The State of the MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, also known as the MCU has been consistently going since it’s initial project in 2008 which which was the first Iron Man film and does not seem to be stopping soon. With Phase 1 introducing the core six: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow and The Hulk, the first Avengers film released in 2012 was something near enough unheard of, a cinematic crossover event from all the previous films which would lead into an ever-growing cinematic overlapping universe with a multiple stories which would all lead into the next crossover event and with events in one film becoming context for the next film.

The first Avengers film introduced the character of Thanos at the very end which would end up becoming the “Big Bad” of the MCU’s first saga, named The Infinity Saga. Stories would build towards this villain showing Infinity Stones across different storylines such as the Time Stone in 2016’s Doctor Strange, The Power Stone in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the Space Stone in 2010’s Captain America: The First Avenger. This first saga held a place in the audience’s heart with characters becoming beloved and iconic and the standard of the films being high with consistently enjoyable films.

So what happened? Why has the MCU fallen from grace?

Since after Avengers: Endgame in 2018, the MCU has been experimenting with different styles and genres both in theatrical releases and Disney+ streaming shows. For example, Wandavision went for sit-com style, Captain America: Brave New World went for a 70s political thriller, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being a horror and Werewolf by Night being a gothic creature feature.

Sometimes the experimentation has worked with projects such as Werewolf by Night. Trying something new can be beneficial especially with the MCU as it has been running since 2008 and it would be good to change up the formula and style however they do not seem to have had a direction on where they want to take the story. The Infinity Saga had a story and plan of where they want to take it, however with The Multiverse Saga this does not seem to be the case. Originally the “Big Bad” was supposed to be Kang the Conquerer portrayed by Johnathon Majors, setting him up in Ant and The Wasp: Quantumania and the Loki series. This could have been a good direction for the MCU as it would have bide them some time to figure where to place the characters they had now gained the rights due to the Disney/20th Century Fox deal, characters such as the X-Men and The Fantastic Four. This direction has changed, and they have now seemingly scrapped Kang or at least shelved him for the time being and have decided to go with Doctor Doom portrayed by Robert Downey Jr which also leaves some post-credit scenes which can now be added to the list on unanswered ones, next to Michael Mando as Mac Gargan/Scorpion in the Spider-Man: Homecoming post credit scene or Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman/Black Knight seemingly go to wield the Ebony Blade with a distant voice from Mahershala Ali’s Blade.

In my honest opinion, within the last few years and the upcoming years, the MCU has been struggling to find its identity again and feels like they are making a last ditch effort to make a comeback. With the Blade film supposedly being in development hell, it would not be surprised if the film was completely scrapped or Mahershala Ali leaves the project and it feels like Marvel Studios is committing to way too many projects without any guarantee of them actually happening, leaving fans disappointed. As for Robert Downey Jr. set to play Doctor Doom, this feels like it is an attempt to get audiences back into screenings, using the thought of him being a fan-favourite for his portrayal as Iron Man to get people back.

After the critical success of Thunderbolts* and Daredevil: Born Again this year, Marvel Studios may have been able to set themselves onto a correction course for the future however I do remain skeptical with Avengers: Doomsday with them bringing James Marden, Ian Mckellen, Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming and Rebecca Romijn back to reprise their roles from the original X-Men films as I do not want it full into a case of “nostalgia bait”, I want them to actually serve a purpose in the story, not to be a 2-5 minute cameo.