2. Over-complication

The Marvel Cinematic Universe will always be remembered as one of the boldest, brashest, and most astounding success stories in entertainment history. Inspired by the vast, interconnected continuity of the Marvel comic books themselves, the MCU's novel idea of exploring individual character stories before bringing heroes together in Avengers crossover films was jaw-dropping and exciting. It allowed the MCU to do what "sequels" and even large "franchises" can't – to grow boundlessly, exploring new genres and changing rosters like a super-powered soap opera, always heading toward a blockbuster.

Given the revelatory happenings of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, it's really no surprise that everything from 2020 onward has been... different. The MCU has been in a period of rebuilding; a new wave of origin stories intermixing with catch-ups, character explorations, reorientations, experimentations, and more. There's a lot to balance, and thanks to the over-saturation we mentioned earlier, a lot to keep up with... Especially since the post-Endgame phases of the MCU live beneath the umbrella of the "Multiverse Saga," introducing cameo-laden mythologies that intersperse between realities. 

To name the "major players" of the post-Endgame MCU, we'd have to offer up Scarlet Witch, Vision, Loki, a new Captain America, Winter Solder, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Echo, Kate Bishop, Thor, a new Black Panther, Shang-Chi, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Daredevil, and Deadpool (with potential future appearances by Elektra, Wolverine, Blade, the Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic 4).

Vast mythologies, multiple realities, and interconnected stories are as integral to the DNA of the MCU as they are to the Marvel comics themselves! But if you've ever tried to read the Wikipedia page of a Marvel superhero, you'll know that at some point, such stories become incomprehensibly complex, and crossovers once seen as clever and climactic can instead feel weighty, laborious, and... well... like "homework." Feeling like you have to have seen, absorbed, and then re-watched two or three other pieces of media to "get" a new one can be daunting.

Some insiders suggest that it's the weight of the MCU that's beginning to see the franchise's popularity sag. For example, industry observers suspect that the disappointing box office performance of The Marvels is at least in part due to the perception that to enjoy the triple-hero crossover, you'd need to know the stories of Carol Danvers (2019's Captain Marvel), Monica Rambeau (2021's Disney+ exclusive WandaVision) and Kamala Khan (2022's Disney+ exclusive Ms. Marvel). Whether that's true or not doesn't entirely matter, since if potential viewers even feel that they need to do homework to understand a movie, they might avoid it... or worse, just wait until it's on Disney+ for "free."

It's really no surprise that the multiversal expansion of the MCU has yielded increasing complexity, and that for some fans who sense diminishing returns, decreasing quality, or a slate of new heroes that don't pique their interest, waiting for Disney+ or for an Avengers film that promises must-see cameos seems like the best course of action for now. That's a shift Disney is hoping to change...

Fixing the MCU

It's hard to believe that less than five years ago, Avengers: Endgame had achieved the unthinkable, becoming the highest grossing film of all time – the pinnacle of a decade of pop culture domination without a single box office flop in sight. Today, just half a decade later, words like "inconsistent" and "uncertain" dominate fan discourse, and with a pretty disappointing 2023 in the rear view mirror, the first glimpse at Disney's rethinking of the brand is clear. How?

1. De-saturation

“At the time the pandemic hit, we were leaning into a huge increase in how much we were making,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during Disney’s earnings call in November 2023. “And I’ve always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality, and I think that’s exactly what happened. We lost some focus.”

Just one MCU film will release in 2024: the third entry (but Disney's first) in the R-rated Deadpool franchise, reunited with Marvel though Disney's $71 billion 2019 purchase of 20th Century Fox. (Three other films once planned for 2024 – Captain America: Brave New World, Blade, and Thunderbolts – have been delayed to 2025. Several Disney+ Original Series have been delayed or de-listed, too.) 

Will distance make the heart grow fonder? And just as importantly, will the slow-down on Marvel productions give Feige and the creative team time to reorient and reorganize around an audience that looks less hungry for content, and more insistent on quality? We'll see... Meanwhile, Disney has another plan.

2. De-complication

In a franchise formed by crossovers and pursuits of the "bigger picture" thread, it simply won't be possible to remove complication. Besides, Disney can't really win in this fight anyway. Smaller, self-contained stories are accused of being boring, skippable, or filler. (Fans spent most of Phase Four whining that the threads of a larger crossover or a "Big Bad" weren't being laid quickly enough.) But of course, when those intertwined crossovers do come out, fans say they're filled with forced fan service cameos or require too much homework.

Still, Iger does have an answer here. “There’s nothing in any way inherently off in terms of the Marvel brand,” Iger said. “I think we just have to look at what characters and stories we’re mining, and you look at the trajectory of Marvel over the next five years, you’ll see a lot of newness. We’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise, but with a whole different set of Avengers.”

He continued: "Sequels typically worked well for us, [but] do you need a third and a fourth, for instance? Or is it time to turn to other characters?"

It's something of a bold notion: that basically, de-complicating the MCU means finally taking your foot off the dock of the past and stepping into the boat of the new. Especially with a funneling down of the spread of Marvel across Disney+, it's possible that the era of expansion is over, and that we'll now see Marvel retract from the litany of heroes it's introduced down into a core Avengers team once more. Heroes who don't make that team may have fought their last, and holdouts from the Infinity Saga – like Ant-Man, Thor, and Captain Marvel – have likely had their last big screen entry. 

It's a big ask: to return the MCU to box office dominance by thinking small, and giving consumers a chance to miss the heroes again. Will it work? Well... keep an eye on 2024 and 2025 to find out...