I am not sure about you, but there has been a sense of apathy towards the once-great MCU that Disney and Marvel currently cannot shake off. People seem to point to the TV MCU Universe as one of the problems, but it goes much deeper than that… In my opinion, anyway.
The problem actually started way back in 2016 with Civil War.
When the MCU got properly going, most people were all in. It felt like an event once or twice a year. I worked in a cinema at the time, and for months, the buildup and murmurings would be about what that film was about, how would so and so do in the role etc. By the time those midnight shows came around (usually coupled with a few previous entries on the day before to help create that atmosphere), the excitement would last for days. You couldn’t and, in all honesty, didn’t want to escape that feeling of seeing these films increasingly build to something.
What made the MCU stand out was that, for the most part, the films felt like their own entities. Iron Man was different from Hulk, and Captain America had an even more grounded feel to it than the others. Thor was fun and allowed us to really see the Universe expand outside of Earth. Avengers were what the majority wanted, and it made bonkers money.
Iron Man 3 came around and showed us a more serious side to the MCU: these characters can be affected by what they are experiencing. They are not just wiping the dust off their shoulders and moving on. Even Thor: The Dark World had some darker elements but got stuck a bit within itself. Then Winter Soldier came around and gave us a glance at an MCU that could almost do anything. It strayed from the path and succeeded narratively.
Guardians came in and blew the doors off what we could expect, and everything in the MCU park seemed as rosy as it would ever be. Age of Ultron brought us back to a more serious tone, and it worked. Additionally, Ant-Man was that light film, but significantly Earth based on what we needed. Then Captain America: Civil War happened.
Do not get me wrong, it is a decent film, and it gave us Spider-Man back into the MCU, but Christ, it was too early in this timeline’s story. There needed to be another sole Captain America film that then would lead to Civil War. Perhaps Tony seeing the footage of who killed his parents should have been the ending of that Captain America film; then You have the perfect reason to go all in on a Civil War film.
By rushing themselves, they set themselves up for failure despite those handy-looking box office numbers. 2017 would be the first time that three MCU films were released in a year, and a palpable change occurred. Other than Homecoming, audiences were not as amped for those releases; a film every three months stopped the MCU from feeling special or an event. It became regular, and with the Star Wars sequels coming out every two years in between all of this. That special feeling was fading fast; in my eyes, it felt like that rush was happening again. Where before, the films worked their way to the eventual Avengers film.
Infinity War and Endgame are too close together.
In between Captain America: Civil War (which was effectively an Avengers film in all but name), released in April 2016, and Infinity War, released in April 2018, there were five MCU films pushed out. Three of which were introducing new main characters to the Universe. We got to know Black Panther and the whole world of Wakanda a blistering two months before we would see them snuffed out (if only for a year). That has to be too quick a turnaround story-wise for audiences.
Just as we got time to get used to these characters, they were gone. Story-wise, the films work, of course, but that release schedule was just too hectic. So, after seeing so many characters die and the entire MCU was thrown into a mess (in the story), a full three months later, we get another film. How Marvel and Disney did not see that after such an event, it should be a solid year before we see anything MCU based again, I honestly don’t know.
With audiences still in shock, for them to be thrown into an Ant-Man film almost right away was such a misstep. Again, not so financially in the short term, but in the long term. Very much so. They also mucked up the first film we got back after Infinity War; it should have been a film far removed from what we had known before, it should have been Captain Marvel, and that should have been the only film out in 2019. Then Ant-Man and The Wasp would have been a handy return to our main story and feed us directly into Endgame.
For whatever reason, having such a gigantic moment in the MCU be snuffed out within a year felt like such a massive mistake. We should have been given time to adjust to what had happened, to ramp ourselves up to see the conclusion to many storylines. Yet, it was truncated. Again, box office-wise, they won’t care; it smashed over $2 billion. Would it have done more if it was more spread out? Who knows, but one thing was for sure, audience fatigue was setting in.
