Last Saturday, at the San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios clarified its plans for the future of its megafranchise, the famous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which, despite recent difficulties, remains the most lucrative franchise of all time. A very “safe” future, which could help it regain its former glory, according to the experts consulted by The duty. Analysis.
Between disappointing films – both economically and critically – like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Ant-Man and the Wasp. Quantumania2023) and The Marvels (The Marvels2023) or the scandal surrounding actor Jonathan Majors, who was to lead the next MCU saga, “2023 has been very hard for Marvel,” says Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
Marvel should therefore take advantage of San Diego Comic-Con — an annual gathering for fans of popular culture — to show itself in a position of strength, believes the expert in popular culture. The first “normal” Comic-Con in about five years, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the double strike that paralyzed Hollywood in 2023.
With a performance of Like a Prayer, Madonna, an army of Deadpools as an introduction, Harrison Ford imitating Hulk to promote the next Captain America and the Fantasticara vehicle from the Fantastic Four, which came to pick up the actors from the film, it was a successful return to “classic Comic-Con,” according to Mr. Thompson.
But the highlight of the show was certainly when Anthony and Joe Russo, directors of the last two films in the Avengers series, took the stage to announce that they would also direct the next two, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The cherry on the sundaein all this? The announcement that Robert Downey Jr. is making his big return to the MCU, not in the role of Iron Man — which he played for over ten years — but in that of Doctor Doom, who will be the big baddie in both films.
“This is Marvel saying, ‘Remember the golden age of Marvel? Well, it’s back,’” Thompson says. “That doesn’t mean the problems that were brewing at Marvel have gone away; they’re still there, just hidden behind the image of strength that’s being projected,” he says. Kendall R. Phillips, a professor in the Department of Communications and Rhetoric at Syracuse University, calls it a “smart, but also very safe” move.
Last minute changes
Those who follow the franchise’s news the most will remember thatAvengers: Doomsday was originally known asAvengers: The Kang Dynasty. Jonathan Majors’ guilty verdict in his trial for domestic violence assault led Marvel to cut all ties with the actor of the MCU’s next big villain. And without Kang, it’s hard to have a dynasty. Marvel had two choices: either hire a new actor to play the role or reshuffle its plans with a new main antagonist. “Choosing Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom is certainly bold, but in some ways it’s easier than it would have been to keep Kang,” says Kendall R. Phillips.
He is referring here to the fact that the character Kang, who appeared in the series Loki and as a villain in the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniadidn’t do as well with his introduction as Thanos did in the first ten years of the MCU. So Marvel kind of took advantage of Jonathan Majors’ departure to “get rid of a character that wasn’t working and focus on Doom, who is probably the most iconic villain in the Marvel menagerie,” the expert says.
Difficulties
Since the end of the so-called “golden age”, which ended in 2019 with Avengers: Endgame (Avengers. Final Phase) according to Robert Thompson, the pace of production in the MCU has accelerated, and “there’s no longer an assumption that a Marvel movie is going to do well at the box office.” More projects, more characters, and more stories to follow have led to the feeling that to fully appreciate a movie, you have to do your homework and watch all 46 productions—or some 130 hours—that make up the universe.
Marvel is in a tough position, says Kendall R. Phillips. The company must prove that each project can stand on its own two feet and doesn’t require “homework” to attract new viewers while avoiding “alienating the fan club who stayed with them through it all and who represents a good part of the public.”
All the more so given the enormous success ofAvengers: EndgameMarvel no longer wants to build an interconnected universe and instead wants to recreate the success that was the ambitious film, believes the professor at Syracuse University. “It’s like just watching the goals in a soccer match, where there’s not the 90 minutes of play that make the game interesting.”
“And that’s without mentioning that Marvel has created its own problem by constantly pushing the bar higher. Whether it’s budget or story, the projects just keep getting bigger. You can’t have movies like Eternals [Éternels, 2021] “which are pretty mediocre, the bar always has to be raised,” adds Kendall R. Phillips.
For Robert Thompson, however, the most important announcement of the weekend for the studio was not the return of Robert Downey Jr., but that Deadpool & Wolverinewhich hit theaters the Friday before, was a hit with both audiences and the box office. “Ultimately, the only thing that determines whether their ideas work or not is the new releases. Right now, Marvel is on top again thanks to the resounding success of Deadpool & Wolverine. » The MCU franchise also surpassed 30 billion US dollars at the box office that same weekend.
Even though the future is uncertain, Phillips said Marvel Studios’ success over such a long period of time is “unprecedented” and that “even franchises like Star Wars “have run out of steam.” If there’s one thing he can take away from the reign of the MCU, it’s “never bet against Marvel.”