At this point, it goes without saying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been through a rough patch in the past couple of years. Whether it’s record-breakingly low ticket sales, or abysmal reviews, the MCU’s seen it all.
Notoriously, 2023’s “Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” one of the most expensive films in the history of the MCU, barely managed to break even and currently has the record for lowest rated MCU film of all time.
Its failure completely derailed the MCU’s roadmap, with Quantumania’s failure contributing heavily in the cancellation of “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.”
Directly after the release of Quantumania, Marvel released “The Marvels,” which broke all the wrong records, as it currently holds the title of lowest grossing MCU movie.
Since said then, several highly rated MCU movies have released, most notably, the critically successful “Thunderbolts*” that was released in May.
Unfortunately, praise and word of mouth was not enough to save it from the box office, as it barely missed the mark when it came to making a profit.
Many people pointed towards alleged “superhero fatigue,” a term coined by fans to describe the oversaturation and loss of interest in superhero movies. But just two short months later, the box office tells a different story.
July marked the release of James Gunn’s “Superman,” launching DC’s all-new cinematic universe, and Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” which not only begins setting up the plot for next year’s “Avengers: Doomsday,” but also the introduction of the Fantastic Four into the main MCU timeline.
Both movies, despite being released in the same month, achieved relative financial success, with Superman eventually crossing the $600 million mark. Money aside, both movies were well received by both fans and critics alike.
So moviegoers still want to see superheroes on the big screen, but if that’s the case, then why did so many skip out on “Thunderbolts*”?
A common complaint, especially as of late with the recent trend of large, interconnected “cinematic universes” is the fact that viewers often left feeling like they have to do homework in order to keep up to date with the newest films.
In 2012, this wasn’t nearly as big of a problem as it is now, mostly because there weren’t literal days worth of content to consume.
But with flop after flop, many people don’t watch every movie like they used to, leaving all but superfans feeling like they need to play catch-up when the next big film comes out.
“Fantastic Four: First Steps,” unlike most recent Marvel movies, tells a story completely separate from the main MCU. Aside from an extremely minor scene featuring the Thunderbolts, it is almost completely disconnected from the main Marvel continuity, and tells a story that doesn’t depend on prior knowledge of characters and events.
For “Superman,” it kickstarts its respective universe, so it doesn’t rely on the audience’s knowledge, thus general consumers can enjoy it to its fullest without having to catch up on the latest movies, as opposed to “ Thunderbolts*.”
Although it’s not entirely dependent on prior movies, “Thunderbolts*” is deeply intertwined with the MCU, generally requiring at minimum a watch-through of all four Captain America movies; “Ant Man and the Wasp,” and “Black Widow,” as well as “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Hawkeye,” Disney+ exclusive TV shows.
Viewers who haven’t watched some of the more obscure movies on the list, such as the recent “Captain America: Brave New World” or “Black Widow,” both massive financial failures, end up lost without the context behind the story.
By making everything interconnected, audiences end up alienated, needing to play catch-up in order to enjoy the most recent movies
This is only worsened when you take into account the fact that some of the most important Marvel content to watch in order to understand the current events taking place in the MCU, like the aforementioned “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” is locked behind a Disney+ subscription.
This further isolates a portion of the fanbase that doesn’t cough up the cash for the streaming service.
This could’ve been avoided, had Disney not milked Marvel for everything it’s worth post-endgame, with overinflated budgets, half baked stories, and rushed production times.
So with the release of the next Avengers movie fast-approaching, it begs the question, how many people are even going to care?
Years of convoluted continuity, audience fatigue, and constant catch-up has eroded the sense of excitement and accessibility that defined the MCU’s early years.
Unless Marvel finds a way to reconnect with casual fans and make its stories feel essential rather than obligatory, “Avengers: Doomsday” may be remembered less as a genre-defining event, and more as a turning point in Marvel’s viewership.
