Before The Marvels, what is going so wrong for the MCU?

Ever since Avengers: Endgame, the road has been particularly bumpy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Their upcoming release, The Marvels is looking more than likely to face the same fate as the most recent few Marvel projects. 

What

• Since 2008, Marvel's movies, starting with Iron Man, have been incredibly successful. 
• The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, has become a big part of popular culture and the cinema world.
• The MCU has always gathered mixed reviews from cinema lovers which includes popular Hollywood director Martin Scorsese who accused the MCU for ruining the value of cinema. 

READ MORE: Martin Scorsese wants to fight back against superhero movies. The 2023 box office proves him right

• The MCU has not enjoyed the same sort of response that it had earlier enjoyed with the majority of its releases leading up to Avengers: Endgame.
• Marvel’s venture into the OTT world has not been well received either with most of their Disney+ releases having received neutral to unfavourable responses from the audience and critics alike. 

• Early reviews suggest that the MCU's forthcoming film, The Marvels, featuring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Teyonah Parris, and Samuel L. Jackson, scheduled for release on November 10, is poised to continue the trend set by its forerunners.

• The current stage of MCU has left many wondering why the beloved superhero franchise seems to have lost its value in today's world of cinema.

The MCU’s downfall

Repetitive storyline

• Each and every MCU big-screen release after Avengers: Endgame has failed to intrigue fans with a unique storyline, an element that most of the pre-Endgame movies carried. 
• The same “Hero thrashes the bad guy” script has somewhat made the MCU movies predictable. 
• Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantamania (2023) faced a major box office disappointment due to its hype around Jonathan Majors's Kang. However, the film ultimately treated the character in a clichéd manner, leaving fans disappointed.

Too much to watch

• The influx of MCU releases, alongside their availability on OTT platforms, has overwhelmed fans, making it a challenge to keep up with all these projects. 
• Prior to Endgame, the MCU typically adhered to an annual release schedule. This approach proved successful at the box office and contributed to building excitement due to their well-received continuity techniques.  

• Viewers today have too much MCU content in theatres and on OTT platforms, which has somewhat subdued their conventional viewing experience. 

Lack of pivotal characters

• MCU is missing story-driving characters like Iron-Man, Captain America or Black Panther. 

• The new characters introduced by Marvel after Endgame, failed to attract anything even close to the hype that the previous characters garnered. 
• Iron-Heart, Kate Bishop, She-Hulk, Shang-Chi all failed to create a following for themselves, which has been a major reason for the mixed responses that they have been receiving.