Marvel Problems, One Project at a Time
let's look at specific Marvel properties to figure out where things have gone wrong
I’m going to start all of this off by making the caveat that everyone makes at the start of these pieces - the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” could come back from its doldrums with its next project and return to cultural dominance. The viewing public is fickle but they’re fickle in both directions, and the right project could suck everybody back into this franchise. I don’t think things will ever be the same as they once were, and in particular I imagine that Disney recognizes that the TV shows (at least at that volume) were a mistake. Many people are happy with the two-hour Marvel experience and have no interest in the six-hour Marvel experience; making key events in the continuity occur on the shows appears to have done less to drive people to sign up for Disney+ and more to make them confused and annoyed. But, still, a newly reinvigorated MCU is absolutely possible and I think we’ll get at least a mini-revival soon.
That said, every indication has been that the shows have been a major disappointment for Disney, the production schedule has been pulled back, and the movies have not exactly been on fire - Guardians of the Galaxy volume Three did fine, but significantly worse than its two predecessors1, Thor: Love & Thunder was something of a disappointment, Wakanda Forever earned less than half of Black Panther2, and Ant-Man: Quantumania was a flat-out bomb. Even the hardcores appear to have truly hated the most recent series, Secret Invasion. (Which I have not seen). It’s been quite a slump. Well, I’m the opposite of a hardcore, with my distaste for the phenomenon of the MCU balanced out by my enjoyment of a few favorites, landing somewhere at grudging tolerance. But I’ve still seen most of them, which tells you something about their powerful cultural footprint. What I’m going to do here is go through a handful of Marvel projects and lay out how each one I pick illustrates the structural issues within the MCU machine. These are in the order in which I prefer to discuss them. Let’s go.
Thor: Love & Thunder
I think this is certainly not the worst Marvel movie. But to me, it’s the one that perfectly illustrates how the MCU formula has run aground. When I first heard about the broad plot outline - Thor’s off-and-on girlfriend Jane Foster is dying of cancer and takes on the Thor mantle - I thought to myself, oh, that’s interesting! They’re zagging after the zigged! Thor Ragnarok was a comedy, so now they’re doing a more serious and somber movie! And then I saw it and it turns out that, in fact, they just… made a comedy about a woman dying of cancer.