the idea that ~nostalgia~ is this brain numbing intoxicant that studio execs mix up and spit out to the mindless masses is just tiresome.
Basically, too long didn’t read version: ALL studios like using existing properties because they know people like them and will give moneys. The quality of the end product, however, is ultimately up to the filmmakers. If they can’t find a way to work with the nostalgia in a way that satisfies you, blame them.