Several movies and television shows into Phase Four and no one is still quite sure where Marvel is heading with the MCU‘s future. Unlike the Infinity Saga, which laid the groundwork for the coming together of the Avengers as early as the post-credits scene of Iron Man, the stories that have followed Endgame don’t seem to be building towards an overarching narrative, an issue that has raised a lot of concern in the fandom recently.
Granted, WandaVision ultimately led to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while Loki is seemingly setting up Kang the Conqueror as a major antagonistic figure for future stories. But looking at Black Widow, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Eternals, and Shang-Chi, and then factoring in the former projects as well, there doesn’t seem to be a narrative demonimator to tie everything together like the Infinity Saga did with every entry.
Even the most recent Multiverse of Madness follows the same pattern. Though the movie has packed a lot of exciting cameos and fan-service moments, it isn’t building towards an overarching premise. A critic recently brought this point up on Twitter, and it has since spawned a viral debate on the social media platform as to whether Phase Four has a direction at all.
Overall, it seems that Phase Four is garnering more criticism than everything that preceeded it. The MCU’s success was, by no stretch of the imagination, a lightning-in-a-bottle situation, but Kevin Feige and his producers may have to give fans more than they’re currently letting on if they wish to ride on this wave for the foreseeable future.
