The knives are already out and being plunged directly into the center mass area of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Phase Five following the dismal response to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, leaving many to question if the franchise is finally beginning to run out of steam.
Obviously, it’s far too early to tell given that Scott Lang’s latest big screen outing only released in theaters yesterday, but a last-minute delay for The Marvels and whispers of widespread Disney Plus delays haven’t done anything to dampen the panic. On the plus side, we can at least guarantee that the Multiverse Saga will break new ground as the MCU’s most varied expansion yet.
In fact, unless more projects are added to the slate at the last minute – which seems unlikely when the Disney top brass is urging Kevin Feige to slow down his output – the only property set to deliver two installments from the beginning of Phase Four to the end of Phase Six is the Avengers saga, with The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars releasing a year apart in 2025 and 2026.
Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Ant-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and Deadpool are all getting sequels, with Blade and the Fantastic Four being rebooted, while Black Widow got a prequel and audiences were (or will be) introduced to Shang-Chi, the Eternals, and the Thunderbolts for the first time.
Variety may be the spice of life, but is it enough to arrest the worryingly rapid decline of a comic book monolith that spent the first decade of its existence being nigh-on bulletproof? Only time will tell.