If ever there was a time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to pay heed to what the critics are saying, then the overall apathy to have greeted Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania should be it.
Even if we ignore the paltry reviews that have seen it become firmly entrenched as one of the franchise’s lowest-rated installments yet, Peyton Reed’s threequel has been in free-fall at the box office to an alarming degree. While Quantumania‘s record drops are alarming in and of themselves, it can’t be forgotten that all seven of the MCU’s steepest week-to-week declines have come since the Infinity Saga closed out with Avengers: Endgame.
The long-running superhero series simply can’t carry on like this forever without fans and general audiences alike beginning to lose interest, and with scribe Jeff Loveness already admitting that he’s way behind on the screenplay for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, maybe now would be the ideal time to take some of the recurring criticisms on board or a change.
Unfortunately, during an interview with ComicBook, it sounded as though the Rick and Morty alum will be ignoring the noise and sticking to his guns, something that’s going to create worry among the growing number of Multiverse Saga skeptics.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m in the process of that right now. So certainly it’s been a wild couple of weeks to be writing the biggest movie of all time and to see yourself portrayed in this way. But, yeah, it’s a mix of both, man. ‘Cause I really do like the movie. And you know, making movies is a fight and you always look at your own work and you see the flaws or you see ways to do it better, but man, writing Jonathan Majors was like the thrill of a lifetime. And getting that M.O.D.O.K stuff in there was such a joy … It could not have been a more thrilling experience.”
It’s been really charming and really heartwarming to see it find its audience, and the people who get it, really get it. It’s kind of fun to have a movie people have strong opinions on … I had to get used to that, it’s sort of a whack to the face, but I also feel like I’ve grown up a little bit. I’m alive, and it’s like, I’m very excited to write the next one. It’s not affecting the work right now, but we’ll see if my badge has been locked out of Disney. We’ll see if I can get into the building.”
This isn’t the first time Loveness has tried to shrug off the negativity surrounding Quantumania, but with the entirety of the MCU struggling to shake off the perception that an irreversible decline is on the cards, we’re selling it short to say The Kang Dynasty needs to knock it out of the park and then some.