The post-Endgame MCU has practically been an embarrassment of riches. Four major feature films. Five critically acclaimed series. Four upcoming franchise installments for Thor, Black Panther, Ant-Man and The Wasp, and Guardians of the Galaxy, not to mention a host of planned series featuring never before seen characters. And the fans have spoken. And what they said was, “Ho-hum.”
Entertainment site Culture Crave recently posted Marvel’s future slate of MCU programs and asked which project fans were most excited for. Reactions were far less than enthused, however. A vast majority of the responses indicated that online fans were feeling a lot like a customer who has just finished their fifth plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Not just satiated, but stuffed and less than interested in anything new being brought out to the steam table.
Some fans hearkened back to the good old days of phase 3, even saying that the MCU peaked at Endgame. While Phase 4 has introduced Shang-Chi and Eternals, neither film caught the public’s imagination in the way OG Phase 1 films like Iron Man or Thor did. And while the playing field of the MCU is expanding more than ever before with the concept of the multiverse, bigger hasn’t necessarily meant better to the vocal fan base online.
Of course, the fan’s ennui may only be a matter of overinflated expectations. While the heady final battle of Endgame caused audiences to stand up and cheer, it’s easy to forget that getting to that scene was an eleven-year journey. It’s also fair to point out that Marvel took a major hit to the talent roster post-Endgame, losing Iron Man/Robert Downey Jr., Captain America/Chris Evans, and, one solo film later, Black Widow/Scarlett Johansson. Marvel has arguably spent the first part of phase 4 assembling a new Avengers team while at the same time plumbing the breadth of the multiverse storyline, and these things do take time.
That said, Phase 4 is, as yet, lacking a film that will serve as its lightning rod like the first Iron Man served the shared universe’s start. Time will only tell whether the fans get energized by Thor: Love and Thunder or any of the four planned MCU features set to debut in 2023.
