A new trailer from the MCU’s next big film has recently surfaced.The Marvelsis set to premiere in theaters worldwide on November 2024, and the movie will provide a crossover, one of Marvel’s biggest assets that has not been used as efficiently after the last entries inThe Avengersoriginal saga.The reunion between Captain Marvel (Brie Larson),Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) as a team of superheroines joining forces to fight a new form of evil while learning to fight alongside each other. The catchy title suggests the foundation of a new crew of Avengers, something that is usually tied to the reception of the film.
Speaking of viewership, Marvel media hasn’t performed well lately. FromAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniatoEternals, the MCU has been struggling to draw audiences back to the glory days of the franchise’s first phases. Quality probably has something to do with it, but movies don’t triumph or flop only based on their merits. In fact,The Marvelsis at high risk of following its predecessors in terms of cold reception, even if it manages to provide a compelling story. So, expectations on the side, the future doesn’t look bright for these Avengers.
The Lackluster Recent History of Marvel Media
As the 2010s was reaching its end, the MCU was at the top of its game. AfterAvengers: End Gamehad canonized the franchise in 2019, the options were wide open, but everybody was waiting for more superhero stories to be told. Reception was mixed withCaptain Marvelfrom the same year, but it is difficult to separate it from the criticism of certain fandom toward Brie Larson. Still, the MCU was hot, and by 2020, the first Disney+ original Marvel series,WandaVision, came to confirm this.
However, the glory didn’t last long. The streaming shows that followed weren’t as popular as the first one (with notable exceptions, of course), and subsequent movies received generally mixed reviews. In these situations, there is hardly just one reason to blame, but Marvel’slack of success between 2021 and 2023can mostly be associated with superhero fatigue, lackluster products, and too many of them being released in short time windows.
Moreover, the combination of these causes suggests some lack of direction on what should come next. A common phenomenon with these complex universes (withStar Warsbeing a convenient example for comparison purposes) is that the masterminds behind them usually struggle between innovation while giving fans what made them watch in the first place while avoiding repetition.
Needless to say, many were the factors that made the MCU shine in its best phases, but the interaction between different heroes and characters (with most of them starring in their own set of movies/shows) was critical for Marvel’s success. The latest Marvel productions are having a hard time balancing innovation and honoring the franchise. It has introduced many one-off characters and has given sequels to classical ones that were mostly unsuccessful.
Related:Why Marvel Fatigue Is Finally Setting In
The Marvels' Real Enemy
The Marvelsstands in that uncomfortable middle ground with a crossover that involves an Avenger, a secondary yet important character in development, and avery novel superheroine. The equilibrium between old and new is the upcoming movie’s biggest challenge right now. In contrast with other recent MCU content,The Marvelsis managing to generate its fair share of expectations, something that Marvel hasn’t seen much lately.
Alongside the elements that decide if the movie may or may not flop, resistance against a small Avenger-liketroubled trio with all womenis still strong in certain social media spaces. These kinds of boycotts may not necessarily impact viewership but will probably intensify if the movie doesn’t perform well. IfThe Marvelsdoesn’t have a good first week, these conservative social circles will easily connect it to the idea of Disney pushing its “woke” agenda. It is true that representation matters for the studio these days, but if audiences don’t find the story compelling, it is hardly because of its choices to make diverse women the protagonists of their media.
Related:The Marvels: Plot, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know
Ultimately, returning to the initial question, the film has its chances to succeed, but it won’t be judged with the same rules as other Marvel products. The odds are againstThe Marvels, making its premiere a heavily loaded one, which means that the film will have to surprise in order not to be measured by the poor results of recent productions as well as the representation factor. Plus,Marvel’s release scheduleseems to be on their side.
All in all, Marvel might be simply going through a transitional phase that has extended for too long. The success ofThe Marvelsrelies heavily on how viewers perceive it in terms of context, whether it is another film that’s a vehicle for future projects or something else (which has been the case for many of the recent flops) or if it can live off its own merit.
