“There’s no place like home.” A funny reference considering the biggest moment of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Robert Downey Jr. took the stage, adorned in green and resembling the Wizard of Oz, to announce himself as the actor that would portray the long-awaited MCU debut of Marvel comics mega villain Doctor Doom. But we’ll get to that.
For the MCU is more than just one actor, or even one character, although sometimes to a fault. Part of Marvel Studios’ stagnation and fervent criticism of recent years has been in part due to the onslaught of movies, television shows, and brand new characters (many assuming the mantle left by a predecessor) that has made Marvel a chore for many fans to keep up with. Yet, Marvel’s low point was inevitable – no property can just keep getting bigger, and more successful, without ever hitting some rough patches. But the most important question has been how would Marvel Studios respond to a problem they created: saturating the market with so much superhero IP, it turns a leisure activity into a chore just to keep up with it all. Beyond audience fatigue, this has also caused issues in terms of how these works are made, with quick production turnarounds causing a litany of stress and less than stellar work from writers, cinematographers, costume designers, VFX artists, and God knows what else.
Essentially, while the MCU still largely rules Hollywood, the Marvel-Disney partnership has never been more scrutinized or under a finer microscope than right now. But none of these problems, both mentioned and unmentioned, are going to be fixed in a day, or a year, or with one movie. Deadpool & Wolverine, an irreverent/satiric send up of Marvel and the genre at large, has been a runaway freight train ever since it’s $200+ million domestic opening, a number that was more than doubled overseas, and all to be expected. It’s a fine movie, a fun but mostly weightless popcorn adventure that rode its A List cast of actors and characters to what will end up being a 1+ billion dollar grosser. But that movie is a momentary distraction – it doesn’t necessarily mean Marvel no longer has to worry about another one of their movies potentially bombing or being skewered critically. Which, in theory, is why a film like Captain America: Brave New World may end up being an integral piece in determining if the MCU can climb out of whatever rut it’s in.
I, and I’m sure many others, have long since stopped giving a fuck about “phases” and that’s probably for the best. For while Brave New World is technically the penultimate chaper of “Phase 5,” it really could potentially be the first chapter in a fresh start for the Marvel. Not only does it send Anthony Mackie hoping to uphold the popularity of a seminal MCU mantle, but it seems to take the best elements of past Marvel films (namely The Winter Soldier) while upping the tension to chaotic levels:
Captain America: Brave New World arrives in theaters February 14, 2025. Avengers: The Doomsday arrives May 1, 2026. Hot takes will fly about both of these movies, now playing and in perpetuity.
