How it started:
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) started with the movie, Iron Man, released in 2008, directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr. Right off the bat from when it was released, it was an absolute hit in the box office. Making $585.8 million in total, it brought in fans from the comics but also new fans who would later remain loyal and continue to watch each movie that was released.
After the next few movies in the universe (Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger) hit the theaters, the studio quickly rose to popularity. Their movies were all based on the origin story of the superhero everyone had heard of at least at one point of their lives. Although it was the characters that drew people in at first, I think it was the quality of the movies that kept people there. Each movie in the beginning of the franchise was treated like a story, being handled with time, care, and thought.
The climb:
In 2012, The Avengers, hit the theaters and it was something that was unique and special. Finally bringing together 4 years of single character movies, Marvel Studios decided to produce a movie that included all the characters they had introduced in the same timeline, officially creating the MCU. Reaching $1,520,538,536 in the box office, it’s currently number 11 in the highest lifetime grossing movies list.
Later in 2014, the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released. Often recognized as the fan favorite, I think many people realized how high the quality of these movies were. The movie was shot well, telling the story in an incredible way.
2 years later, Captain America: Civil War came out after a highly anticipated wait. Directed by the same people as the second Captain America movie, it follows basically like an Avengers movie. Bringing together almost all of the superheroes in this production, they fight amongst themselves over in-world political reasons. It also introduces 2 new characters which fans had been rooting for to be included in the MCU. Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman, who would later get his own solo movie and sequel, and Spider-Man played by Tom Holland who would get a trilogy of movies moving forward.
A year later, another highlight movie came out: Thor: Ragnarok. Being the third of the Thor movies, it was created with a different atmosphere. The other 2 movies were a serious, dark vibe while this one took a more fun, joking tone. I think it was such a hit because of the way all the jokes landed and were written so well. Along with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this is considered a fan favorite.
The peak:
Finally, in 2018 and 2019, Marvel reached what I would consider their peak. Up until then, they were slowly putting out movie after movie. Solo movies, an Avengers movie, a sequel to the solo movies—rinse, dry, repeat. Each movie was written, directed, and produced with the same passion and attention that they received since the first Iron Man movie.
In 2018, Avengers: Infinity War was released in theaters. It was the most highly anticipated movie at the time—the trailer received more than 230 million views in the first 24 hours. This was part 1 of the 2 movies that would come out back to back.
A year of fans waiting nervously for part 2 of the movie to come out, Avengers: Endgame finally hit the theaters in 2019. It quickly became one of the biggest movies of the year, currently reaching $2,799,439,100 in the box office. That earned them 2nd place on the list, surpassing Titanic.
Both movies were directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, or the Russo brothers, who also directed Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. All the movies have the same quality over quantity mindset, where each movie is taken into careful consideration and released just once or twice a year.
The fall:
The fall of the MCU starts in my opinion in 2021, after Spider-man: No Way Home. Although I believe you can still see the quality difference between this movie and the previous ones, the phenomenon of all 3 of the actors that played the character being in the same movie makes up for it. Finding its place in the 7th place in the highest grossing movies, it’s right under Avengers: Infinity War. 4 movies came out this year, which is a difference from the 1-2 movies that came out yearly before.
The next movie that came out after this is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Although this movie wasn’t horrible, the quality drastically changed from here. In the same year, Thor: Love and Thunder was released, followed by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. These 2 movies, especially the Thor movie, were a big flop, receiving an excess amount of hate from the public.
In 2023, 3 movies for this franchise were released to theaters. 2 out of the 3 were big flops again: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. But, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is in my opinion one of the best marvel movies out there. This creates a big up and down roller coaster when it comes to the quality and story of these movies.
Not to mention, since 2021, Marvel started putting out TV shows like there was no tomorrow. And while some of these shows were okay in quality, it never compared to the level of care and passion that the previous movies in their peak received. Their main goal turned into making money, instead of creating stories for iconic characters.
So…what now?
One of the most controversial topics in regards to the MCU is “should Marvel stop making movies?” And while the fandom is split into 2 pieces, I believe that they still have hope.
2021-2022 was a huge flop year for this franchise, but as of 2023, the movies started to receive a little bit more care. I think the huge deciding factor of my opinion on this was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Loki season 1 and 2. These 2 projects were one of the best that Marvel has done in a long time.
I also believe that they’re slowly listening to the public’s complaints, finally seeing quality over quantity once again. As of October 2024, only 1 MCU movie has come out, that being Deadpool & Wolverine which received a lot of public attention and love. No other movies are scheduled to be released this year. They have also pushed back every movie that was scheduled for release in 2024 and 2025. I can also feel the slight quality shift in the writing of the movie and the way it’s been produced. It no longer feels like this franchise is putting out movie after movie, depending on the fan’s loyalty and the main goal being making more money.
To further explain my argument, Avengers:Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which were originally going to be released in 2025 and 2026, have been pushed back a few years. They’re also being directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who have directed the biggest movies in this franchise.
This brings me to the biggest piece of information that changes everything:
Marvel has recently revealed that Robert Downey Jr. who played the fan favorite and iconic role of Iron Man will be coming back to play Dr. Doom, which is a character to be the main threat of the upcoming Avengers movies. This choice is highly controversial. Some are excited to just have this incredible actor back which many are confused and even annoyed to almost “ruin” Tony Stark’s death and character arc by bringing the actor back.
I believe both of these arguments are true and are equally reasonable. Marvel could easily ruin this beloved character, bringing back the actor just to regain some of the fan’s attention and make more money. But I also believe that this could bring the MCU back. If done right with the utmost care and passion and thought poured into these 2 Avengers movie projects, this might be the best decision Marvel has made.
So, considering the fact that the directors of some of my movies in this franchise are coming back, and Marvel seems to be learning from their mistake, I have hope that they will be coming back with the same movies from the early 2010s. Maybe not faith, but hope.
