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TheMarvel Cinematic Universe ’s Phase 4 has make out to an closing , and - although Marvel Studios go along to dominate in pop culture - it sadly ca n’t be considered an unqualified winner . The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand at a noteworthy pace . That fact is best demonstrated by the fact Phase 4 - which has now been complete after the releases ofBlack Panther : Wakanda Foreverand theGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special- had a greater runtime than the first three phases put together .
In large part that is because theMCU has evolve into a transmedia multiverse , with stories now told in a variety of forms and medium . The films are now complement by Disney+ TV shows and even " Special Presentations , " Disney+ exclusives that find like the descendent of Marvel ’s old one - scene . In theory , characters and story arcs move one from one medium to the next ; Scarlet Witch ’s Phase 4 account recoil off inWandaVisionon Disney+ , for example , before continuing on the big covert inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . The scale of Marvel ’s aspiration for Phase 4 is breathtaking - but , woefully , it has n’t been entirely successful .
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Marvel’s Phase 4 Ambitions Exceeded Their Ability
The sad truth is that Marvel ’s Phase 4 ambitions top their ability . It ’s important to remember that , only a few years ago , Marvel Studios carbon monoxide - chairman Louis D’Esposito was explainingMarvel had stopped doing those old one - shotsbecause the studio was too stretched producing four or five picture show a year . Marvel ’s Phase 4 expansion involve the same number of pic , accompanied by a flow of Disney+ television shows and Special Presentations to reboot . Marvel has thrive its surgical process at tread , but there has been a notable encroachment on the remainder products . The timeline is get messy , the VFX often experience belt along and bare ( with author - director Taika Waititi openly mocking his own film , Thor : Love & Thunder ) , and the plots have experience increasingly formulaic . Even Marvel seem mindful of this last problem , withShe - Hulk : Attorney at Law ’s stopping point openly bemock it .
To be bonny to Marvel , thecoronavirus pandemic had a monolithic impact on the MCU . It affected every stage of the flick - making process - from pre - product to filming , from VFX to marketing . The nature of the deal macrocosm meant Marvel was more vulnerable than any rival studio apartment ; the interconnections mean disruption to one projection has a ripple result . form 4 was already a logistic challenge due to its scale , but coronavirus must have turned it into an absolute nightmare .
Phase 4 Lacked An Overarching Narrative (But So Did Phase 1)
Marvel has taken a phased approach to storytelling , one generally inspired by the cartoon strip themselves . Every phase culminates in a major event movie ( traditionally an Avengers motion-picture show ) setting up a new condition quo , explored by its successor . avenger : Endgamewas the biggest case picture show to date , a key moment in theMCU ’s ever - upgrade timeline . alas , Marvel bosses seem to have struggle to figure out what the raw world order produce by Phase 3 should really face like . The job is well demonstrated by contrastingThe Falcon & the Winter SoldierandShang - Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings , technically set within week of one another . One showed a world still in turmoil , the other one that had gone back to normal with noteworthy speeding .
It does n’t help that Phase 4 lacked an overarching tale . It began withBlack Widow , an oddly - timed flashback that would have been better suited to Phase 3 , and then seemed to take a scattershot attack to storytelling . Marvel eventually herald that phases 4 - 6 are formally called " The Multiverse Saga , " but it ’s fall upon how few films and TV shows in Phase 4 have actually seemed connected to this ( confusingly - portrayed ) concept . phase angle 4 ’s most authoritative contributions to the Multiverse Saga are undoubtedlyLokiandDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , with both establishing the pseudo - scientific founding that will probably be the basis of everything going forward .
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It has to be noted that this plain want of narrative flow is nothing unexampled . The MCU ’s " masterplan " is a myth , with Marvel tend to be far more responsive than most viewers realize . stage 1 , the beginning of the Infinity Saga , was just as conflicting as Phase 4 ; only one ofPhase 1 ’s post - credits scenes in reality makes sense , and Marvel literally had to release a one - stab to fixThe Incredible Hulk ’s . But forward-looking viewers are used to the tone there is a sense of momentum to the MCU , and that expectation made Phase 4 disappointing .
Marvel Failed To Realize The Potential Of Disney+
Marvel ’s expansion on to Disney+ has been clean successful , but unluckily it has been sabotage by the studio ’s general glide slope . There is a leaning to deal the Disney+ television set shows as six - 60 minutes moving-picture show that have been reduce into chapter , but this approach has try flawed ; what work well in one spiritualist does n’t necessarily translate to another . Most of the series have notable tempo problems , and it ’s surprising to note how many depend on a villain reveal in the concluding two episodes - a complex body part that ’s becoming insistent . Only three of Marvel ’s Disney+ TV shows -WandaVision , Moon Knight , andShe - Hulk : Attorney at Law- have really feel as though they were made for an episodic format .
The novel Special Presentations toy to Marvel ’s strength , however . These are basically made - for - TV movies , but they ’re much more experimental than typical Marvel menu . Werewolf By Nightis as close tofull horror as Marvel Studioshas ever gone , while theGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialis a delightfully low-spirited - stakes adventure that does n’t even feature a supervillain . These two come in quite late in stage 4 , however , mean it will take Marvel some sentence to get wind lessons from their successes .
Marvel’s Phase 4 Characters Have Been Successful - To A Point
Marvel Studios has rightly earned a report for stellar casting decision . stage 4 has featured the likes of Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight , Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel , Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop , and Simu Liu as Shang - Chi . There have also been some of the best supervillains in the MCU to date , browse from Tenoch Huerta ’s Namor to Tony Leung ’s Wenwu . But too many of the Phase 4 superheroes have felt overshadowed by their predecessors , as though they lived in the trace of Iron Man , Captain America , and the Hulk .
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Marvel is already rent more diverse filmmakers , but the universe itself has yet to fulfill Kevin Feige ’s promise to become significantly more diverse . LGBTQI+ secret plan are typically minor , admit them to easily be cut for sure outside territories . Eternalsstar Gemma Chan hop-skip that flick ’s various casting would become an diligence average , but it has n’t even become a Marvel average . Still , as dissatisfactory as Phase 4 has been in this regard , it has to be note that the franchise ended on a high point . Black Panther : Wakanda Foreverintroduced a blackened teenager , Dominique Thorne ’s Riri Williams , as Marvel ’s next Iron Man - a decision that felt very measured indeed , and hopefully serves as a hope that the MCU will improve on this detail go onward .
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It ’s easy to be vital of theMCU ’s Phase 4 slate , in part because the impuissance are becoming more evident due to the vaporous amount of dismissal . But part of the job is that Marvel has trained viewers to follow their picture and shows in a different fashion ; every film , episode , or Special Presentation is now viewed as likely setup for the next chapter , rather than appreciated in its own right . It ’s no overstatement to say that Marvel now produces content , not films or TV shows , and that only the best - the likes ofSpider - Man : No Way Home , Black Panther : Wakanda Forever , orWerewolf By Night- acclivity above this . Marvel seem to have agnize this , with Feige announcing Phases 5 and 6 to give that much - needed sense of centering . But Marvel take to ensure viewers recrudesce this habit if theMCUis to stay to fly high .
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