The marvel fall-off

A deeper look at a fading genre

Arts and Culture | December 2025

On April 29, 2019, Marvel Studios released “Avengers: Endgame.” As one of the most anticipated movies of the year, it proceeded to shatter all previous records, grossing over $1 billion in just five days. It went on to become the most successful superhero movie of all time, grossing $2.8 billion worldwide. The success of Endgame not only brought new fans to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), but it also raised expectations for any future Avengers movies to come.

Less than half a year later, Marvel began a partnership with the newly launched and highly anticipated Disney Plus. Disney Plus also included very prolific groups, such as Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, and Star Wars.

Over the past 15 years, Marvel has created a unique filmography in the MCU found in few other franchises. While most of the movies make sense individually, watching them in chronological order will fill in plot gaps. Before Disney Plus, Marvel series were occasionally released and rarely tied into the MCU in important ways. 

On its launch, Disney Plus included “WandaVision,” a new series for Marvel fans to enjoy, which explored the aftermath of “Endgame” from Scarlet Witch's perspective and her grief. The series received mostly positive reviews. “WandaVision”  however, played a crucial role in explaining the role of Scarlet Witch and the plot of “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.” 

While the series being linked to a whole movie left some Marvel fans concerned, no more than two months later, “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” premiered, and it provided a crucial follow-up to “Endgame” explaining how Sam Wilson begins to fill  the role of Captain America and provided additional character development for Bucky Barnes.

Less than half a year later, Marvel Studios released “Loki,” which follows the original villain's journey after the events of the first Avengers movie, and is extremely important to understanding the broader MCU. In this series, audiences learn about the multiverse as a whole, the organization responsible for governing it and introduces a main villain for the universe.

The list of series added to the MCU just kept growing. “Ms. Marvel” provided backstory and context for a whole movie. “Secret Invasion” revealed yet another crucial secret to the MCU. This constant stream of series linked to the MCU on top of the movie releases left hard-core Marvel fans feeling like they needed to do homework to understand a movie rather than just enjoying it. New fans were left confused and unsure where to begin the MCU.

This oversaturation of content (not just Marvel but other superhero franchises) has led to "superhero fatigue," fans’ decreased interest for superhero media and content. Superhero fatigue can also stem from consistently underwhelming writing, poor character development, uninteresting plots and villains that lack moral complexity and depth.

So what's next? Has the superhero genre fallen to the background? Is Marvel really falling off, and are their movies really any worse than the predecessors?  In early May 2025, Marvel released a new movie: “Thunderbolts*”  starring eight anti-heroes as they struggle with past trauma, and look towards their futures.

While the story refrained from a multiversal setting and is generally a very consistent film, there was (and still is) one glaring issue: the film was Marvel's third lowest-grossing film ever, grossing $382.4 million in theaters. While that number may seem extravagant, this falls far short of the $280 million production and marketing budget, which is a far lower profit margin than is usual or expected of a movie with that budget.

However, at the end of “Thunderbolts*,” there was something that spells a brighter future for Marvel and superhero fans alike. A teaser showed a spaceship arriving from another dimension, which fans now know was the Fantastic Four's spaceship, foreshadowing what was to come for the movie “Fantastic Four: First Steps.” It also contained a scene showing the newly established Avengers, paving the way from a film that could bring superhero content out of this recent recession: “Avengers Doomsday.”

Set to release in late December of 2026, this film would be the newest Avengers film since “Endgame.” If done well, it's incredibly likely that it will perform much better than recent Marvel flops. The level of marketing could also play a factor in reviving this fading genre.

“Doomsday” will undoubtedly be a pivotal moment for the superhero genre, but for two more years, Marvel fans will have to wait amidst uncertainty.