Marvel and Disney NEED to Course Correct – Opinion Piece

A Studio in Peril

To say that opinions of the MCU has shifted post Infinity Saga would be an understatement.  Phase 4 is undeniably a massive step down in quality when looking at the previous 3 Phases of the MCU.  Not helping matters is the start of Phase 5, Ant-Man and the Wasp : Quantumania.  As though a left over of Phase 4. Predictable writing, poor over-use of CGI, and inability to take risk hampers what could’ve been an amazing introduction to Kang.  Instead, it’s one of the lowest reviewed films of the MCU, and on track to be a box-office bomb.  Couple this with Disney cutting down staff, and potential legal troubles with Majors; leaves Disney and Marvel Studios in a horrible position.

That said, there are ways in which Marvel Studios and Disney can change the Multiverse Saga for the better.

1.) Marvel Needs to Pump the Breaks

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Phase One has six films released in the span of four years.  Likewise, Phase Two also has six films released in the span of three years.  Phase Three picks things up with eleven films, though still over the span of four years.  Enter Phase 4, releasing seven films, eight shows, and two short films in the span of two years.  In total, that is seventeen projects in such a short time.

As a result, so much money and resources are spread thin among each of these projects.  This explains why the quality of the writing feels so haphazard.  This explains why the CGI looks so bad in these recent films.  Topping this with reports of many CG artists trying to avoid working for Marvel given the strict deadlines, it’s no wonder the quality took such a hit.  Thankfully, this seems to be something Marvel Studios and Disney are acutely aware of.  Many upcoming projects had been postponed till further notice.  In addition, Victoria Alonso being removed from her role as President of VFX may lead to change in leadership, one which will hopefully lead to a more conducive and effective work environment.  However, there’s another issue that plagued Phase 4 that runs the risk of hampering at the very least Phase 5.

2.) Where’s the Overarching Narrative?

Courtesy of Empire

While not all movies in Phase 1-3 had to explicitly deal with the Infinity Stones, each movie felt important for developing the characters, relationships, and themes of each respective Phase.  Phase 1 served as an introduction to the MCU and the interconnected nature of it.  Phase 2 expands from that to plant hints of the overarching narrative with the Infinity Stones.  This then reaches its apex in Phase 3, which sees the heroes divided as Thanos finally begins his conquest for the Infinity Stones.  Each movie could stand on its own, but there was always something thematically or narrative wise connecting each project.  This is something Phase 4 tries to do.  The problem is there are so many ideas vying for attention that there isn’t really any narrative to easily discern.

Some stories are about overcoming trauma.  Others try to navigate life in the MCU post-Blip.  But for this next Saga titled the multiverse saga, only four of the seventeen projects in Phase 4 dealt with the multiverse; No Way Home, Multiverse of Madness, Loki, and What if…?  Not helping this is there isn’t a massive event movie or show to bring all of these different characters, themes, and ideas together.  Everything else either tries to focus on worldwide issues, mythical issues, set-up mutants, street-level, etc.  Simply put, there is far too much to juggle. Thematically, Wakanda Forever tries to fulfill that purpose, but it otherwise doesn’t feel like a Phase ending film.  In fact, ask a casual Marvel watcher, most of them wouldn’t even know Phase 5 even started.

Once again, Phase 5 looks to rectify some of these issues.  Despite its problems, Quantumania does promise to start putting far more emphasis on Kang and the multiverse.  In addition, upcoming projects like New World Order and Thunderbolts look to better fill in the role of uniting these story lines around more central ideas.  And with rumors of Daredevil : Born Again tying into the fourth MCU Spider-Man film, and Spider-Man himself supposedly playing a large role in The Kang Dynasty, the MCU may hopefully figure out how to balance individual story telling with the overarching narrative of the Multiverse Saga.  On the subject of individual storytelling…

3.) Stop Making a Joke or Statement of Everything

The writing and dialogue in Phase 4 at times can be frankly embarrassing.  Thor : Love and Thunder and She-Hulk are the biggest offenders of this.  While other films and shows had a problem of undercutting sentimental moments with forced humor, these two projects show the Marvel humor at their worst.  It’s almost like the projects were made out of spite for the MCU and the people who enjoy it.  That’s not to say Marvel Studios should go overly serious, but the MCU never treated itself like a joke.  Meanwhile, films like No Way Home, Wakanda Forever, and shows like Wandavision, Loki, and Ms. Marvel manage to balance the humor and maturity with more grace.

While also not the biggest problem with this Phase, it’s also important to note that Phase 4 has a particularly bad habit of trying to make statements about something in society, often without having a good way of making that statement.  She-Hulk of course fails at this to the most annoying degree(especially from a legal standpoint, given the writers never knew how to write courtroom dramas), but Falcon and the Winter Soldier has the most egregious example of this.  While the show manages to deal with the weight of being a black Captain America and the role African Americans played in the military quite well, everything with the Flag Smashers and Sam’s talk with the senators feel forced and uninformed.  Yes Sam, blowing up buildings and innocent people, regardless of motive, is something a terrorist would do.

It’s entirely fine to have aspects of the world connect to the universe, or inform these stories.  After all, look at how much people love The Winter Soldier and Civil War.  However, audiences hate it when you preach to them.  Audiences come to the MCU for escapism and entertainment, not to be talked down to.

Conclusion – Marvel Can Still Thrive, But Change Needs to Happen

Nobody ever wants to see someone fail.  Something Marvel and Disney need to realize, is when critics, fans, and audiences are harsh against the MCU, it’s not out of spite, but rather because they want it to succeed as well.  They might not all see eye to eye on certain things, but they all agree that Marvel Studios needs to make changes happen.  While Lucasfilm seems to be having a harder time with Star Wars, Marvel Studios at least has a plan, and has shown with the Infinity Saga that they can course correct when needed.  Now, more than ever, they need to demonstrate that ability again.

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