The Marvel Cinematic Universe is easily the biggest movie franchise in the world, having grossed over $30 billion with 40 movies and nearly a dozen TV shows. It has dominated box offices, streaming platforms, and, for many years, our collective cultural interest. But since Avengers: Endgame became the MCU’s highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing movie of all time, Marvel has had what can only be called a fall from grace.
Box office turnout has fallen, and the collection of TV shows that followed is, well, messy. So what happened to this movie franchise, and more importantly, can Marvel still turn things around and return to our good graces?
The Success of the Early Films
From the 2008 release of Iron Man to the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, Marvel had a clear storyline and overarching plot with a finale it was working toward. The storyline was called the Infinity Saga, and in it, each movie built off of the last, leaving hints and clues as to what was to come. However, each movie could be enjoyed independently as a few hours of entertainment, action, and seeing the good guys win. This formula had people returning to theaters with each movie release, all 23 of them.
But following the Infinity Saga’s wrap-up and the Multiverse Saga’s introduction, things began to fall apart.
What Went Wrong?
Following the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Marvel changed its formula, leading to an overwhelming amount of content and increasingly complex storylines. It also faced a few other challenges, like an aging audience and losing some of the MCU’s favorite characters. But more than anything, it seems that Marvel has lost its focus.
Inundation of Content & Complex Story Lines
With the Multiverse Saga, Marvel has released movies and TV shows to build the overarching storyline. All those little clues Marvel is known for leaving its audiences are difficult to keep tabs on across so much content, causing frustration and unnecessary complexity. This results in Marvel fans having to do homework to keep up, and people turn to Marvel for entertainment, not homework. Many fans, including Marvel’s CEO Bob Iger, have also expressed concern over the sheer quantity of Marvel content and its overall loss of quality.
An Aging Audience
Many Marvel Infinity Saga fans have grown up, and while some Marvel content has aged alongside them, not all of it has. Many franchises, like Star Wars, have addressed this issue by appealing to new generations who can grow with the franchise or by building nostalgia that brings old fans back to the stories with their children in tow. But Marvel hasn’t embraced either of these tactics, losing new audiences and its existing fanbase.
Loss of Beloved Characters
The loss of superheroes like Captain America, Iron Man, and the Black Widow may have been done with a hero’s goodbye, but it’s still a major adjustment for audiences. The audience needs to grieve the loss of these characters and adjust to the introduction of new ones (something that any fans of Doctor Who are all too familiar with). It’s hard to let go of the former faces of the franchise and welcome the new additions without some struggle, naturally leading to fewer people engaging with new characters.
Lost Focus
During the Infinity Saga, the audience could see where the story was going. There was clearly an overarching plot. However, as storylines became more intricately intertwined and content was added relentlessly to streaming platforms, there was a lack of cohesion. In recent years, it seems Marvel has lost its focus, so how is the franchise supposed to hold an audience? This, perhaps, is its biggest failure.
Is There Hope?
Everything experiences ups and downs, whether it’s the online gaming platforms found on casinos.com or megalithic video game franchises like Mortal Kombat. Despite Marvel’s shortcomings in recent years, diehard fans still hope the franchise will return to its former glory. The franchise’s fans, critics, and even its CEO have pitched ideas on how to redeem it, including following the idea that less is more, enhancing its marketing efforts, and using its remaining popular characters to its advantage.
Less is More
By following the idea that less is more, Marvel can refocus its efforts to bring more cohesion back to its content and allocate resources to ensure the quality that won over fans in its early days remains. This may mean fewer releases, but this may work in the franchise’s favor; after all, does absence not make the heart grow fonder? More time between releases, or fewer releases of high quality, allows the sense of nostalgia to build and can stir up excitement and anticipation for new content.
Enhancing Its Marketing Efforts
The Marvels was the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie release to date, and critics have attributed its poor performance to inadequate marketing. The film was a female-led storyline that could have been better marketed, especially following the summer of Barbie, when audiences were primed for more female empowerment and female-driven plots. The marketing efforts have also leaned on snippets and elements from the Infinity Saga, leading to confusion and what many consider mixed messaging. This dilutes the appeal and stories of new releases, leaving them in the shadows of the MCU’s first chapter. Changing the approach and style of the franchise’s marketing efforts could play a powerful role in shifting how audiences feel about upcoming releases.
Using Popular Characters to Its Advantage
Though the franchise has said goodbye to beloved characters, many are still active in the Multiverse Saga and can help win back fans who have drifted away. In addition, reintroducing nostalgic characters like those in The Fantastic Four can help recapture audiences and generate renewed interest in the Marvel universe.
Plus, with more Captain America and Spider-Man movies coming in 2025, there is hope that these new releases will perform well. Spider-Man movies tend to perform well, even as other MCU films underperform. Captain America will focus on already established characters like Sam Wilson, giving them more screen time and appealing to fans who may have stepped away since Endgame.
Final Thoughts
Here’s hoping that Marvel will embrace these ideas and turn things around for the better. The excitement and thrill of watching the Infinity Saga come to life was nothing short of quality entertainment that many fans hope to experience again.