The MCU Is in a Slump. Here’s How It Can Bounce Back. (2024)

This story is part of The Amazing, Uncanny, All-Star Men’s Health Guide to Comics, where we dive into some of the most illustrative conversations about the comic books and graphic novels that have influenced so much of our culture and lives. Read our next hand-selected issue here.

BY THE TIME Iron Man came out in May of 2008, I was already a lost cause. As a fresh-faced 15-year-old, it was important to try to be cool (at the time, that meant Taking Back Sunday t-shirts and nonstop emo/pop-punk music). But my bedroom painted a fuller picture: the shelves were full of comic books and paraphernalia from things like Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Batman: The Animated Series. I always thought the Batman movies of the '90s were fun; Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was maybe a masterpiece. But as soon as Iron Man landed, the energy was different—and when it ended with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark proclaiming to the world (and those of us watching on the big screen) "I am Iron Man," it became clear that everything was about to change.

The next 11 years and 20+ films had Marvel Studios on the top of the world; the movies grossed billions and billions of dollars, the casts were filled with manufactured stars and industry legends alike, and, most importantly, people were invested. For the first time ever, movies were set up like the inter-connected storylines that comics readers had loved for so many decades; Iron Man, for example, could show up in a movie that didn't have "Iron Man" in the title. For more than a decade, things were simple: watch one MCU movie, be entertained, and get hyped for the next one.

Sledding has gotten harder in 2024. While Avengers: Endgame provided a conclusion to what Marvel Studios called "The Infinty Saga"—the overarching story of its first 22 movies—it also promised to keep the story going in a similarly-satisfying manner afterwards, even if that final film meant saying goodbye to franchise stalwart actors like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson. While the Covid-19 pandemic led to a full calendar year without an MCU release, things came back with a vengeance in 2021... but the vibe had shifted. Marvel started planting seeds not in a direct line like they had before, but all up and down its ever-expanding landscape; where those early movies followed the seeds as they grew into a sprout and eventually a big tree, the studio's post-Endgame narrative has planted seeds all over a field, only to barely check on them ever again.

And we all know what happens when plants don't get proper attention: they die.

Luckily, I'm a fan. I care about the MCU, I'm invested in this story, and I'm eager to see this franchise return to the heights of its prime. There may not be a specific road map to regain that glory, and doing exactly the same thing over again probably just won't work. But here are a few ideas to revitalize a franchise that, lately, hasn't always seen the light.

MARVEL'S LAST FEW years of movies hasn't been entirely devoid of success—films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 were loved by fans and respected by critics. The latter film did serve as a send off for its director, James Gunn, (one of Marvel's most valuable filmmaking assets) however, who would leave to go run things at chief rival DC. Marvel's most recent release, The Marvels, is far from its worst film, but the $84.5 million it grossed in the United States and Canada is by far the lowest in the franchise's history. Clearly, something has changed.

To try to get an idea of why, I got on a Zoom with Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards, co-authors of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, last year's bestselling nonfiction book charting the ups, downs, and history of Marvel on the big screen. Gonzales praised Marvel's push for diversity—both in terms of the talent, like Simu Liu leading the MCU's first Asian-led film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and in storytelling, like the horror-adjacent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But releasing these films in a scattershot nature, without a clear line forward, outweighed the creative swings Marvel took.

"It definitely feels a little more slipshod compared to the cadence of Phase One through Three," he says. "Because of the lack of an Avengers movie, and because of the expansion of the multiverse, Marvel has gone off in a bunch of different directions. We're missing that solid cadence of 'Don't worry if you need to catch up, because we're all going to be together for an Avengers movie next year.'"

Setting a major "event" movie on Marvel's calendar to consistently build toward is a strategy that has worked before, and is something that could work again. Marvel has a deeeep roster of team-ups in its archives, and it would be wise to use this strategy to build up other teams (or at least different versions of the Avengers). Why not have one cosmic, space-based Avengers team led by some version of Captain Marvel that also includes the remaining Guardians of the Galaxy (Will Poulter was a fine pick to play Adam Warlock and should get an opportunity to return)? The yet-to-be-introduced fan-favorite Nova, who would be another opportunity to cast an exciting star, could also be part of such a team.

