When Will The Marvel Cinematic Universe Fall?

Thirteen movies in and eight years later, Marvel has a streak going. But what will make that streak end and when?

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It’s the Golden Age of comic book movies. 2017 is locked and loaded with six movies headed to theaters throughout the year that star some iteration of comic book character. But it’s not all peaches and cream: DC seems to flounder with every new movie they put out. Fox is riding the Bryan Singer/Wolverine train as long as they can, lest they have to break down and make a deal with Marvel. Sony failed on their quest for the same, caved and made a deal with Marvel. In fact, the only one that doesn’t seem to be struggling: Marvel Studios.

The MCU, otherwise known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has really only had one noticeable stumble since it launched in 2008.The Incredible Hulk, their second outing after the success of Iron Man. But at this point, with 13 movies in eight years, 12 of which have been considered box officie successes, Hulk happened so long ago, and Mark Ruffalo seamlessly slipped into the Bruce Banner role after Edward Norton was abandoned, that no one even thinks about it. Even the weaker links in the greater chain (Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron spring to mine) are still successful enough to warrant a solid profit and get sequels.

I’m a huge MCU fan, but I know it won’t last. One day it will come crumbling down. Those rumors always float around before each new movie comes out. Most people thought it might happen with Ant-Man. All of the issues between Edgar Wright and Marvel Studios definitely had fans feeling wary. But it did well enough to announce the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, in 2018.

So where might the studio giant lose its footing?

Doctor Strange‘s Diversity Issues

Doctor Strange is already going to be a departure from the norm for Marvel, introducing magic and the multiverse. But when they cast Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, there was a cry of outrage.

In the comics, The Ancient One is an elderly Tibetan man. Giving Swinton the character may be a gender-swap, but it still comes off as whitewashing an important role.

Marvel tried to explain their moves, trying to get rid of the worst Asian stereotypes and talking about putting their own spin on the comic book characters, but the internet is louder. If the movie doesn’t live up to expectations or the usual Marvel standard, it could hurt the franchise in the long run.

Three Movies Vs. Two Movies Per Year

Since the MCU began back in 2008, Marvel has put one to two out movies per year, spacing them enough to leave audiences wanting more. Starting in 2017, Marvel is ramping up its output of movies to three per year until the end of Phase Three in 2019 with two to three months in between the release of movies.

This could turn into overkill or a quality drop. When you’re churning out so much content, there is bound to be a dip in quality. Does every single movie need a sequel (or two)? It’s almost a movie rule that the sequel never lives up to the original (The Dark Knight/X2/The Winter Soldier are exceptions to the rule). Will Ant-Man and the Wasp be any better than the first? Might Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 feel more like a retread than the breath of fresh air the first was?

Spider-Man Reboot

If we have to see Uncle Ben die onscreen one more time, fans may revolt. It’s like killing Bruce Wayne’s parents–we all know it happened, stop showing us. It doesn’t appear as though Spider-Man: Homecoming will be another origin story, as it takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War (meaning Uncle Ben is already gone).

On the other hand, how many reboots of Spider-Man do we need? Sure, the version we saw in Captain America: Civil War felt a little more true to the comic book character, but this is the third actor to play Peter Parker in the last decade. That feels a little like overkill.

Recasting Main Characters

Robert Downey Jr. started as Tony Stark when he was 43 years old. Once the newly untitled 2019 Avengers flick hits theaters, he will be 54. There will come a time when he will be too old to be a believable Iron Man. What do you do then? Can you truly recast the role of Tony Stark?

If you attempt to cast someone who can replace Downey Jr. as Stark, critics and fans alike will already harshly judge the movie even before the first teaser trailer comes out. Likewise for trying to replace Chris Evans as Captain America and even Chris Hemsworth as Thor, though perhaps not as loudly as Downey Jr..

You can pass the Iron Man mantle on to someone else who wouldn’t be the Tony Stark character. It’s how the comics tend to handle change. Or send the MCU down another path where Iron Man might not be necessary to the story.

If Marvel doesn’t handle the change with finesse, the cinematic universe may start to feel tremors beneath its surface.

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Marvel Studios has turned itself into a behemoth over the last decade. But as King George sings in Hamilton, “Oceans rise, empires fall.” It’s only a matter of time before Marvel loses its footing, and who knows what might end up bringing it down?

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