Having already taken Disney on at its own game and won by rescuing Nimona from the scrapheap and reaping immediate rewards – as well as throwing its hat into the reimagined fairy tale business – Netflix is making its boldest claim yet by quite literally naming its new superhero franchise as the MCU.
Of course, the differences between Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe and upcoming animated feature Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie couldn’t be more stark, but that didn’t prevent the streaming service from shouting it from the rooftops that there’s a new MCU in town, which could end up coming back to bite it right on the behind.
Miraculous is already a pretty big deal as it is, though, with the original series gaining huge popularity across its five seasons and 130 episodes, which has already snowballed into various tie-ins including comic books, novels, video games, and other assorted merchandise, so it’s not as if Netflix is aiming for the stratosphere right from the off when there’s a built-in audience already there.
Expanding the property into feature-length was the next logical step, and with a July 28 release date looming after a relatively fruitful theatrical run internationally, it won’t be long until we find out if the company release does have an MCU to call its very own, or if hubris will end up proving to be the downfall of Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie.
At the end of the day, to be fair, it’s about a costumed teenager and a cat-clad accomplice fighting crime, so it would be ridiculous to be expecting a cultural juggernaut.
