If Marvel Studios makes sense, people will get a new entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe almost every week.
It all starts with WandaVision. Marvel’s new nine-episode program, which follows Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’s Vision Living an Absurd Suburban Life in an Alternative Universe, begins on January 15. Two episodes are premiered, with new episodes appearing each week for the rest of the season. Just two weeks later WandaVision end, The falcon and the winter soldier shall arrive. It is then three weeks to Black widow hits in theaters (unless delayed again) and Loki land on Disney Plus. At the time Loki ends, it’s time for Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings.
You get the picture.
Before Disney Plus was introduced, Marvel Studios only worked on movies. Television programs fall under the separate TV division of Marvel Entertainment. This includes the Netflix series (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage), shows on Hulu (The runaways), and ABC titles such as Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD. This is what separated the Marvel Cinematic Universe from everything else, even if one were to refer to these events. When Disney Plus came along, everything rocked. Disney needed new Marvel shows to bring in and retain subscribers (such as The Mandalorian done). Jeph Loeb, former head of Marvel TV, was effectively evicted because everything came under the head of Marvel Studios and MCU architect Kevin Feige.
Under Feige, the MCU is now expanding. The different programs and movies will be intertwined. WandaVision will contain characters from Thor, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel and will somehow commit to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While former Disney executives told The edge that viewers do not have to watch every movie or show to keep up, the strategy is designed like comics – references to events that have taken place elsewhere that fans may want to watch to understand the full context.
Depending on people’s opinions about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s a blessing or a curse to have a new Marvel thing every week. The question is when does it affect oversaturation? Some people may feel that we have reached that point. While studios and networks are making more movies and TV shows than ever before (even outside the superhero genre), there are few things that dominate the box office and conversations like Disney properties, especially Marvel and Star Wars. Using a never-ending series of Marvel TV series, in addition to three or four movies a year, can lead the world to total franchise fatigue.
Except that it probably won’t be. Franchise fatigue is a popular expression that is thrown around, but it is ultimately flawed. Superhero movies remain some of the biggest hits at the box office that drive people to theaters at a time when American audiences attend, on average, fewer movies a year. In China, Marvel movies remain some of the best films made by American studios, and the Chinese box office is the second largest box office demographic. This is not to imply that Marvel movies are the movie, but not the whole movie, but the mainstream audiences are not tired of it. Before Infinity War and Endgame, entries such as Black panther and Captain Marvel some of the MCU’s biggest successes – and these were new characters in the MCU, not Captain America. The audience’s question did not disappear.
Marvel Studios and Disney’s more urgent issue is not fatigue in the franchise – it’s trust. Think about Star Wars. With the exception of Alone, each Star Wars films released over the past five years have performed exceptionally well, but critical reviews of the films have soured. People argued The power wakes up is just a remake of A new hope, The rise of Skywalker is constantly immersed, The Last Jedi stands at the center of its own ongoing debate, and Alone feels like two movies tangled in one messy affair.
Productions have been plagued by directors and writers who have been sacked, and Disney has rushed to a Star Wars film per year, leaving little room for proper rewrites. Disney’s likely to lose fans’ trust in its ability to always do good Star Wars films – or, as analyst and venture capitalist Matthew Ball says, it’s ‘accumulated disappointment’. Disney tried to chase everything. There did not seem to be a 10-year plan for Star Wars. The biggest asset of Marvel Studios is that Feige was able to archetype what the universe should look like. It’s not just quality over quantity – they make more MCU films every year – but quantity without losing the overarching storyline.
Ironically, Star Wars also points out how more Marvel can work. As Rogue One for this, The Mandalorian succeed because it is known but stands on its own. It is natural Star Wars, and there are enough references to key Star Wars figures and moments that hard fans can dig into the nitty-gritty. However, it’s also new and unique enough not to feel like a rushed entry into a universe that yields a lot of money for Disney. The Mandaloriancreators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni found time to figure it out.
By all accounts WandaVision is in the same boat. The characters are familiar, but the show is so different from anything within the MCU that it hopefully feels completely refreshing. Maintaining the trust of people and avoiding accumulation of disappointment plays the opportunity for streaming. Experimentation should be encouraged. If it works, the opportunity for success and continued profitability has no ceilings.
If this is not the case then maybe this is a no-brainer for a streaming service, where people pay monthly for new content in addition to their favorite movies and TV shows. This is not the same as paying $ 10 or more for a movie ticket or losing ten million dollars to Disney. Save safe bets for big, splashy tent pool movies that deliver more than returns on the original investment and marketing campaign; experiment on Disney Plus where people are looking something to satiate their appetite.
The main pitfall of Streaming is to think, because there is a monthly demand from subscribers that speed is a priority. Consistency is, but consistency also means quality and originality – especially with features like Marvel and Star Wars. The game is higher; there is a precedent for big, a precedent for awful, and a hungry fan base that will accept sub-par movies or TV just as long.
The good news is that Marvel Studios just has to keep doing what they are already doing. Feige – an architect who designed Marvel storylines a decade ago and figured out how to make a giant universe feel tangible and new – is now responsible for ensuring that the same attention is paid to the Disney Plus world. We’re about to enter a period in which there will be constantly a new piece of Marvel Studios content. It sounds exhausting – but it does not have to be.