Why did the MCU start on a downward trend?
Whenever Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU comes to our mind, we associate it with Captain America, Iron-Man, Hulk, Thor, Natasha, and many other fictional characters it has developed over the years. Russo brothers and Kevin Feige just knew how to attract the audience to the movies. MCU was able to excite everyone with its upcoming blockbuster but has lost the charm with some of the big releases.
People often declare it the Endgame Syndrome. It is a sort of disillusion that the MCU cannot work after Avengers: Endgame. However, having such thoughts after looking at the stats and fans expressing their disappointment with the recent projects has made us think that the cinematic universe might be on a downward trend and future movies might bomb the box office.
Premise
Just three years ago, MCU delivered one of the biggest plots and concluded a fictional world as well as characters it built for more than a decade, bringing 22 films to the conclusion with all intersecting at one single point of facing an antagonist, threatening the lives of billions. It was very disheartening for some fans as the movie martyred a few characters towards the end of the plot. This made the fans a victim of Endgame Syndrome. Some projects like the Spider-Man Far from Home and No way Home have been extremely successful in terms of drawing fans and ticket sales, which might make some readers disagree. But looking at other projects like the Eternals which bombed and movies like Doctor Strange 2 have let down the fans.
The Downfall
Its charm might be wearing off. People have stopped getting excited about the post-credit scenes that build the plot for the next installment. The franchise has become boring as well as lifeless because of repetitive plot style, weak character building, and unevenness. MCU became successful because of the ability to create multiple stories which were connected to a bigger plot developed to keep the audience hooked. Earlier fans used to go wild with a post-credit scene or when a new project was announced. Fans and critics are now looking at these films from a wider lens. The characters are not applauded individually but as parts of a bigger machine. Reviewers are bored to a point where disinterest sets in and they are not overlooking the mistakes of the franchise. The formula of intersecting multiple stories into one bigger plot is now straining. The fans are finding it mundane and prefer to either skip the movie or watch it with a lot of dis-interest.
MCU because of the monotonous plot started on a downward trend, but the recent Disney+ shows accelerated it. When shows and series were announced, it was assumed that Marvel wants to give more screen time to the characters who were important but not given a lot of attention. In reality, they were made just to better introduce a few personas and give them more screen time. For example – in the series, Loki was given the responsibility to pitch Kang as the villain for the future Ant-man film. The character of Sam or the Falcon was turned into the new Captain America with the Disney+ show – The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Films like Black Widow coming out after the character’s death in Avengers Endgame hardly made any sense. It appeared as if they wanted to honor the character but ended up discrediting it. In the past, many films were just made for a few seconds after or mid-credit scenes, so that a character or mindboggling event could be introduced. Although it was not good, the audience was accustomed to it. But putting this style into a series where people must spend more than 2.5 hours just to see a person or event come alive, is very disheartening.
Possible reasons
There could be many reasons for the mid-life crisis that MCU is going through. One of them could be auteurs directing major films like the 4th installment of Thor. They have ruined not just the plot but the characters too. Another reason could be the shift of focus. This was consistent with recent MCU movies Doctor Strange 2 and Thor 4. The director was so focused on making other characters mainstream that they lost in the middle and destroyed the essence. Doctor Strange had everything but the main character Stephan Strange was not given much attention. Thor 4 was also mainly about Mighty Thor and sidelined the original God of Thunder.
Another reason could be poor VFX. CGI and VFX have taken over the film industry like a drug. Directors and Producers are involving them to a much larger extent. They were also clinical in making MCU successful. But with recent revelations by VFX teams that one of their worst clients has been MCU. They have openly criticized the schedule and crazy expectations that Marvel has. The artists are overworked, stressed, and take home less pay compared to tasks allotted to them. All this has led to the downfall.
Though fans still like the movie they do not feel excited or have lost love in watching them. This could move in the wrong direction for MCU and may result in a situation that is prevalent with the DCEU.
The Future
Kevin Feige the president of MCU has retreated from the planning of the next 10 years for the franchise. It has a plethora of content to continue working but the recent events might have promoted such a move because the reputation and the tag of the game-changing franchise are at stake here. Marvel can bounce back with the right strategy. Even in the past some characters who were considered nobody like the Star-Lord have made fans excited and crave for more.
It is difficult to show excitement for something when you are not feeling okay about it. Earlier Kevin Feige trained us for spectacular hits and it seems that he might do it again but this time he might make bring discouraging absurdity along with stupidity. Fans have learned to believe that the next film will be better than the previous one. However, now they might have to satisfy with the knowledge that the next movie is going to be worst than before.
We could only hope that the creators can change and they can make the audience excited again. In case they lag then those fans who put them in the sky can bring them crashing down.
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