With 85 years of comics, over 80,000 characters, 34 movies, 50 TV shows (and more on the way), Marvel Comics is a cultural institution. Their MCU is the biggest movie franchise in history, spawning some of the most profitable and enjoyable films of the past 20 years. Yet, right now fans and critics are arguing over whether the MCU is at the end of its run.
Since the overwhelming success of “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, it is a fact that the MCU has struggled, at least at the box office. While the “Spider-Man” movies have continued to do huge business (“No Way Home” to date has grossed nearly two billion at the global box office), movies featuring new characters like “Shang-Chi,” “The Eternals” and “The Marvels” have all had difficulty connecting with audiences.
And, in the world of television, the number of series Marvel has produced since “Endgame” have been hit-and-miss. For every hit show, like “WandaVision” or “Loki,” there seems to be a number of shows that miss the mark, like “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Moon Knight,” and “Secret Invasion.”
These are all growing pains. From 2009 to 2019, the MCU exploded. It was only a matter of time before things would settle down. Now they find themselves at a crossroads, looking for the next way forward.
They may have found it. Last week, Disney+ began streaming the “WandaVision” follow-up “Agatha All Along,” which is currently posting a strong critic score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. After reading reviews most of the marvel fan base seem to love the show so far, It has an overall rating of 3.9 stars which is outstanding; given the fact the show came out days ago with only three episodes, more flowing in bi-weekly.
In the box office, their only movie this year, “Deadpool and Wolverine” just overtook the “Joker” as the highest-grossing R-rated film in history, raking in $1.08 Billion globally.
With its clever take on the multiverse concept the MCU has been developing since “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” I think it’s likely that the next Marvel movie titled “Venom: The Last Dance” will be as compelling as the last.
And the future looks bright in terms of casting, too. Just this summer at Comic-Con, none other than Robert Downey, Jr. announced his plan to switch from superhero to supervillain. After not acting in a Marvel movie since the 2019 “Avengers: Endgame,” the “Iron Man” actor will be returning as iconic Marvel villain Dr. Doom for “Avengers: Doomsday,” which is expected to be released in May 2025.
With three phases set and more to come, the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow each year. With 85 years and 27,000 comic books, you better believe there will be more movies and TV shows coming out soon.
