Has the MCU peaked?

[Axl Van Sixx]

It's hard to imagine a conflict with bigger stakes than the fight against Thanos in Infinity War and Endgame. The MCU has also lost some of it's most vital characters: Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther.

My question is, has the MCU passed its peak? I enjoyed Shang-Chi, but it felt like a variation on what's gone before.

 

[psylockolussus]

Yes. Unless Avengers with the Fantastic Four, Eternals, Shang-Chi, Blade, Deadpool, Black Knight, Moon Knight, the Mutants and those legacy characters outgrossed Endgame at the boX office and is critically acclaimed as Endgame.

 

[BlackFox]

The Infinity Saga was like the MCU having a massive debut album that shakes up the music business to the core and is just this new sound that nobody has heard before and every track is a massive hit after hit with no filler (or very little, the odd dodgy Dark World aside) but its hugely popular and it ends in a huge bombastic 180 minute epic conclusion of a track and everyone says its a masterpiece overall and widely celebrated.

Now the problem is where do you go from there, the MCU is now in its "difficult second album" phase, it could just try and repeat the same as the first but will be called out for copying and pasting its first track so they are trying to go a bit "experimental" on us (a little Radiohead if you will) not every track now is quite the same as before even the hints of the band can still be heard (MCU quips etc etc) but they are trying the odd new thing, tv series like Wandavision/Loki etc which explore slightly different themes and multiverses, What-If is a whole new medium of storytelling in the animated department, Shang-Chi is a different type of movie in terms of it being very Martial-Arts based for its action and Eternals from all accounts is the most divisive new track which is trying to be very different and expand the universe in very new ways but not pleasing all old fans in doing so(have not seen so dont know for myself).

It was always going to be tricky to follow up something as big as the Infinity Saga but the MCU now at least has some big tracks in the back pocket with the likes of X-Men and FF and host of other new characters that are massively popular it can bring in that might shake things up further down the road but it seems like it will be more of a bumpy road perhaps compared to that first album which just hit right at the right time.

 

[Weather Witch]

It's funny because in my opinion the MCU has been a bit same-y for a while and is actually starting to open up and get more interesting in the current phase. I'm more invested now than I was during Phase 2 and early Phase 3. I think the Disney+ series really help in that regard.

 

[TheVileOne]

I'd say it's too early to say that. I want to see how things play out with the upcoming films and what happens when they finally get X-Men and Fantastic Four onscreen.

 

[psylockolussus]

It's funny because in my opinion the MCU has been a bit same-y for a while and is actually starting to open up and get more interesting in the current phase. I'm more invested now than I was during Phase 2 and early Phase 3. I think the Disney+ series really help in that regard.

Thats your personal interest though.

I think the OP is talking about the grand scheme of things (boX office, public reception, critiX, brand popularity). Also Disney+ shows could oversaturate MCU to some people leading them to not watch everything. Like not everybody is going to watch and keep up with these shows. These shows have a longer runtime compare to the regular MCU movie and is only accessible through a streaming service.

 

[Weather Witch]

Thats your personal interest though.I think the OP is talking about the grand scheme of things (boX office, public reception, critiX, brand popularity).

True, but I think it's way too early to say anything about that yet. We just started on this new part of the MCU and I don't think it's fair to compare it to 11 years worth of the Infinity Saga.

 

[psylockolussus]

True, but I think it's way too early to say anything about that yet. We just started on this new part of the MCU and I don't think it's fair to compare it to 11 years worth of the Infinity Saga.

Most movie franchise don't even last ten years. And sometimes a reboot can happen uneXpectedly.

I think there's nothing wrong to assume MCU has peaked. In terms of critical reception, they just got their first rotten film. And with so many movies/shows planned for the neXt 3 years, there's a bigger possibility of having another critical miss. I don't eXpect the public to be invested with the shows like they did with the phase 1 to 3 movies. Is Falcon/Winter Soldier even as talked about as the least popular phase 3 movie?

 

[Spider-Fan83]

It's hard to imagine a conflict with bigger stakes than the fight against Thanos in Infinity War and Endgame. The MCU has also lost some of it's most vital characters: Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther.

My question is, has the MCU passed its peak? I enjoyed Shang-Chi, but it felt like a variation on what's gone before.

one could argue that the stakes were higher in Eternals

 

[Lip]

Topping the emotional stake of Endgame is going to be a challenge, but I think they ca do it. When it comes to big names they lost, they still have huge ones, and others yet to come: Peter, Carol, Stranger, F4, Wolverine, Storm and other X-Men characters.

I do hope there's an endgame in sight tho, even if they are rebooting everything after a few years.

 

[psylockolussus]

Part of me wishes it ends before 2040s. Like I want to see a definite end.

 

[DOBSON10]

It's definitely hit "a peak", it's not the same without Iron Man and Captain America... once they add the X-Men, Deadpool & Fantastic 4 they should be able to reach another peak, maybe not as high as the Infinity Saga but probably pretty big...

 

[SPO2 Dalisay]

one could argue that the stakes were higher in Eternals

The counter would be that the stakes referred to is not the plot and non player characters but rather the characters that the audience knows and wants to see further adventures of. The Eternals were not widely known going in so the majority only have what they were shown to make a connection to them.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I think it's (the MCU) in a holding bay of sorts, having seen an absolute end to a huge story era and its waiting for the impact & arrival of the F4 & X-Men (massive historic characters) to fill the void left by the leading Iron Man & Cap A, holes that are hard to fill, impactually & figuratively.

Once those characters arrive, the 'feel' of Phase 1 & 2 build to what fans had with IW & EG will build again, coupled with Kang's arrival beyond 'just the TV series' and into the wider films.

