The quickest way for any franchise to go stale is to keep repeating the same tricks over and over again, a trap that many properties have fallen into over the years by simply taking the easy route and relying on what works in perpetuity. It’s an especially big potential pitfall for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given the sheer volume of content that’s in development.
Including WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as well as projects that haven’t been given official release dates like the Blade reboot, Deadpool 3 and Captain America 4, from the beginning of 2021 to let’s say the end of 2024 or mid-2025 at the latest, the MCU’s slate comprises of at least fourteen feature films, twelve Disney Plus shows, two animated spinoffs and a holiday special.
That’s going to require a great deal of creative ingenuity to ensure that each title stands on its own merits, and trying to replicate the success of the Infinity Saga probably wouldn’t work anywhere near as well. However, a new report claims that not only are Marvel planning to rely on a Thanos-level threat lurking in the shadows formula once more, but there are going to be a whole bunch of them.
No names have been mentioned specifically, but even then we’ve already heard the likes of Norman Osborn, Galactus, Doctor Doom, Kang the Conqueror and more put forward as contenders to fill that void on repeated occasions. Of course, having a huge number of Thanos-level big bads in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could only serve to dilute their collective impact, so it’s a difficult line to toe, but as things stand, Phase Four’s theatrical lineup still hasn’t gotten underway yet, meaning we’re a long way from figuring out what Kevin Feige and his team have in store.
