When it was first revealed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be expanding onto Disney Plus, questions were immediately asked as to whether an increase in quantity would coincide with a downturn in quality. Based on the response to virtually everything to have arrived since the Multiverse Saga began, the answer is getting frighteningly clear.
While the franchise isn’t quite on its deathbed just yet, the critical and commercial downturns to have affected the MCU’s output on screens both big and small hasn’t gone unnoticed. It can’t be a coincidence that reinstalled Disney CEO Bob Iger has been urging Kevin Feige to pump the brakes and slow down a little, either, but one veteran producer remains open to even more.
Black Panther has already spawned sequel Wakanda Forever, and that D+ series revolving around Danai Gurira’s Okoye remains in development as we’ve been repeatedly told without actually being given specifics. Multiple spinoffs built out from a single title can go both ways, but Nate Moore revealed to Variety that he’s open to keep expanding the world of Wakanda on streaming.
“We’ve certainly talked about characters and ideas that could be Disney Plus series, but it really is about the right story and making sure we’re not taking away from the cinematic experience of the franchise. … I think our first love and Kevin Feige’s first love is the cinematic experience. The movie will always take precedence, but we have had ideas of what could be a Disney series.”
Vision Quest and Echo are both spinoffs from TV shows that followed directly on from movies, and it’s inevitable that we’re going to end up with a spinoff to a spinoff eventually. Of course, let’s not forget that everyone turned on Wakanda Forever the second it arrived on Disney Plus, so who’s to say the same won’t happen in the episodic format?
The MCU is looking stretched pretty thin as it is, so even more content probably isn’t the answer.
Published: Apr 5, 2023 11:03 am