I think also a massive part of the 'gulf' felt has been the Covid effect of many of their films being only streaming or smaller, shorter cinema runs, the MCU crowd effect of being part of an event film has been lost a bit, and that will return hopefully for all of cinema next year, as well for the MCU.

 

[InCali]

I think it's possible the peak has been reached, but with the new characters, it may be that the next story will be in the same time zone. A good X-Men and FF could scale those heights and there are some good stories out there. I would like to see a Secret Wars culmination or something like that, but it could be 10-12 years down the road.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

I think the gratification of the Infinity Saga coming together was a local optimum at least. But that doesn't mean there can't be another peak. Things usually won't immediately go from one enormous high directly into the next, but rather it'll have ups and downs. The comics have been around for decades and I don't think their success has been a perfect parabola or bell curve with one peak.

 

[HammerDown]

The MCU hasn't peaked but the Infinity Saga has.
Those are 2 different things.

Infinity War and End Game where the peaks of the Infinity Saga. Having said that the MCU as a whole is like a mountain stage of the tour de France, it goes up and down and up again, it gradually builds up to something and then it kind of resets.

The MCU will keep on going and like the comics, known characters will eventually come back... With the Multiverse, Time Travel, space shenanigans... Not to mention that the MCU has yet to introduce a ton of great characters, among them the F4, Doom, Galactus, Silver Surfer... to the X-Men, Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto, Phoenix, Apocalypse... Deadpool, Blade, Ghost Rider... And a ton of team-ups, storylines and big events films to explore for many years to come.

They'll keep on bringing characters to the forefront of the MCU and build them up to the point where a team-up film is warranted which will then set more things moving forward. It's just a matter of time until the MCU hits other peaks and even greater heights.

 

[HammerDown]

In a couple of years time they'll make an Avengers film with another group of well known and established characters, plus the F4 or X-Men and massive villains like Galactus/Doom/Apocalypse... and even bring back some of the OG Avengers and there you have the recipe for a film to dwarf something like IW or AEG.

 

[TheVileOne]

I think the gratification of the Infinity Saga coming together was a local optimum at least. But that doesn't mean there can't be another peak. Things usually won't immediately go from one enormous high directly into the next, but rather it'll have ups and downs. The comics have been around for decades and I don't think their success has been a perfect parabola or bell curve with one peak.

I couldn't have said it better.

 

[Spidey_62]

In some ways it probably has but I think we gotta wait and see if FF and X-Men related things are able to hit the same way, because I think those are the only other big Marvel properties left that have it in them. Phase 4 so far feels kinda like a bridge building exercise introducing lots of lesser known characters, no Avengers movie yet, the biggest it seems to be getting right now is multiverse schenanigans involving a few characters.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

While I have felt quite a bit underwhelmed by the post AEG output starting right with FFH and being disappointed with WandaVision, Falc/WS and neither BW or Shang Chi really soared... I like the possibilities in this funky phase which reminds me of similar times in the comics. We are for sure in the middle of some kind of Multiverse arc right now for the wider MCU even if it so far doesyaffect every character. But there is what Loki, NWH and MoM is doing along with the machinations of Val behind the scenes, what fallout (Or maybe what can be salvage...) from the events of Eternals... All interesting and with great opportunities that, no, cannot possibly reach the heights the finale to the Infinity Saga hit.


That's fine though. Not everything has to be that epic in scope.

And as everyone noted we have Mutants, the First Family and maybe a build up to Doom, Secret Wars and gods knows what else coming down the pike.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Hard to say. Tbh everything after Endgame has been pretty disappointing. I wasn’t very into any of the D+ shows (Loki was pretty cool, especially the last ep) or the last few movies (Black Widow, Eternals, or Shang Chi). It feels a bit like they’ve been on autopilot. But things are about to ramp up with the next batch of films and shows. Can’t wait for future Spider-Man movies, X-Men, and F4. But I miss the hell out of Cap and IM…

 

[Frodo]

I don't know if it's peaked , but it's definitely in a transitional period .

Then again, several of the big film franchises like DC, Marvel, The Spiderverse, Star Wars, and Bond, are all in a transitory state going into the 2020s.

In alot of ways, they're beginning new chapters after mega climaxes and endings.

So they're all "rebuilding" in that sense.

Now , whether or not the next several Marvel films, during this transitional period, will hit the critical and fan approval heights of the 2008-2019 era, remains to be seen.

But then again, DC, Star Wars, The Spiderverse, and Bond all face the same challenges, and are in similar boats as Marvel.

It's kinda rare to have so many franchises simultaneously in a similar state.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

People said MCU peaked with The Avengers when AOU disappointed.

Then phase 3 happened.

I wouldn't count out Marvel Studios with FF and X-men coming up. Those could easily fill the void left by IM, Cap and BW.

 

[Spidey_62]

I don't know if it's peaked , but it's definitely in a transitional period .

Then again, several of the big film franchises like DC, Marvel, The Spiderverse, Star Wars, and Bond, are all in a transitory state going into the 2020s.

In alot of ways, they're beginning new chapters after mega climaxes and endings.

So they're all "rebuilding" in that sense.

Now , whether or not the next several Marvel films, during this transitional period, will hit the critical and fan approval heights of the 2008-2019 era, remains to be seen.

But then again, DC, Star Wars, The Spiderverse, and Bond all face the same challenges, and are in similar boats as Marvel.

It's kinda rare to have so many franchises simultaneously in a similar state.

I think transitional period is a good way of putting how it feels with phase 4 right now.