Is audience fatigue real?
You can argue that audience fatigue isn’t real, and it is much more about providing us with different stories, and I agree about some of those ideas. However, if you cram so many films into such a small timeframe, your audiences’ minds are just going to feel as if there is a repeat in some form going on. With Endgame, so much of what we knew of the MCU was gone. Characters having either died or retired. Not just any characters, but three of the original six were gone. So, I and everyone else expected a big rebuild to help us through the next “phase” of films.
However, Marvel will Marvel, and instead of letting that all sink in for a little while (or at least into the next calendar year) AGAIN, a mere two months later, we are brought back with another film. Yes, Far From Home was excellent, and it dealt with the loss of Tony and PTSD of what had gone on for Peter. It was still too soon, too fresh. As if Marvel were and are too afraid to let the audience linger, to let what they saw resonate in case, somehow, they forget about the Universe.
Audiences wanted a break from this Universe for a little bit. Again, even providing a year’s gap would have sufficed for them to catch a breather if you throw three films a year for four years at audiences and have these massive moments thrown in there at the same time. Tiredness is going to happen; to think otherwise is quite foolish. Returning to the idea that audience fatigue was more to do with getting bored of seeing similar films, this was shown to be true with Wakanda Forever (which sadly didn’t have an option, BUT to be different from other entries) and GOTG 3. With the latter, it became like all three of their stories were an insular piece. We got to see storylines that directly affected those characters. The second GOTG film was mainly about Peter finding his father and moving on from never having that attachment. The rocket was his own spiral towards self-destruction. Both films ended with them finding purpose, and it all felt like it meant something. This was continued with GOTG3, with every character moving on and finding a purpose in their lives. It was a film that reminded us of all that the MCU could be something more than the world is in danger; we must save it!
Black Widow fell foul of this; while so much of it, the film was about Natasha confronting her past and introducing us to Yelena, everything away from the character drama side was just so woefully generic. A flat way to end the run of a character who deserved much more during her time in the role. But, by this time, we were tired and worried that the next entries to the MCU would also lean on the generic side. The most important thing that hurt the MCU in 2021, though? It was still releasing three films in a year when the world was not ready to return to cinemas. Black Widow was sacrificed as the dummy to see if audiences would come back in their droves for the MCU. They didn’t and wouldn’t until 2022.
The Post-Pandemic films
None of those three 2021 films broke $450 million at the box office; it was just too soon, with Marvel going in too hard and not waiting until closer to the end of the year before returning to the screens. As such solid films like Eternals and Shang-Chi struggled, and the likelihood of them getting a sequel is honestly doubtful. There was a report that for Shang-Chi, it would be 2027 before we see that sequel, a full six years after the first film. If the character is not in whatever upcoming Avengers film there is, do not expect to hold your hopes.
With Eternals, the chances are even slimmer there, with the best hope they have been on Disney+ to rebuild those characters before a theatrical release (something we will get back to shortly). Like Shang-Chi, the best bet for Eternals is 2027, which is such a long way away, that you wonder if they will actually follow through with it without something in between to even remind some audiences about who these people are. No Way Home was always going to do the business as it was bringing those other two Spider-Men together and certainly would not have done as well without them.
By the time 2022 came around, we needed something different from the MCU, and for two of those films, they brought us something great and one film that had all the potential to be two fantastic films, but they gave it to the wrong director. So with Wakanda Forever, they did the only thing they could, and as we saw, it worked. It was different enough to stand out and, most importantly, moved those characters forward. With the death of Boseman, that really could have stuck that franchise into the void. But his memory gets to live on in future films, and we get to see how these characters move on without him.
Multiverse of Madness is such a weird film. I could be very wrong, so excuse me, as I do not read up too much on the MCU as others, but it felt like Multiverse of Madness should have been a prequel to everything we see in No Way Home. For Marvel to make a mistake like that shows how under pressure the studio was at the time, and even if there were rewrites, if I, a not-so-avid MCU fan, can notice it, then a lot of others can too.
