The Age of Marvel Isn’t Over Yet, Even After the Marvel Bomb – The Hollywood Reporter

Brie Larson in The Marvels

Courtesy of Laura Radford/Marvel Studios

There was a time, not so long ago, when a new Marvel Studios release was a guaranteed hit, regardless of whether the film starred one of the world’s most popular superheroes or introduced audiences to characters few knew. Critics wondered how long such an interconnected franchise could sustain itself, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe emerged as the highest-grossing film series in history and continued to break records.

Marvel broke another record this weekend, though one that no one in Hollywood could have predicted a few years ago. Wondersdirector Nia DaCosta’s billion-dollar follow-up Captain Marvel (2019), debuted with the lowest opening weekend box office in the MCU’s fifteen-year history. The numbers are alarming for a film that cost more than $250 million to produce, and have prompted fans, commentators, and Hollywood insiders to wonder, are Marvel’s days in the spotlight over?

Some are very quick to grab a shovel and start digging a grave for the MCU, a move that seems premature given recent hits like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever And Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

But one thing is undeniable: Marvel Studios can no longer rely solely on the Marvel Studios name to get seats, it must give audiences a reason to get excited, to feel like they’re going to see something they’ve never seen before. , and not just something they can watch on their TVs a little later.

Multiple factors have been cited WondersPoor turnout, from an actors’ strike that prevented charismatic characters Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani from promoting the film, to lackluster marketing, to superhero fatigue.

Others have been attributed WondersOpenness about racism and misogyny; It was directed by a black woman and two of the film’s leads are POC. I’m hesitant to say that, because it seems to be the kind of excuse studios have historically used to ignore POC films, especially ones starring and directed by women. This doesn’t mean that misogyny and racism don’t exist, but the successes have Barbie Which is female-led Wakanda forever It contradicts that narrative.

The most obvious reason is the abundance of Marvel projects released in recent years. Marvel Studios, under Disney’s Bob Iger and then Bob Chapek, saturated the market with Marvel projects to drive subscriptions to Disney+. But launching multiple projects every three months left fans feeling exhausted and behind.

For all its flaws, Marvel’s Infinity Saga felt more focused. There were a select number of characters, all of whose stories appeared in the films. mail-Avengers: Endgamewe’re introduced to a group of new characters who, for the most part, don’t interact with each other, whose projects all form different stories that have yet to come together, and who haven’t been seen for years between projects, making it difficult for fans to latch onto them like they did with the OG. Avengers.

The fact that he wasn’t there New Avengers The movie feels like a massive oversight. Avengers movie before Wonders The film probably benefited from it, just as Captain Marvel He benefited greatly from getting out in between Avengers: Infinity War And Avengers: Endgame. However, Marvel seems intent on saving the Avengers in order to conclude the Multiverse Saga Avengers: Kang Dynasty And Avengers: Secret Warstrying to create the next Infinity War And game over.

But that was never the goal of the Avengers. The goal was to bring the new characters together and establish their identity among their peers and global threats. In comics, Avengers It comes out monthly, and while Avengers movies should feel special, they also shouldn’t take a decade to build. There’s no reason why we can’t see the team-up of Doctor Strange, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Shang-Chi, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and the Wasp as the newest iteration of the Avengers at this point.

Marvel Studios has also cannibalized projects that could have made great movies in order to create “content” for Disney+. Secret invasionthe poorly received Samuel L. Jackson series earlier this year, could easily have been similar Captain America: Civil War And it played out on the big screen, rather than becoming a haphazardly cobbled-together show that ditched valuable characters, shared no similarities with Brian Michael Bendis’ and Linnell Francis Yeo’s popular comic event, and did major damage to the MCU with its last-minute bit of character power.

Regardless of opinions about Wonders“The novel, it is clear Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion It would have had more appeal to audiences. It would have allowed fans to go straight to the graphic novel and build enthusiasm, which is what happened with it Civil war. Still, taking Monica and Kamala into account, along with a mix of new and old heroes, it could have been a twisty event that was actually useful in the themes Captain Marvel Prove. It would have firmly established Captain Marvel as a prominent character in the future. Instead, we are left with a high probability of that Wonders It will be Captain Marvel’s last solo film.

However, Marvel Studios will move forward, having learned from last year’s disappointments. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes may ultimately benefit the MCU in the long run, forcing the studio to push all of its theatrical projects except Deadpool 3 from 2024 through 2025. The move will give fans a much-needed break from ongoing Marvel projects, given the excitement generated by just a set of photos of Hugh Jackman in the classic blue and yellow Wolverine costume, and the fact that Deadpool 3 It will essentially be Marvel Studios’ first real stab at live-action mutants, and chances are strong that by this time next summer, everyone will be talking about Marvel Studios’ grand return.

Wonders He’s certainly not alone in the disappointing box office for superhero fare this year, with DC Shazam! The wrath of the gods, the light And Blue beetle And Marvel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Obsession They are all underperforming. Superhero fatigue has been the prevailing theory, and I think there’s definitely some of that. But then it looks like success Guardians Vol. 3 And Spider-Man: Via Spider-verse this summer, or good intentions around superhero-centric shows fifth general, Loki And Invincible. Suddenly, burnout seems easy.

The performance of the Wonders There’s no denying that last weekend was disappointing. But every long-running franchise goes through growing pains. Just as Bond didn’t die when Timothy Dalton’s films disappointed at the box office, Batman was able to survive the cold shoulder Batman and RobinMarvel won’t die. It’s an institution at this point.

Although we may get fewer films, we hope to get films that are more cost-effective and of more consistent quality. This is the Marvel method that made the MCU such a successful franchise in the first place, and a reliable formula that can still work as they move forward with new characters and new stories. The age of wonders is not over yet. He’s a bit tired, scarred and sporting a black eye, as he tries to push through the wreckage on his back, but as we all know, that’s often what happens when heroes get their best out of it.