Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to wrap up with the remaining episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Werewolf by Night, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever this year. This first phase of the Multiverse Saga focused on new additions such as Shang-Chi, the Eternals, Kate Bishop, Moon Knight, and a few others, as well as continuing story arcs for established characters such as Spider-Man, Thor, Doctor Strange, Sam Wilson, and others through both movies and shows. After the exciting conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Phase Four has been a retooling and rebuilding phase. It has many highs and lows for many fans. Recently, talks of the MCU on the decline have built up and some are even considering giving up on the MCU. It raises a question. Is the MCU on the decline and should fans be concerned?
Phase Four feels similar to Phase One of the MCU. It has a couple of great projects, a few projects that were considered underrated to some fans, and some that may not be bad, but could have been better. Phase Four gave us some great things. Spider-Man: No Way Home lived up to the hype and won over audiences and critics. The film also broke so many box office records and is the sixth-highest-grossing film worldwide. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a surprise hit that took a lesser-known character and made him a household name. Disney + shows such as WandaVision and Loki were great shows that had good endings.
We also got some underrated projects. Hawkeye, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Miss Marvel were my personal favorite next projects after the top four listed before. At the same time, we got some projects that may not be terrible, but were not that exciting either. Black Widow, while enjoyable, felt like a film that should have come out in 2017 or 2018. Eternals was not bad, but way longer than it should have been. Thor: Love and Thunder already has not aged well and has shown that it is time for Taika to step away from the MCU. Some of the MCU shows may not have been bad, but had disappointing to no good endings. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has divided some fans due to the style of humor and how they felt certain characters were handled such as Hulk and Abomination.
It’s understandable why fans might be disappointed with the recent MCU projects. Most of the shows had disappointing endings. Some of the movies are not on the level of some of the previous movies At the same time, it wasn’t all disappointing. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were great and are considered to be two of the best MCU movies in general. Phase Four still did well with showing how characters are processing grief and entering new stages of their lives. It’s given us a few projects involving the multiverse to help set the tone of the Multiverse Saga.
Also, it’s still too early to give up on the MCU. There are still two more phases left in the Multiverse Saga. Phase Five will be bringing back a lot of characters including Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy. It will also introduce Blade into the MCU. The first film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, will set up Kang the Conqueror. Daredevil will be getting his new show, Daredevil: Born Again, which will have eighteen episodes in 2024. Fantastic Four is supposed to come out in November 2024. We’re still waiting to hear when Deadpool will finally appear and sequels for Spider-Man and Shang-Chi. In 2025, we are currently scheduled to get Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. The future is exciting despite how recent projects have turned out.
All in all, Phase Four may not be as good as what we once got in the MCU, but it’s not enough for me to give up on the MCU or be concerned. We still got a fantastic film in this phase with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Phase Five will start in a big way with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania introducing Kang the Conqueror. Daredevil will get an eighteen-episode series in 2024 with Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio returning. Phase Six will give us the MCU version of the Fantastic Four and two new Avengers films. The future looks bright.
Do you think the MCU is declining and if so, are you concerned? Let us know in the comments down below.
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