Hope in 2023 and 2024?
Not if you are Ant-Man and the Wasp, with that iteration going to need a major rejig in the future to keep it going. A solid box office did not match the reviews, from critics and audiences alike not enthused with the film. Ant-Man and the Wasp could very easily see themselves placed in the background and, given the Black Widow and Hawkeye roles, appear in future films as side characters instead of leading their own.
As mentioned, GOTG3 did well under the current theatrical climate and gave us an inkling that the MCU was not completely gone. However, that was the end for a large portion of those characters (at least for now), so who knows if another film will come around on that one. Which sadly leaves the third film of the year in The Marvels. There is an awful lot riding on The Marvels, more than a lot of people would like to admit. It should, at worst, do a solid number, but it needs to have a good story, as the films coming up on the 2024 slate are not exactly eye-popping for a lot of audiences (well, except for maybe one).
Deadpool will do well; we know that. But will we see much more from that character down the line? Captain America: Brave New World is such a make-or-break film that it is actually terrifying. If audiences do not come out for Sam Wilson’s Captain America, he may be the way of Ant-Man, or worst of all for Anthony Mackie, a surprise usurping from Chris Evans for the Secret Invasion storyline. Thunderbolts look like a wash, but it should be the one that is a tonne of fun and gives us a chance to link with a group of misfits now Guardians are gone for a while. With all of that, one important part of Marvel that has yet to be mentioned, and that is the TV side of the MCU.
But before we get to that, please allow an additional rant about Thor: Love and Thunder, a film no one on set seemed like they wanted to make, a film that had two different storylines that could have been and should have been their own films. The storyline with Jane would have been a wonderful drama that would give us a fresh look at Thor. Instead, it was mostly funny until abruptly; it wasn’t. An entire film on that would have been fascinating and given the cast something to bite their teeth into.
Similarly, the storyline of Gorr could have gone down a rather dark journey. If you have Christian Bale as your villain, do not have ass him like they chose to here. To me, it is the biggest missed opportunity Marvel has made so far. Especially the more galling, considering Hemsworth’s Thor is one of the last remaining originals who wants or wants to do more films. Why throw it in the bin like that and do something so mediocre? Senseless. Anyway, back to the original rant.
The big problem with the TV MCU
The only TV MCU show that had a major character from the Movie MCU that needed a show was Hawkeye. With Wandavision, it should have been a film like the other shows around it (including the Star Wars shows). There is a generally good idea that is then drawn out over too many episodes and tells a story that should have been two hours long at the most. Even if these movies came out on Disney+, it would allow for a tighter story instead of that wasteful waffling that we got throughout every show.
If you really look back at those shows, Loki could have been told a lot shorter, and he was a character that audiences would have happily seen on Disney+. With Secret Invasion, Christ, where do you start? A very important show to the next phase of the Movie MCU was filled with nothingness, wasted top actors and characters and, again, should have been a film. If there was a show that should have been a film and put out in cinemas. This was it. Different enough to stand out and hold its own and mysterious enough with twists that would have audiences talking for a good while. It finished yesterday, and no one is now talking about it. That is terrible.
The first year had five different shows giving, at times, a two-week gap before the next. Audiences are just not there for such an endeavour. How could they think that five shows and three films in one year was a good idea? Overwhelming audiences who need to not only keep track of the film timeline but be thrown into HAVING to watch the shows, just to be caught up on not characters but entire storylines are utterly maddening. There should be less homework for a franchise than what we are given here. Though not show-related, this was an issue with GOTG3. A main character from that group had died, and there are plenty of people who would only have solely watched the GOTG films and not Infinity War or Endgame, so to learn that this was an alternate universe Gamora would be so jarring. Just provide a little prologue, lads. No harm, no foul.
