Logan Schultz
Staff Writer
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is undoubtedly the biggest movie franchise of the past twenty years and arguably of all time. Many of these movies are among the top-grossing profits of all films ever made, with their fanbase having expanded far beyond just the readers of the comics upon which these characters and stories take inspiration. However, many have noticed a perceived decline in audience engagement with the most recent MCU films and TV shows.
Like many fans, I was incredibly invested in the stretch of movies the MCU released from 2010-2019. “The Infinity Saga,” as this storyline was called, consisted of various movies featuring heroes in teams and solo adventures with self-contained plots that built up to the huge projects that were “Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.” These films wrapped up the story arc of Thanos as the Avengers’ main villain, and with the conflict of these films being on such a dire, cosmic scale, fans wondered how the franchise could continue from here.
Throughout the “Infinity Saga,” there was an incredible demand for Marvel projects to feature fan-favorite characters and stories from the comics. During the first ten years of the MCU, they incorporated several popular heroes and villains through small guest appearances in feature films before they got a project with them as the focal character.
Since the conclusion of the “Infinity Saga,” they have introduced an incredible amount of media covering side characters that were not fully fleshed out in previous projects. There has also been a high rate of characters having full shows made about them after making one small appearance in the MCU.
Along with all of these new characters, there has been a large increase in released projects. “The Infinity Saga” was broken up into three phases, which together totaled about 50 hours of content. This was done over roughly 11 years. Everything created since then is referred to as “Phase 4,” which already contains nearly 60 hours of media, released in about half the time.
One of the biggest appeals of the MCU is all the interconnected stories and characters, but with this comes a constantly increasing barrier of entry for new fans. The more media the MCU produces, the harder it becomes to remember details from past projects upon watching the new ones, which has resulted in many fans finding difficulty in staying up to date on every new release.
I, for example, used to be committed to watching these movies as they were released in theaters, and the same with the shows on their respective release days. However, the more these shows and movies came out about characters I did not know much about, I only watched the ones I was particularly interested in.
Another observation that has been made by fans and critics alike is the apparent exchange in quality for quantity, both in terms of writing and planning as well as special effects. The MCU is famous for its foreshadowing and referencing other characters and future projects. However, there are so many spinning plates in the current state of the MCU, thatthese connections are easier to miss as they may only get paid off in projects way further down the line. There have also been plenty of examples of “fan service,” where aspects of the movies are specifically designed to appeal to certain sects of fans rather than to contribute to the overall plot.
For example, “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” featured many cameos from popular fan castings and characters that Marvel and Disney had just purchased and seemed to be itching to include. Many argued that their inclusion did little to progress the plot and was only for the sake of featuring these characters that fans wanted to see put to screen. There is nothing inherently wrong with listening to audience feedback and showing people what they want to see. However, doing so in a more natural way may mediate criticism from those who may not be as passionate about those characters.
Along with this, the visual quality of these films is daunted with widespread criticism. There have been several reports that the computer graphics team with Marvel Studios has been overworked and under-compensated with their recent increase in production rate, with some sources referring to Marvel (and Disney, by extension) to be some of the hardestclients to work with when it comes to CGI demands. Granted, the sci-fi and magical elements of the Marvel movies call for a certain amount of suspended belief with special effects in the first place. This has not proved a problem for the MCU historically. Even comparing how they depicted The Hulk, starting in the first Avengers movie, with how the titular character in She-Hulk appeared is something to behold.
Circling back to Disney, every show included in the MCU is exclusive to Disney+. This makes it so that even the fans who hold long-term patience, commitment, and enthusiasm for the MCU must overcome yet another hurdle of paying for the only streaming service that offers these shows.
For years, the MCU was the biggest thing in Hollywood. Marvel Studios achieved this by staying on a schedule of roughly three movies per year, taking their time developing characters, and releasing a healthy mix of moviesconnected alongside movies featuring independent stories. Since 2020, this formula has been forgotten to create the most media featuring as many characters as the writers can manage to cram into a story.
Yet, there have been some massive triumphs in “Phase Four.” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was critically acclaimed, featured many characters and story elements from previous movies, and is one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, let alone superhero movies. Marvel Studios must find a solid middle ground between their old habits and new expansive potential. Doing so is essential to make films as beloved as “The Infinity Saga” was and is.
