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TheMCU ’s Phase 4 has meliorate the enfranchisement , but unfortunately it did n’t go far enough . The MCU ’s Phase 4 slate has had something of a motley response . It ’s actually the big form to date , in part because Marvel Studios has expanded to give rise Disney+ goggle box shows and Special Presentations as well as pic . This ordered series has had an unfortunate consequence , however , making it difficult to make out an overarching narrative and leading to a rather disjointed smell .
It ’s easy to concenter on the stumbles , though . In realness , the MCU ’s Phase 4 has been a strong attempt at expanding the shared creation , with Marvel Studios work to transform and reinvigorate their franchise . There have been dependent success , thing the MCU can be justly proud of . Now , with the stage last over , it ’s important to take stock of theMCU ’s Phase 4 slateand facial expression at what depart wrong - and , even more importantly , what went right and could still be improve .
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The MCU’s Expansion Into Disney+ Was Effective - But Needs A New Approach
The first wave of television receiver appearance seemingly set in the MCU were produced by Marvel Television , and the connections only ever went one way . Marvel Studios ' new Disney+ TV shows are very different , however , bond in forthwith into the enfranchisement ’s overarching narrative and featuring the kind of budget senior series likeAgents of SHIELDcould only dream of . They get off to a great start with the democratic and critically - acclaimedWandaVision , an strange superhero situation comedy that was praised for its experimental nature . It took too foresightful forMarvel to learn fromWandaVision ’s success , though , because the next few Disney+ idiot box show felt rather more by - the - numbers . Worse still , the stories soon slipped into their own formula , with ( often predictable ) villain twist .
The core problem is that Marvel has essentially cover their shows like six - hour movies , producing them in exactly the same way they would a film . Only three of the Disney+ TV shows -WandaVision , Moon Knight , andShe - Hulk : Attorney at Law- have actually matt-up as though they capitalized on the different medium . Marvel want to translate that boob tube serial publication and motion picture are not the same affair , and that they need different storytelling technique and plan of attack to pacing .
Marvel Has Begun To Give Directors & Showrunners More Freedom
Meanwhile , Marvel has begun to give director and showrunners more originative exemption . Take the example ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness;Sam Raimi’sDoctor Strange 2gave the complete repulsion director a chance to play with his favorite image , and it perfectly demonstrated the movie maker ’s touch vogue . Chloe Zhao’sEternalswas unlike any other production in the MCU to day of the month , with a singular amount of location employment and a dependence on lifelike light . And yet , in both cases , the MCU aspects of the films felt as though they act as a bracken on the director ' creativity . This was particularly notable inEternals , where the informal part - work clashed with the cosmic stakes .
The MCU ’s Phase 4 soupcon at how good the franchise can become if Marvel give their directors ( and showrunners ) more flexibleness . But the infliction ofMarvel ’s MCU formulais doing damage to the production , explicate why there have been so many high - visibility stumbles in Phase 4 . Marvel need to learn to rely their squad , allowing them to deviate from the formula and do their own thing . This is a hazard , of line , because sometimes things will go incorrect - but , hopefully more often , they will go well .
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Marvel Has Begun Improving In Terms Of Diversity
wonder Studios chairperson Kevin Feige had anticipate diversity and theatrical would be crucial in Phase 4 , and he ’s been proved right;Eternalsintroduced the mainstream MCU ’s first merry superhero , America Chavez is another queer superhero in the comics , and diverseness improved behind the camera as well . Pleasingly , Marvel reject to editEternalsto fix international distribution , or to cut a extension to America ’s two mama inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . And yet , for all that ’s the vitrine , it still feel as though the MCU has a long style to go ; queer character are often second - tier and underdeveloped . Thor : Love & Thunderfailed to fulfil its hope of queer representation , with a subplot involving Valkyrie and Sif leave on the redaction room floor . Black Panther : Wakanda Forever ’s LGBTQI+ view was cut for the Kuwait release , with Marvel evidently bowing to imperativeness on that function . The MCU is improving - but it ’s not there yet .
All in all , then , the MCU ’s Phase 4 has been something of a mixed bag . TheMCU picture and Disney+ TV showshave exhibit the franchise ’s potential future , but Marvel will need to germinate if that potential drop is to be realized . Hopefully the lessons of the yesteryear have been learned , though , leading to an even brighter future for theMCU .
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