In my eyes, WandaVision and Loki should have been filmed. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier needed a show to build them up for Sam being Captain America; now, if the film does well, we should never see him in the TV MCU again, unless for a cameo to move their plot a bit. That is what the TV MCU should be about, building new characters until they move on to films while utilising your existing stars to pop in and help that show.
Allowing these new characters to grow on TV MCU for a bit works so much better now as we have gotten to the point where all the already well-known characters have been used up. So, use a well-written show to build them up. It is quite simple if planned right, but hurrying to get it done, will never be fully successful.
Worryingly, if you look down the schedule for shows, some of those characters are not even returning, with even MORE new characters getting thrown at us. Loki is getting a second series (out this year), and for some reason, Agatha is getting her own show. Yet Moon Knight and She-Hulk are nowhere to be seen. At this point, it just feels like Marvel is flinging ideas and characters to the wall and seeing what sticks in any form, and even if it does stick, they are flinging another so soon after that they forget the one that did work, stuck.
It all just becomes so exhausting for audiences. Suppose Marvel wants to keep these audiences invested in the big picture, which is their films and eventual Avengers films. In that case, they need to course correct quickly, as it has become very apparent that they may not reach the same financial profits with those tentpole films as they did once before. Is the answer simple?
Partly, but if a studio is hellbent on showing us plans for the next four or so years, then it becomes very difficult to alter that. Will everyone agree with the sentiments in this post? No, but we can all agree that the MCU has fallen to the wayside a little bit and throwing an abundance of money like they did at Secret Invasion is not going to work. That show has to be the startling wake-up call. If not? Well, then, there should be a lot of fear for what comes next in these future phases as nothing truly stands out, and characters do not stand out as being the ones who will drive audiences to the cinema. For example, how many Spider-Man films does Tom Holland really have left in him? Do they tempt the old guard back?
Secret Invasion
The big talking point though, is this. No one is talking positively about that show now, as mentioned, it was meant to be THE big show, the one that kicked off everything we see next and they spent an absolute fortune on it. $215 million is film budget money and yet, unless it was used to cover for COVID issues, then where did the money go? When you dig deeper into that show, the more alarming it is that what we saw over those six episodes is what was signed off on.
The writing was terrible for what the show was meant to be, the episodes were boring and long with then something dramatic near the end to interest us enough to watch the next episode. How they just didn’t make this a film, is still a mystery, or at the least make it a show along the lines of Winter Soldier. A story that was a spy action thriller that was interesting. Here, they just plodded and by trying to make an event show, failed in the most dramatic of ways.
The importance to Secret Invasion in comic book terms should not be understated. It is massive, so it was either bullish or utterly foolish to launch that with just a show. There was nothing complex about this mess, each week instead of acclaim, there was alarm. People will tuned out and never returned. Remember this was the tentpole show, that had the strongest cast any MCU show has ever had and they fluffed it up. We kill off characters purely for shock value and it just feels so wasteful.
Has Fiege stretched himself so thin that he simply dropped the ball a few times? Now, they are not in a DC position, but if James Gunn can create something over there. Then well, there will be panic in the halls. After this the entire MCU TV vision could be culled very early or dramatically altered to be more like a normal TV show. What frustrates is that Fiege and Iger have said they will slow down the output, yet, there are still three films a year, multiple shows a year. They have so many spokes in the fire that, they cannot just leave a character on the shelf or six years and expect audiences to give a damn. So what do they do?
They have lost their main stars and instead of putting all their effort into a small group, have expanded it far too much. No one really cares for the majority of these characters and in fact the more interesting characters are the ones that some idiotic audience members would consider derisive. Captain Marvel, She-Hulk are characters that should be homeruns, yet there is an underlying pointless anger there.
Marvel have a lot of questions to ask and find the answers for.
Who are their lead characters now?
Will they really think they will lower the content per year?
What will happen to characters who do not appear for years on end?
You could go on and on and that is very worrying.
So, what do they do? Either way, it will be interesting.
Thanks for reading through the ramble.