Oscar Isaac made his MCU debut with Moon Knight but hasn't been seen or referenced since; the same for Kit Harington as Dane Whitman/Black Knight in Eternals. Those two, along with Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, a yet-to-be cast Ghost Rider (a role Ryan Gosling and Keanu Reeves have both expressed interest in) and Mahershala Ali's Blade (more on that in a bit), could make up the Midnight Sons, a horror-leaning team who made their Marvel Comics debut in 1992. And then there's the Young Avengers, a comic-favorite team who have already been slowly introduced in the films over the course of several years and seem to be led by Iman Vellani's energetic Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. All of these could be major, cathartic moments for Marvel to build towards, but not simply be another repeated Avengers story.

Clearly, Marvel has noticed those diminishing returns. After 2021, 2022, and 2023 were packed to the brim with theatrical releases on the big screen and short television series on Disney+, 2024 has reeled things back in a major way. The Disney+ series have slowed considerably; Echo dropped all at once at the very top of the year, while Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, ostensibly a WandaVision spinoff, will release in the fall. Things already seem to be in the process of being recalibrated for the future.

The only film on the schedule is Deadpool & Wolverine, which would seem to be a pretty safe bet. The previous Deadpool movies made enough money for Ryan Reynolds's franchise to be the headlining piece brought into the MCU from Fox's deflating X-Men franchise, and, as a bonus, fan favorite Hugh Jackman is set to return as Wolverine (a character he seemingly said goodbye to with 2017's Logan, but no one in comics ever really dies).

This is a chance, it would seem, for Marvel to slow things down and rebuild. But how can it invigorate the same audience that once made it the biggest name in entertainment?

ONE WAY TO regain audience attention would be with a recurring cast fans are drawn to and eager to see again and again and again. Chadwick Boseman was set up as a future face of the MCU, but his tragic death in 2020 put a dent in those plans. When Captain Marvel was released in between Infinity War and Endgame, it seemed like the MCU was setting that titular hero up for a major future role. But some of the toxic fandom and harassment surrounding that subfranchise left its star questioning her choice.

"Brie Larson looked like maybe she was going to be one of the faces," Edwards says. "But she was met with this wave of misogyny, and kind of recoiled and said, 'Maybe this isn't what I want do.'" That leaves Marvel without two stars who, in another world, perhaps, could have led the next generation.

Other names still have a chance to make an impact, though. 1998's Blade, starring Wesley Snipes, was one of Marvel's first big screen successes; in 2019, at San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios stunned everyone when it announced that Mahershala Ali would be leading a new, MCU-integrated reboot of the vampire flick. Though the film has faced countless delays in the time since, placing a charismatic and charming two-time Academy Award-winner in the role that once made Snipes one of the coolest stars alive is an easy first step in making a successful movie.

Black Widow was a fairly middle-of-the-road MCU entry, but it introduced Florence Pugh, herself an Academy Award nominee, into the franchise; she's set to lead next year's Thunderbolts as Yelena Belova.

And then there's the Fantastic Four. The MCU's long-gestating reboot is one of its most famous franchises... and one that's never been done quite right on the big screen. The hope is that Pedro Pascal, who has rocketed to superstardom in recent years as the star of The Mandalorian and The Last of Us could have the sheer magnetism to lead the MCU as a new sort of Downey Jr.-style figurehead. His Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic will be joined by Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman—played by Vanessa Kirby, an electric performer in the recent Mission Impossible movies and another Oscar nominee. Those two, along with Ebon Moss-Bachrach (a recent Emmy winner for The Bear) and Joseph Quinn (a Stranger Things fan favorite) will make up the film's titular quadruple.

"They're still good at casting people well—Pedro Pascal, that's appealing," Edwards says. But casting is only one part of the battle.

"Now, does this happen in a way where they can build on it, or is he going to appear in a movie and then three and a half years later there's a Fantastic Four sequel?" he continues. "A lot of the people they're mentioning seem great. If Blade ever happens, we'll get Ali, and that would be wonderful. But it all feels like a lot of stars on a lot of planes, and only so much runway they can land them on."

