Even the most blinkered of Marvel Cinematic Universe fans should be able to admit that the Multiverse Saga has been a drastic step down in quality from its predecessor, and the statistics are there to back it up.
While there have been several gems and unqualified success stories along the way that includes the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Academy Award-winning sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the franchise’s best-reviewed project ever in Ms. Marvel to name but three, the facts make for pretty damning reading.
All three of the MCU’s lowest-rated features on Rotten Tomatoes have released since November of 2021, while all seven of the Multiverse Saga’s movies have endured the steepest second weekend box office drops the superhero saga has ever seen. Even James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – long proclaimed the savior of the downturn – is scoring the worst critical reactions of the trilogy.
It’s an alarming slide that needs to be arrested sooner rather than later, but a jaw-droppingly stupid theory making the rounds on Reddit claims that it’s all part of the plan. That’s right; somebody genuinely states the case for Kevin Feige intentionally ruining the biggest and most successful franchise in history, for the sole purpose of the MCU being reborn at the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga with the X-Men at the forefront.
We’ve already had 13 X-Men flicks, with another on the way when Deadpool 3 lands next year, so there’s not a shred of thinking that makes the merest hint of sense. The MCU is struggling to keep its head above water, but it’s nowhere near deliberate.