The mistakes that Marvel must correct with the movies of phase 5 of the MCU

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” in Spain) has marked the beginning of phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which means not only a new beginning for the movies and series, but also an opportunity for solve some problems from the previous stage.

The film that starred Paul Rudd premiered on February 16 in Latin America and a day later in the United States. In it, a character who had already appeared in season 1 of “Loki” was reintroduced: Kang the Conqueror.

In the Disney Plus series, the figure played by Jonathan Majors has an ambiguous position, but in the most recent Marvel premiere, it has become clear that he is the new villain of the franchise.

Although the theme of the multiverse had already been introduced little by little since phase 4 with productions such as “Spider-Man: No way home” or “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”there are certain factors to take into account for what is to come.

MARVEL’S MISTAKES THAT MUST BE CORRECTED WITH THE PHASE OF 5 MOVIES

Marvel movies no longer have the same gross

Although Marvel became one of the most successful franchises, well “Avengers: Endgame” is the second highest-grossing film of all time (after only “Avatar”) at more than $2.799 billion, the company’s new releases aren’t having the same impact.

Of course, between phases 1 and 3 of the MCU, there were some releases that didn’t do so well– like “The Incredible Hulk” with just 264.89 million dollars (somewhat low for Marvel)–, the averages for these periods were 635.5 million, 878.2 million and 1.2 billion respectively.

Since phase 4, Marvel movies have had little gross, having an average lower than phase 2 with 813 million. However, it is important to take into account that many of these premieres were made in 2021 and 2022, when COVID-19 restrictions were still in place in various parts of the world. This makes us wonder if the abysmal drop was due to the virus, the fact that new characters have been introduced like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, or a combination of both.

Additionally, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” also has not had the desired performance, obtaining 462 million dollars, a little more than double the initial investment. Meanwhile, other expected releases such as “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun Maverick” have crossed the billions fence.

The new characters of the MCU

While some are excited to see cute comic book characters debut on the big screen, another part of the public has not received these introductions well (which can also be reflected at the box office).

At the start of the MCU, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man had a completely unexpected effect and reception, despite not be one of the most interesting characters in comics.

Having exhausted important superheroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, among others, with trilogies and several “Avengers” films, Marvel has opted for gradually replace them with a new generation. For this reason, we have seen the appearances of Kate Bishop in the “Hawkeye” series, as well as that of Yelena Belova, but without leaving Thor or “Guardians of the Galaxy” aside.

Honestly, it was the wiser alternative, since extending more stories with the same protagonists was going to be tedious both for the audience and for the actors themselveswho expect to hang up their capes sooner or later (and some sooner rather than later).

It is not unreasonable to think that the public can fall in love with these new figures as much as they did with the playboy scientist in 2008. However, for this to happen, productions must be done meticulously, either by sticking to the font or by giving it a more modern twist. An example of a blunder was Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk, whose personality was just right, but her story didn’t have a captivating (and not even fun, as they wanted to frame it) development.