THERE'S ANOTHER WAY to draw audiences to any movie, regardless of genre: make a good one.

One of the biggest critiques levied to the franchise throughout the course of its existence is the fact that with a handful of exceptions (like Gunn or Ryan Coogler for the Black Panther films), the studio has a "house style," taking away choices typically kept in the hands of a director. When the result of this process was acclaimed like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Endgame, there's not much of an argument to change things up. But now, it could be time to make a whole bunch of exceptions and bring in some ringers.

The problem, of course, is finding out which of those ringers might be game to take on a Marvel film. There have been auteurs in the space before: Tim Burton made exactly the Batman Returns he wanted to make, Guillermo Del Toro was behind the camera for Blade II, and Christopher Nolan made his Dark Knight trilogy.

"I think it's easier to find a team player than it is to find an auteur," Gonzales says. "It would be weird, for me, if somebody like Christopher Nolan was like, 'I want to try a Marvel movie.' That would absolutely have to come from him first. I don't think there's any way they're going to chase those sorts of people."

An option, then, is returning to people who have proven they're passionate about this arena—and taking their hands off the steering wheel. Raimi cooperated to the best of his ability in Multiverse of Madness, and it's easy to see which parts came from his own directorial tendencies (the horror elements, primarily), and which were likely insisted upon by Marvel (the cameos, most likely). Someone like Burton is clearly open for new things at this point in his career—a Beetlejuice sequel is on the way after working on Wednesday for Netflix—and perhaps there's a Marvel character he has a strong take on. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is famously hands on, but for this part of the plan to work, he'd have to hand the keys over to someone he really trusts.

It's going to be a building process. Gonzales has another specific place he thinks Marvel should look for ascending behind-the-camera talent: horror. "I'd be looking at a lot of the indie horror that's been popping, like Zach Cregger, who did Barbarian," he says. "They're doing the most with the least."

This would be in line with Marvel's past strategy of hiring relatively inexperienced directors who have only worked on a couple major films, like Nia DaCosta, who helmed Little Woods and the reboot of Candyman before taking on The Marvels, or The Russo Brothers, who primarily directed sitcom episodes prior to landing Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Filmmakers at that level are less likely to demand the complete control that Marvel tends to take away. However, giving the steering wheel entirely to someone else may be exactly what this franchise needs.

And who knows—if Marvel starts producing some horror-adjacent films with solid directors that are well-received, then maybe they start to attract bigger and bigger names within the space. If all goes well, maybe there could someday be a King in Black movie helmed by Jordan Peele, or Ari Aster, or Robert Eggers. That's probably a pipe dream—but DC hired a horror master in James Wan to direct Aquaman, and ended up making a billion dollars. Crazier things have happened in the wild world of movies.

OUR PLAN TO fix the MCU comes in those three points: find a point and get there, build a cast people love and want to see more, and hire directors with talent. But we can't end this story without acknowledging that Marvel Studios has one major ace—probably more like a royal flush than just one single ace, if we're being real—up its sleeve: the X-Men.

Fox's X-Men movie franchise was full of ups and downs, and Deadpool will make the jump to the MCU later this summer, likely bringing more mutants along for the ride with him. But it's abundantly clear that Marvel slow-playing this has been the right call; the X-Men come with their own epic stories, tons of beloved characters, and a full cabinet of one-of-a-kind villains.

The team are coming off one of their most popular moments in decades in the Marvel Comics, as the "Krakoa" era introduced character dynamics that enamored readers and intertwined titles across the Marvel canon. And when X-Men '97 debuted earlier this year, it took the world by storm; the show was universally acclaimed, and fans both full of nostalgia and those who've never taken in any X-Men media before were all-in.

Everything else we've talked about above should still apply—the cast should be full of faces people are drawn to, the movies should have great directors, and they should really be building to something. But it's very clear that if and when the X-Men are tagged in by Marvel Studios, a whole new generation of teenagers who have merch and paraphernalia lining their shelves could be born.

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