Marvel is Finally Admitting the MCU Hasn't Really Worked Since Endgame

The MCU has had quite a rough time since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. To be fair, that isn’t entirely Marvel’s fault; the last few years were disrupted by a global pandemic, a writers’ strike, and Jonathan Majors’ conviction. But Marvel compounded these issues by doing too much, too quickly, and even Disney admit the overall brand was diluted. There have been some tremendous successes, especially in the last year or so, but overall diminishing box office returns prove the point.

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Everything changes this year. The Russo brothers are back for the first Avengers blockbuster in seven years, Avengers: Doomsday, which even brings back Robert Downey, Jr. (albeit as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man). If Endgame was designed to celebrate the MCU, Doomsday and next year’s Avengers: Secret Wars are positioned as the ultimate payoff for 26 years of Marvel movies. The Multiverse Saga is bringing back some thrilling Fox X-Men cast alongside the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, and the hype is huge. But, underneath all this, there’s a quite admission: the MCU really hasn’t been working for seven years.

Avengers: Doomsday is A Sequel to Endgame

Marvel is celebrating Doomsday with an official Avengers: Endgame re-release. According to Joe Russo, this isn’t just a cash grab or an attempt to usurp Avatar‘s crown as the highest-grossing film in history. “It’s critically important to re-release the movie,” Russo explained. “In fact, we’ll be re-releasing the film with footage that is set in the Doomsday story that we have added to Avengers: Endgame.” According to Russo, this additional footage is designed to serve as a “bridge” between the two films, directly connecting them.

It makes sense. Avengers: Endgame was a once-in-a-lifetime cultural event. But it also points to a disturbing truth; Marvel is deliberately marketing Doomsday as an Endgame sequel, not as the culmination of the Multiverse Saga. The clear implication is that Marvel don’t believe viewers would turn up for the latter, which feels like a shocking indictment of Phases 4-6. It’s as close as Marvel will ever come to admitting the Multiverse Saga has failed to land.

Avengers: Doomsday is Coming Out at the Wrong Time

To be fair to Marvel, there’s another factor in play here. Shared universes dominated Hollywood for years, with deep lore serving as a massive draw. But popular culture is changing, proven by standalone hits such as Sinners, Oppenheimer, and Project Hail Mary. At the same time, the MCU isn’t the only franchise that’s struggling; Doctor Who‘s pivot towards deep lore was a flop, Star Trek is in limbo, and the latest Star Wars movie deliberately dials down the connectivity. Christopher Nolan has suggested we’re entering a post-franchise era, and he’s probably right. No franchise is bigger than Marvel, and that’s a problem.

All this means Marvel has no real choice but to pivot towards pure nostalgia. This is the driving force for Avengers: Doomsday, which brings back iconic actors from the past and looks set to finally deliver that previously-impossible Avengers versus X-Men itch. Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, and Rebecca Romijn are joined by Steve Rogers, Robert Downey., Jr., and Chris Hemsworth – OG Avengers cast (two of whom were thought to be done with the MCU after Endgame).

Marvel underscored the point with four Doomsday trailers alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash. Avatar is a unique franchise, tending to perform well in the box office despite a minimal online presence; these trailers were therefore aimed straight at non-fans, people who turned up to films like Endgame but haven’t kept up with the MCU since. They were designed to appeal to nostalgia for the stories that came before the Multiverse Saga. They centered on the X-Men, Steve Rogers, Thor, and Wakanda (Black Panther, of course, was a cultural milestone in its own right and grossed $1.35 billion worldwide).

Doomsday and Secret Wars Need to Do What Endgame Could Not

Looking back, Endgame was a tremendous box office success – but it also caused massive problems for the MCU. The title alone says everything; the film was positioned as the MCU’s “endgame,” concluding the first three phases of the MCU and unfortunately giving viewers a perfect jumping-off point. Even the setup felt oddly final, because Sam Wilson’s role as Captain America was logical and the Guardians were simply headed off to new adventures with Thor hitching a ride.

This time, the Russo brothers need to craft some very different films. Doomsday and Secret Wars are sure to be box office hits (nostalgia sells, after all), but they need to serve as a launchpad for the MCU when the Multiverse Saga is done. After Secret Wars, we’re headed into the Mutant Saga, and Marvel badly need to convert these Avengers films into engagement with the wider brand again. That will be a challenge in the post-franchise era, but it’s the only way to ensure the shared universe itself doesn’t face its own doomsday.

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