The Infinity Saga of the MCU Has Come to an End avengers: infinity war And avengers: endgame, two epic projects that threw the future of the MCU into disarray. After a decade of superhero adventures, Marvel Studios brings together all of its existing heroes infinity war And endgame for one final battle against the Mad Titan, Thanos. infinity war Reveals Thanos’ genocidal plan to wipe out half the universe’s population in an attempt to stop the issues caused by overpopulation, and after the disbanded Avengers fail to defeat him, endgame Picked up five years later, set in a bleak world devastated by the effects of Thanos’ success.
in view of avengers: infinity war And avengers: endgameMarvel Studios has seen a decline in popularity, with projects such as eternalthor: love and thunderAnd Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania being met with mixed-to-negative reviews. The MCU’s multiverse saga also brought with it the debut of original MCU TV shows for Disney+, vastly increasing the amount of content produced by Marvel Studios. Criticisms to the various Phase 4 projects made it impossible to avoid comparisons to the Infinity Saga of the MCU, so it could be argued that the massive success infinity war And endgame actually had a detrimental effect on the future of the franchise.
Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame were the pinnacle of the MCU
infinity war And endgame marked the culmination of a decade of storytelling in the MCU infinity war Eighteen stands on the shoulders of previous Marvel Studios films. There were probably stronger individual projects during the Infinity Saga of the MCU, such as infinity war And endgame didn’t escape some moments of criticism, but as the closing number of The Infinity Saga, Phase 3 the avengers The movies were the pinnacle of the franchise. This was due in large part to the shared universe connection that Marvel Studios had been cultivating since 2008. iron ManAs infinity war And endgame Gave information about all the projects that came before.
Presenting a story based on two epic crossover films, infinity war And endgame Wrapped up several plot threads involving the MCU’s original Avengers team. This included dealing with the fallout of the Avengers disbanding. captain america civil warBruce Banner’s identity issues that began in Thor: Ragnarokfamily dynamic that was developed in Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, and the death or retirement of original Avengers such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo deliver an epic closing salvo that has been difficult to match in subsequent projects.
Infinity War and Endgame split the MCU
Whereas infinity war And endgame Having brought many of the MCU’s storylines to a satisfying end, the films also helped set the stage for future films, notably setting up several projects in Phase 4 of the MCU. WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, And Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are among the projects most affected by the events of infinity war And endgame, However, while this sense of hope for the future at the end of the Infinity Saga was great, the sheer volume of stories meant there were almost too many new directions to focus on in Phase 4.
One of the divisive criticisms of Phase 4 of the MCU is that there appears to be no connectivity, with each project developing separate, insular stories attempting to link back. infinity war And endgame, Marvel Studios came under scrutiny for seeming directionless with the multiverse saga, though this may have been a matter of impatience. The Infinity Saga took ten years to make infinity war, so it was unrealistic to imagine that Phase 4 of the MCU would have taken a clear direction in just a few short months. Either way, the connectivity problems of the Multiverse Saga were definitely contained. infinity war And of endgame epic story.
The MCU box office may never again reach Infinity War and Endgame levels
Phase 3 of the MCU is widely considered to be the franchise’s strongest era, with projects such as captain america civil war, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, And Spider-Man: Far From Home All grossed over $1 billion at the box office. however, avengers: infinity war And avengers: endgame Blown every other project out of the water with over $2 billion in revenue endgame became the highest-grossing film of all time before Avatar’s 2021 re-release. incredible success of infinity war And endgame These epic movies made it very difficult to follow, which is something that unfortunately curses the MCU projects of Phase 4.
Only one film compared to the fourth phase, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was able to cross the $1 billion mark, even approaching $2 billion, while the first three films in Phase 4 failed to cross $500 million. The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the initial projects of Phase 4, which contributed massively to the poor box office numbers Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsAnd eternal, Even then, infinity war And endgame Set a remarkably high bar that will be hard to beat, and future projects probably shouldn’t attempt to match, but keep doing what they do best.
Will the MCU be able to recover from Infinity War and Endgame?
As Phase 5 of MCU has started recently with February 2023 release Ant-Man and the Wasp: QuantummaniaIt is still difficult to know whether the standard of infinity war And endgame Will be maintained. this is especially true quantum frenzy earned considerable negative ratings, which in turn contributed to the poor turnout at the box office. However, there are still many more projects to be released in Phases 5 and 6 of the MCU, and since Marvel Studios has made the executive decision to delay some MCU Phase 5 projects, thereby extending the post-production period, It can be assumed that soon the overall quality level will increase.
In response to criticisms of the multiverse saga being directionless, plans for it will soon be revealed by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. avengers: kong dynasty And avengers: secret wars for step 6 of the MCU. This sparked a discussion of equality infinity war And endgame, as these projects will end the multiverse saga, but they may also reach the levels of success that their Phase 3 predecessors achieved. much anticipated Fantastic Four is also on the docket for Phase 6, and the MCU’s X-Men won’t be far behind, so the coming years could see a massive increase in Marvel Studios’ popularity.
Should Infinity War and Endgame be the end of the MCU?
after the release of infinity war And endgame, it would have been possible for MCU Phase 3 to eliminate the MCU as a whole. The essence of this argument hinges on the stories and characters of the original Avengers, many of whom ended their MCU careers endgame, avengers: endgame The MCU’s first project, including Iron Man’s sacrifice to save the universe in 2008’s Reflection, seemed like a fitting end to these heroes’ stories. iron Man, However, the success of the MCU and the plots established in infinity war And endgame made future MCU sequels inevitable.
While it was always unlikely that Marvel Studios would have ended the MCU there and then, there would have been a long gap between what could have worked better for Phase 4. avengers: endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home (which serves as an epilogue endgame), and the beginning of the Multiverse Saga of the MCU. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented Marvel from releasing any projects in 2020, but perhaps more time was needed to recover from the events of the Infinity Saga. Marvel Studios Has Made Some Big Changes In Recent Months, Could Finally See A Recovery avengers: infinity war And avengers: endgameBut only time will tell.
