Disney-Marvel Studio's MCU: The Crash of a Media Empire

[Wayde Robson]

What the hell happened to superhero genre since 2020?

Many fans of the 2000s-2010s superhero movies, especially the MCU may have noticed a decline. Rushed VFX, self-indulgent storytelling and sometimes outright vandalizing beloved characters are just some of the problems in recent years. I love the old movies and many of the original comic series they were based on. But these days I've all but given up on the MCU and I have a theory.

This article presents my theory that director Martin Scorsese may have put into motion a butterfly effect that brought down the most successful media franchise in history. Of course, the effect had plenty of help from young, inexperienced writers working in a studio's production system that seemed destined for failure. The striking writers may seek conditions that could fix some of the fundamentals around scriptwriting for Disney+ TV. But it won't solve the old starving artist cliche of media being produced by those who despise the material they're employed to create.

Marvel Studios MCU: How Bad Writing Defeated Superhero Movies

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

I've said it before, I'll say it again:

How do you follow up 11+ years of world/character building, with 22 (?) movies, that culminated in one of the largest story lines in Marvel Comics history? The Infinty Saga is a tough act to follow, in fact almost impossible to follow. Add in the actors/characters that made that amazing magical ride so awesome leaving their roles = a recipe for "failure", or at the very least a massive let down (which is exactly what we're seeing). They were never going to be able to keep up the same pace and/or quality going forward. Anyone expecting that (and I can say I was a part of that hopeful group), was being unrealistic in their expectations.

Is the genre dead No. But it's certainly lost its lustre. Can they bring it back? IMO, not with the actors they currently have, nor the story lines they're currently pushing. Though, I do hope I'm dead wrong about that. Time will tell.

 

[j_garcia]

There have been American comics for over 80 years. They have more than enough stories to draw from yet they keep dropping turds. Yes, not all of those stories would be relevant today, but the framework of the stories is there.

The recipe for failure is popping another average film with almost the same plot out every few months. No matter how good the effects are, if the story is crap, people will get tired of it.

DC is in the same boat without a paddle.

 

[isolar8001]

Marvel needs to just go away for 20 years....what they are doing now equates to Superman being killed and trying to continue his legacy with Jimmy Olsen.
You can't have the MCU without the main players...and they are all gone.
Best to remember it while it was good rather than have it bury its head further.

 

[j_garcia]

I think they just need to pare down the schedule, release fewer movies and focus on making good stories. Not that complicated.

 

[Teetertotter?]

Super Hero Comic Movies: Getting OLD? We have enough violence movies/video games. We need love and understanding plots.........Right? I forgot.......sad ending movies.......Drama.....

 

[everettT]

For me Disney Streaming has played a huge roll in the decline with the need for content. Putting out 6 episode series that production costs are almost as much as feature film lends itself to muddying the story board from the writers.

While I've enjoyed some of the content, I believe it would be better served as introduction to new (to the screen) characters with a couple of story arks per season would keep things fresher. Trying to introduce obscure (for non-comic die-hards) characters and stories with little introduction isn't easy for constant success, Guardians being an exception.

 

[jeffca]

This is typical of Hollywood. You come up with a fairly good to great idea, integrated into new fresh stories that hadn’t been around and then you come out with a bit of entertainment that hasn’t been around before quite like it was.

Of course, the superhero genre was going to grow tired, regardless of the quality of the stories, the quality of the acting, or any other thing that you might be able to blame it on.

You don’t see an awful lot of movies today anything like the giant musicals that were made in the 30s. Tastes change and new moviegoers populate the seats. If you’ve had a run of 20 years for any particular genre, you’ve done well.

If we truly are in the twilight of the superhero genre of Hollywood movies, that’s OK. I’d rather it die now than just get worse with each passing year.

 

[Wayde Robson]

[QUOTE="} The Infinty Saga is a tough act to follow, in fact almost impossible to follow.
[/QUOTE]

Totally agree. I think they should have just let the iron cool, at least a year, maybe two. Then about late 2021, since Disney owned Fox and the rights to X-men and FF, begin with new characters so they don't have to pay Downey Jr rates on the OGs. Small single stories slowly leading to one big-picture epic over the next decade. Age of Apocalypse or a new take on Magneto Vs. Prof X. Colab w/ Sony to do something cool with Spiderman in a Secret Wars epic. Maybe see spidey in the black alien costume again, but in a better movie this time.

