Is Marvel done launching new streaming series on Disney+?
Is Marvel done launching new streaming series on Disney+?
Almost all of the recent news about Marvel TV has been bad; does that mean that the MCU is moving on from its streaming strategy?
Marvel Studios went to San Diego Comic-Con with a plan. To reignite the passion and excitement that fans once had for its sprawling superhero cinematic universe. The MCU once dominated the movie business, breaking box office records at every turn, with a steady stream of quippy popcorn hits that satisfied critics, comic book lovers, and general audiences alike. However, as the first major Marvel Cinematic Universe arc came to a close following “Avengers: Endgame,” the be-spandexed behemoth struggled to maintain its popularity as it pivoted to a new generation of heroes.
Now, Marvel uber-producer Kevin Feige is getting the band back together for “Avengers: Doomsday” in hopes of jump-starting the MCU’s cultural relevance. By bringing back former Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. (this time as Marvel’s greatest villain, Doctor Victor von Doom) and Chris Evans (presumably as some version of former Captain America Steve Rogers), Marvel is looking to recreate the good vibes that once dominated Hollywood.
In addition to highlighting the star-studded “Doomsday” cast, Feige and company also revealed details about forthcoming “Black Panther 3” starring David Jonsson as the next member of Wakanda’s royal family to take up the mantle and a new “Ghost Rider” movie starring Ryan Gosling.
However, one aspect of Marvel’s massive operation was essentially ignored during the massive Hall H presentation: MCU TV shows. Feige essentially told the assembled crowd that there would be no Disney+ series news for them: “Today, we’re mainly going to talk about movies,” he said.
That is not inherently surprising. Movies have always been the foundation of the MCU, and Marvel desperately needs to rebuild its theatrical momentum. However, the lack of meaningful television news raises an increasingly unavoidable question: Is Marvel Studios quietly getting out of the TV business?
The only remaining live-action Marvel series currently known to be in production are “VisionQuest” and “Daredevil: Born Again” Season 3. The former is centered on an Avenger and serves as the third part of the loose “WandaVision” trilogy, following “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along.” The latter continues one of Marvel’s most recognizable television franchises, which was started on Netflix.
In other words, these are not exactly enormous creative risks. Even “Daredevil: Born Again” Season 3 was already moving forward before Season 2 delivered underwhelming viewership compared to its impressive first season. The show failed to crack Nielsen’s weekly streaming top 10, and outside estimates indicated that its audience had fallen considerably from the first season.
Then there is “Wonder Man.” The Hollywood satire was one of Marvel’s more unconventional Disney+ swings, earning strong reviews and an Emmy nomination for star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Disney initially renewed the charmingly refreshing show for a second season in March, but four months later (and four days after Comic-Con) Marvel reversed course and canceled the show, despite the creative team having already outlined the season and begun preparing to return to work. Of course, one cancellation does not constitute a complete corporate retreat, but the timing is difficult to ignore.
Watch Kevin Feige’s Comic-Con intro statement:
It makes sense that at this point in the studio’s history, Marvel would want to focus on the big tent-pole films that had reliably earned them nearly a billion dollars each time out until the start of Phase 4. Now, Feige and company are attempting to repair a movie business that has become far less reliable than it was during the Infinity Saga. “The Marvels” finished with approximately $206 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing MCU movie ever. “Thunderbolts*” received better reviews, but its $382.4 million worldwide total was still disappointing for a movie that reportedly cost around $180 million before marketing.
Both movies also relied heavily on characters who were introduced or substantially developed through Disney+ shows. “The Marvels” asked moviegoers to care about Kamala Khan from “Ms. Marvel” and Monica Rambeau’s post-“WandaVision” story. “Thunderbolts*” was built around Yelena Belova, John Walker, and other characters whose recent MCU appearances were either on Disney+ or in supporting movie roles.
While that does not mean that Marvel TV caused those movies to struggle, it does show the faulty logic in Marvel’s grand plan that began to unfold during the COVID-19 pandemic. As every major Hollywood studio was abandoning all sense and financial restraint in order to run headfirst into the brick wall that is streaming, Marvel seemed to assume that their Midas Touch would extend to anything and everything that it touched. Therefore, if there was an MCU series on Disney+, of course everyone who spent $20 to see “Endgame” would pay a fraction of that every month to watch it. Then, the characters and storylines from the shows would further engage and excite the fans, and as they then naturally transitioned to the films, Disney’s goal of establishing a never-ending flywheel of superhero storytelling would be complete.
However, it didn’t really work that way. While a lot of people did sign up for Disney+, the MCU content has not been as reliably entertaining as the first three phases of films were. Part of that is because Marvel has put out some real duds of television shows: “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Secret Invasion,” and “Echo,”; and part of it is because many of the shows have brought wildly different creative and storytelling perspectives to the traditionally cookie-cutter, paint-by-numbers MCU.
I still maintain that “WandaVision,” “Loki,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Agatha All Along,” and “Wonder Man,” were not only stellar MCU shows, but just generally great TV shows in general. Then you had solid offerings like “Ironheart” and “Hawkeye” which weren’t revolutionary by any means, but were still enjoyable journeys with likeable characters. Heck, even the more inconsistent entries like “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and “Moon Knight,” took massive swings, sometimes hitting doubles and triples, while also occasionally striking out. And that’s not to mention the reliably excellent three or four Marvel Animation shows that premiere on Disney+ every year.
But, to me, that is exactly how Marvel should be using Disney+. The streamer is the perfect home for street-level characters such as Daredevil, smaller-scale stories like “Wonder Man,” and creative experiments like “WandaVision” and “She-Hulk.” However, now that the uninhibited fire hose of streaming spending has been effectively shut down, there needs to be much closer attention to quality control at every level of these series. Marvel cannot simply release a show that is little more than an eight-episode prologue to a forthcoming movie that may or may not ever hit the big screen; nor should every series exist primarily to introduce a character who might become important three movies later.
Let the TV shows be TV shows. Sure, there should be connective tissue to the other stories being told across the MCU, but everything that Marvel releases doesn’t need to be a piece in one larger puzzle. But that should go beyond series as well. Marvel should also produce smaller MCU movies and specials specifically for Disney+. They’ve shown that these can be done incredibly well with the excellent “Werewolf by Night” and the delightful “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.”
This type of “direct-to-video” movie could follow supporting characters stepping into the spotlight for the first time, introduce heroes who are not ready to carry a $200 million theatrical release, and give emerging directors and writers opportunities to prove themselves without the pressure of delivering the next global blockbuster. Not every MCU film needs to be a referendum on the entire studio and the state of Hollywood in general. The movie industry has been carried by IP franchises for the past two decades, but in our current media contraction era, smaller films have been incredibly important life rafts for movie theaters in between billion-dollar blockbusters; the same can be true for Disney+.
Of course, I could be reading too much into the lack of Disney+ Marvel news at Comic-Con. Perhaps Feige will announce a full slate of MCU live-action shows next week at D23, and this entire conversation will have been for naught. However, between the movie-heavy Comic-Con presentation, the “Wonder Man” cancellation, and the nearly empty live-action production pipeline, it is fair to wonder whether Marvel television is approaching a significant reset — or quietly reaching its end.
While I have been a ride-or-die MCU fan since the beginning, in recent years, I have found far more pleasure in the series than in the movies; at least when the shows are uneven, I am able to watch them from my couch and pause them to take a break. But, to me, it would seem like a massively disappointing decision for Disney to allow one of its cornerstone brands to abandon its flagship streaming service. I realize that both Disney and Marvel are businesses, but with the wealth of rich characters and stories to choose from, and the legions of talent ready to play in that particular sandbox, there is no reason that Feige and all of Marvel Studios can’t figure out a way to utilize Disney+ to not only keep MCU fans engaged, but to give them something unique from the studio’s familiar big screen formula.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”