Oswald Opines - Marvelous Missteps?

Captain America: New World Order

 

Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are expensive! The reality is to make a profit they need to bring in not just hardcore fans, but also those with just general interest.

Also, in our post-pandemic world, it has become more difficult to convince moviegoers to leave their couch and visit a theater. I’m shocked to say that at this moment there are two movies I have seen in the theater with Deadpool and Wolverine and Beatlejuice Beatlejuice. I’m honestly not sure I couldn’t have waited for Tim Burton’s latest even with me enjoying it. There is a chance that I will be catching two in-theater movies during the Thanksgiving weekend, but that’s due to the occasion and family plans.

Here is my worry.

I feel like before Avengers: Endgame there were generally a story and cast linkage that kept moviegoers coming. Yes, Guardians of the Galaxy was risky, but even there we had an Infinity Stone to bring the skeptical into the story. By the time that Doctor Strange hit the screen there was some trust to get moviegoers who knew nothing about the Sorcerer Supreme would go and view the film.  

Now, in the shadow Deadpool and Wolverine, I have worries. The next films have no cast or story connections to the only MCU movie of 2024! So I don’t think Logan or Wade can halo the next MCU film to a massive hit.

This got me thinking about what’s next. We have Captain America: Brave New World and I think this will be a hard sell. Let’s take a look!

 

First, we have politics. I’m not sure that with real-life politics and tension this is going to pull fans to the movies. Let’s add, that I’m not sure that even those who have watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier are going to be fully immersed in the complexities of their political difficulties. I don’t even know what I should be tracking as important with the complications of Disney+’s Secret Invasion which best might be forgotten like Kang. Harrison Ford may have replaced the alien-hating President from that series. But who knows and who cares? I don’t even know if need to see this as a sequel to one specific Disney+ mini-series, which I’m not sure how many watched. And I’m vague because I’m not sure what series it is a sequel to!

February 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World has three things going for it. First, the title indicates to viewers that this film is a continuation of the Chris Evan’s franchise. Second, it features Anthony Mackie who helps that feeling by giving us a familiar face we can cheer for and who was present before Avengers: Endgame. And finally, as Disney fans we all love Harrison Ford, and find ourselves amused with the fact he was willing to join the franchise. I think, or maybe hope, that Captain America: Brave New World will perform okay, with it being the next film after a hit and some familiar faces, even if many fans don’t understand or want to understand the political atmosphere post-Snap (sorry it’s the Snap not Blip to me). 

Thunderbolts*

Now, the next release for May 2025, really has me worried with Thunderbolts*. 

When I watched this trailer with family who have matched most of the MCU, they kept saying, who, what, and when. This is also someone who has fatigue in tracking all MCU threads. Also…not to be mean, but this is another Disney+ sequel. Black Widow, sadly, was a Disney+ movie. Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Bucky the one pre-Endgame hero was Disney+, and that’s the only place we have seen John Walker. And poor Ghost, by this viewer, was forgotten from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Honestly, most of these anti-heroes except for Bucky, Red Guardian, and Belova Widow were at the back of my mind. And let’s toss in the fact that Bob is really not a known hero, he’s not a cult favorite, and he’s really not “fun”. Many are going to look at the trailer and compare it to Suicide Squad which was not a good time for everyone. I just think this is going to be a harder sell to broad audiences. So I worry that Thunderbolts* is not going to do well, I worry we are looking at our next Eternals unless Han Solo can give them a halo effect!


So Robert Downey Jr. is coming back, now as Doctor Doom. There are a lot of people who are saying this is a bad move. This is a necessary move. This is the type of casting that will remind average fans of his days as Iron Man. He is an award-winning actor who’s done great things since leaving the MCU. He’s also a face and name that audiences connect with the franchise. Is it odd that is he playing someone else, yeah sure. But is it familiar to see him doing press for the MCU, yes..yes it is. The MCU needs to be a little less risky and experimental at the moment as it reasserts itself!


To have nice things, we need people to pay for them. I worry that the MCU isn’t going to grab the attention of moviegoers in this current resistance to theater seats unless they do something drastic. Bringing back familiar faces that audiences love could be that piece to move us back. And if we learned anything from Deadpool and Wolverine we need permission to have fun again in our tights and bed sheets. I believe that by the time we get to the Avengers movies that Kevin Fiege will have us back on course. But first, we may have to allow a downturn again.