It goes without saying that Marvel's post-Infinity Saga offerings are a mixed bag, with a lot of projects failing to exceed expectations.
Due to the recent decline in the quality of its projects, many believe the MCU has become lackluster, failing to impress its longest supporters and even the new generation of fans, particularly during the ongoing Multiverse Saga.
Apart from the ever-growing "superhero fatigue" some are already experiencing, fans have long argued that this tends to happen to a franchise acquired by Disney.
Obviously, the House of Mouse is the home to two of the biggest franchises in entertainment — Marvel and Star Wars.
In this article, however, we cover if Disney is indeed ruining Marvel after their acquisition of the billion-dollar franchise.
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Why Do MCU Fans Think Disney Ruined Marvel?
Walt Disney has forever been the home for everyone's childhood. The House of Mouse has been deemed unforgettable for bringing magic into every kid's life.
However, when it comes to making superhero movies, Disney may not have thought their plan through.
Fans have come to realize that because of Disney's acquisition of one of Hollywood's major franchises, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has since been doomed for redemption.
Disney acquired Marvel in December 2009, with its first film being 2012’s The Avengers.
Its rather cheesy yet exciting first-ever crossover amongst the six original Avengers earned its rightful spot on top of the Box Office charts of all time.
However, since then, the Marvel movies (and series) that followed suit didn’t really live up to the expectations of MCU diehards as consistently as they should have.
That is, until Avengers: Endgame came to live up the game for the franchise again.
The problem began with Marvel Phase Three, the first phase to have ever released over 10 films (and don’t get me started on Marvel Phase Four).
New characters and new stories have been introduced, which means more movies to catch up on before any fan can begin to understand why every appearance in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (Avengers movies, in general) is important to the MCU.
Marvel Phase Four continued this chaos by bringing in more content, that extends beyond the theatrical windows to limited series that exclusively release on the Disney Plus streaming platform.
The superheroes we initially wanted to take seriously as role models and favorite characters have suddenly started morphing into comedic reliefs with little to no distinction amongst every one of the cast.
This issue right here is exactly why Disney and Marvel have had trouble progressing further with Marvel Phase Five, and here’s a little explanation behind that.
READ MORE: Marvel’s Superhero Fatigue Explained: Why the MCU Franchise Has Grown Dull
Disney May Have Caused The Superhero Fatigue Factor
You’ve probably heard of the superhero fatigue at some point, right?
Essentially, this is where the fans of a certain franchise get tired and overwhelmed by the constant theatrical releases they have to keep up with.
Marvel used to be this fun set of superhero movies MCU diehards would watch when they were younger, and now it’s become a chore.
Not to mention, the decline in its quality of storytelling and the excessive use of CGI in every single film.
Despite this, Marvel Studios’ big boss Kevin Feige denies that the franchise is suffering from superhero fatigue. Check out what he has to say below on The Movie Business Podcast:
“I didn’t really understand the question. Because to me, it was akin to saying after Gone With the Wind, ‘Well, how many more movies can be made off of novels? Do you think the audience will sour on movies being adapted from books?’ You would never ask that because there’s an inherent understanding among most people that a book can be anything. A novel can have any type of story whatsoever. So it all depends on what story you’re translating. Non-comic readers don’t understand that it’s the same thing in comics.”
Again, it isn’t a matter of how much the franchise can produce, but the decline in its quality over the years is quite alarming. Too alarming to brush off and enjoy what’s being shown on the big screens.
The ‘quantity over quality’ mindset in their movies is what caused their downfall, especially if you take a look at their budgets which cost their films at least $100 to $350 million per release.
To think that the majority of their content was dependent on being full of CGI, too.
ALSO READ: Marvel’s Multiverse Explained: Movies and Timeline To Watch Out For
So, Is Disney Really Ruining Marvel?
It is important to note that everyone is entitled to their own opinions whether Marvel is getting worse or better for them.
However, objectively speaking, yes, Marvel has gone through its own ups and downs, specifically this Marvel Phase Five.
While Disney’s acquisition of the major franchise has indeed contributed greatly to the decline in the quality of the Marvel movies, it is only one of the many factors.
It is likely that the fans who grew up watching the MCU have increased their standards in deciding what makes a good superhero movie.
Marvel Phase Five has slowed down its releases after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and has even stopped production of other future Marvel content, thanks to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike.
The absence of writers surely won't be helping their case anytime soon.
We have had Secret Invasion as our first series for this phase, with Loki Season 2 coming up in about a month, yet another Kang variant taking the wheel at becoming the MCU’s big bad, Victor Timely.
Here’s to hoping Disney learns from its past mistakes and tells better stories for their next set of movies and series.
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