The Downfall of Marvel Studios

Post date: May 14, 2024

By Connor Stockschlader

Cinematic Universes are not a new idea in Hollywood. One of the original universes, the Universal Horror Series, originally started in 1923. But lately, one of the most iconic and notable of them is none other than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU for short. Originally started with Iron Man in 2008, the series became famous for its post credit scenes hinting at the next film in the franchise. However, lately there has been a stagnant decline in the popularity of these films, often being considered more lazy cinema compared to other flicks out, as well as often being panned by the critics and fans alike. So, what happened? What caused the movies that became events to become completely forgettable and ignored? In short, the MCU has fallen into a decline due to continuing after the climactic Endgame, focusing more on the next continuation rather than the current movies, and too much required watching for casual viewers. 

One of the most notable reasons for the MCU’s decline is the fact that during phase 3, every film had been leading up to a grand finale, one with the heroes of the universe facing off against Thanos and his plan of deleting half of all life in the Universe, and eventually figuring out how to reverse the plan when the villain unexpectedly succeeds. Avengers Endgame had a large marketing campaign, the culmination of 10 years of the franchise’s success. The movie even was able to, for a time, become the most financially successful movie in history. But after such a clear conclusion for many different characters, what is the reason for continuing? Many different viewers tuned out after the decade long watch, so what is the reason for watching after that fact, what was the goal now? On top of that, viewers have noticed that there has been a large amount of cameos and post credit scenes that have brought down the films from being separate. Rather than movies like Iron Man 2 simply showing Thor’s iconic hammer Mjolnir and hinting at the next movie, films like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness give random scenes of new characters like a mysterious woman played by Charlize Theron showing up with no explanation to simply add a post credit scene for a movie potentially years in the future. Finally, the films have become too much of a chore for viewers with required watching necessary to enjoy a film about your favorite character. The Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, requires also watching Ms. Marvel, which already requires a Disney Plus subscription if you don’t have it, and WandaVision, another show that requires Disney Plus to watch a film that also needs you to go to theaters unless you want to wait months for it to go to the streaming service. The films aren’t just exhausting to keep up with, they are financially exhausting as well. There is no clear incentive to watch a movie about a new, interesting, character unless you want to watch a decade of different movies to keep up. One of the reasons for the success of the MCU in the first place was due to how the movies were interesting stories and characters that occasionally united in a film like The Avengers. 

In conclusion, the unnecessary continuation after Avengers Endgame and the deaths of many characters, the constant need to focus on what movies and series are coming out afterwards, and the overwhelming amount of previous material you need to have seen to understand coming in have all led to a very big downfall in the MCU. Originally a juggernaut of cinema, these movies have become something of a joke to most cinema-goers. While the movies continue to make millions of dollars, it’s clear they don’t have the same power that they once did. Maybe one day Marvel can understand what once made it so popular, but until then, and if then, the MCU has fallen from grace, from hero to zero.