 

[davidscott]

Still want to watch the 2nd season of She Hulk. And maybe a final reboot of the Fantastic Four my favorite comic book from my youth.

 

[j_garcia]

Barbie and Oppenheimer doing extremely well should tell you that nobody is interested in superhero movies.

I disagree that good stories would not sell it. Comics would not have been around that long without good stories. Things were getting a bit stale and then they came out with Black Panther and Deadpool and those sort of picked things up again, because they were different and fun. Once they found that formula that worked, they thought they could just slap a fresh can of paint and costumes on and it would continue to sell (ala Disney). Disney didn't invent this, but they could probably patent it lol. And like I said in the other thread, they also proved it only goes so far before people move on to something fresh.

Every version of Fantastic Four has been awful, so the new reboot during this less than stellar period was not looking promising.

 

[lovinthehd]

Disney has more issues than just the Marvel division. Hard to feed that corporate maw.

 

[RGuasto]

Two words.
Woke poop.

 

[Danzilla31]

Just a fantastic article @Wayde Robson. Every poster has hit on some great points

I feel that when you combine those points with the lack of respect for the source material then you end up where we are now.

Star Wars is the perfect example of this. After the story arc that ends with Return of the Jedi there is a TON of source material from the comics that was about Luke's continued growth as a Jedi and his challenge of resurrecting the Jedi Order.

He falls in love and marries a woman who was a Sith apprentice who was tasked with assassinating him. He rebuilds the Jedi order and undoes what he felt were the mistakes that caused the order to fall. He allowed the new Jedi to marry and form bonds and relationships. He had children and some of them fell to the corruption of the Sith.

Think of all the juicy content their to be mined. The first movie in the new sequel which was pretty well done could have been the launching pad for all these new stories and adventures.

Instead we got Luke hiding on a rock throwing away the force refusing to teach the new apprentice. And then it all went downhill from their. With one regurgitated cliche after another just thrown at the audience in the place of great story telling to try to convert this epic story into a brand franchise.

I agree with everyone that they should let this particular genre die down for awhile. And then come back with less content and more quality and original ideas.

 

[Danzilla31]

Barbie and Oppenheimer doing extremely well should tell you that nobody is interested in superhero movies.

I disagree that good stories would not sell it. Comics would not have been around that long without good stories. Things were getting a bit stale and then they came out with Black Panther and Deadpool and those sort of picked things up again, because they were different and fun. Once they found that formula that worked, they thought they could just slap a fresh can of paint and costumes on and it would continue to sell (ala Disney). Disney didn't invent this, but they could probably patent it lol. And like I said in the other thread, they also proved it only goes so far before people move on to something fresh.

Every version of Fantastic Four has been awful, so the new reboot during this less than stellar period was not looking promising.

I think it's very informative that every movie that did well this summer was not a franchise or blockbuster story. They were all original and very complex and character driven ideas. With lots of psychological and good points built into the story not preached at you.

Audiences right now want original content and thought provoking stories. It will be interesting to see if Hollywood responds to this.

Their is a ton of great content out there it's just more Indie and less mainstream. Me and my friends discovered a fantastic drama action movie the other day called "God is a Bullet." If anyone likes gritty dramatic action movies I highly recommend this movie. It's not for the faint of heart though.

The writers and the content its still out there. Just not in mainstream Hollywood right now.

 

[jinjuku]

The only recent MCU release that was quality was Moon Knight. Before that it was Loki.

I *think* the winning formula is that it wasn't a tee off for servicing a tie in later down the road and they stood on their own story telling without having to be something else at the end.

 

[Steve81]

You can't have the MCU without the main players...and they are all gone.

Pretty much. Robert Downey Jr. was a fantastic Tony Stark, and probably my favorite character in the MCU (outside of Trevor Slattery ). Wtf are they going to replace him with, Ironheart, who basically nobody outside of comic fans have even heard of? Just call it a wrap, end end it.

 

[isolar8001]

Pretty much. Robert Downey Jr. was a fantastic Tony Stark, and probably my favorite character in the MCU (outside of Trevor Slattery ). Wtf are they going to replace him with, Ironheart, who basically nobody outside of comic fans have even heard of? Just call it a wrap, end end it.

Maybe Echo and that stupid witch from WandaVision will turn it all around ??

 

[Steve81]

Maybe Echo and that stupid witch from WandaVision will turn it all around ??

Imagine if DC followed up Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight with The Condiment King Rises

 

[gene]

This video from Critical Drinker is on point to supplement Wayde's awesome article: