Your Voices is a simple concept created to encourage conversation and opinions between movie lovers. It works like this: I throw out a certain topic. After that I’ll make my case or share my opinions. Then it’s time for Your Voices. Head to the comments section and let me and your fellow moviegoers know your thoughts on the topic for that day!
This next paragraph features some rather BIG “Avengers: Endgame” spoilers. Be warned…here we go. “Endgame” featured some events that will dramatically reshape the MCU landscape. Namely the death of Tony Stark, the passing of the shield by Steve Rogers, most likely the end of Banner/Hulk storyline. All three actors have intimated their desires to leave their roles and “Endgame” gave them that big satisfying finish (except for Hulk but that’s a gripe for another time).
A while back I shared some initial thoughts about the MCU’s new direction (you can read them HERE). But from your point-of-view, with such major heavy hitters and pivotal Marvel superheroes no longer leading the way, where does that leave your excitement going forward? Are you as excited for an MCU without these iconic characters? To be honest, I can’t say I am.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still interested in the MCU and love many of its remaining heroes. I’m still going to be there watching the films when they hit theaters. But I have to admit, Marvel has some work to do. Robert Downey, Jr. brought so much, not only to his character, but to the MCU as a whole. Captain America always has been and always will be my favorite Avenger. Those two along with Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor (at least he’s still around) made up an incredible core that won’t be easy to replace.
But now it’s time for Your Voices. Please hit the comments section to share your thoughts.
Keith & the Movies 
While all the crossover movies played their part in developing Iron-Man and Captain America in between solo movies, if you re-watch only their personal trilogies and then ENDGAME, it’s enough to feel the characters’ journeys. I’m saying this because I don’t think THE AVENGERS, AGE OF ULTRON and INFINITY WAR relied on those two to be satisfying experiences. As long as the makers keep using great heroes and fun interactions between them, I think it’ll be alright.
You make great points. Solid storytelling and character building goes a long way. Still (whether right or wrong) there is a nostalgic pull that comes with that original core that exists for me.
Even though half of the original Avengers are gone, I’m still eager to see what they’re going to do as there are plenty of characters to watch out for. I’m actually one of those that liked Hulk’s story arc towards the end as I think he’ll be in Thor: Love and Thunder as a major supporting character as he helps out the Hulk and maybe make peace with Loki. That is one of the film’s I’m eagerly anticipating mainly because of Taika Waititi at the helm and Natalie Portman becoming Lady Thor as I want to see what she can do and how she and Thor would fit in as part of the Asgardians of the Galaxy.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the Phase 4 series with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being the one film I’m extremely eager for. Not just for the premise and the idea of multi-verses but also Sam Raimi at the helm as I hope it returns him to his horror roots and hopefully have Tobey Maguire reprise his role as Spider-Man and we could get a meeting between him and Tom Holland. There’s also Mahershala Ali as Blade as that itself might be awesome.
I’m not too worried about what Marvel is going to do as Kevin Feige seems to have an idea of what to do but also take the time to find the right stories and do them justice with filmmakers who are more about storytelling and characters than sprawling visual effects.
I’m not as excited for Love and Thunder. I loved Thor up until the overweight/depressed angle which was a tonal wreck. Still, Hemsworth is great once they let his character be THOR. As for Portman, I’m not sold on her as Lady Thor and I haven’t found Tessa’s Valkyrie interesting at all. But I do like Waititi.
I am with you on Doctor Strange. That could be REALLY good. Blade too. Can’t wait for it.
I think Thor becoming depressed/overweight was a great place for Thor considering how much he failed and all of the guilt he had carried which is why he is my all-time favorite MCU character. I do like Valkyrie as I think Waititi is going to do some great things for her since she is Asgard’s queen.
I like the idea of him being depressed, just not them treating it like a joke half of the time. That’s what I mean by it being tonally a mess. I know a lot of people liked the angle though.
I did regret laughing about it at first as I understand the idea of depression though I had no problem what the Russos were doing since they did get feedback from Taika.
It’s funny, my issues with Thor actually went back to Waititi’s Ragnarok. I felt he made both Thor and Hulk into walking punchlines and they felt dramatically different than they did in any of the films before it. There was always a hint of humor in the Thor character prior to Ragnarok, but to me he made them into dolts and they felt out of step with their other MCU appearances. A minority opinion I know.
I think you’ve posted about this in another fashion before, but I know I’ve said that the MCU has mostly died for me after Endgame. For me personally, there’s no world in which I follow along on Disney + to keep up with the Falcon, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, etc just to see how they tie into future phases. I’ll probably even see myself missing out on a few movies the MCU has planned if they don’t do enough for me in marketing.
Not a big fan of Ragnarok and yeah, the Thor character to me has become a bit more humorous than I like. A little interest in Black Widow…but not geeked for a prequel/”what happened in the gap period since X?” Honestly, no interest in another Captain Marvel movie, like Ant-Man but I don’t need another movie of his, pass on The Eternals at this point in time. Sure they will be better movies than their last installments, but a reboot of X-Men and Fantastic 4 feels ho-hum. Unless we get confirmation that MCU plans to keep Deadpool R-rated, he’ll be watered down once introduced.
Will give a watch to Shang-Chi, Black Panther 2, Blade, GOTG3, Doctor Strange Multiverse, and a new Spidey movie, but I simply don’t see myself keeping up with the timeline like an entire world did since 2008’s Iron Man. I could be wrong, but I get the sense that a sizable population feels how I/we feel, and though a superhero bubble may never fully burst, I see diminishing returns over this next decade. Superhero movies and the whole buildup will simply never be as big as Infinity War/Endgame, nowhere to go but down. Thank you for listening to my TEDTalk post rant.
I shared a few thoughts when they first announced the new phase timeline (which I linked to in this post). With theaters getting ready to open, I was curious to hear if people’s opinions have changed.
I’m actually very interested in Black Widow but more for her connections to the past MCU films rather than any potential setup to new ones. I’m with you on The Enternals – not interested. I am intrigued by both F4 and X-Men. Both classic groups that should be in the MCU. I’m quite different on Deadpool. Didn’t care for those movies. They felt gimmicky to me and the idea that he can ONLY be R-rated kinda proves it. Then again he has already been framed as this foul-mouthed one-trick pony so if you take that trick away can he make it? I dunno.
Keith, I think the MCU has expanded a bit too much. I have always been a Marvel person and have seen just about everything in the theatres and streaming to this point. Up and through Endgame, I thought everything was fantastic (aside from Thor: The Dark World, but I digress). But now, there is way too much content too fast for my liking, and I am getting a feeling they enjoy making more cash way more than coordinating storylines for the next “set” of Avengers. I think DC has an opening here, especially with what I thought of “Multiverse Of Madness.” They continue to make Strange reckless and thoughtless, and I can’t believe how they literally piled on Scarlet Witch, especially after Wanda Vision. Hadn’t the poor woman been through enough? Because of Marvel’s past successes, I should still be excited for their next wave of superheroes, but instead I’m quite concerned they may have lost their way – at least for now.
I’ll be honest, I have really struggled to connect with this new stage of the MCU. And I think you hit on why. It has spread itself too far. It also lacks the focus that made the pre-Endgame run so much fun. I’m not sure where it’s going. And what’s bad is I’m not as interested in finding out as I used to be.
Marvel casting sucks…. succinct but to the point.
Examples removing Terrance Howard and replacing him with Cheadle, who is neither charismatic, nor attractive (sorry, just trying to be real). Secondly, not recasting T’Challa with a “Cam Newton” kind of guy instead of a girl.
Some of their choices have been…weird.