It’s been almost 2 years since the MCU has made their post-pandemic Phase 4 return but many fans don’t like where they are headed.
What Is Happening With The MCU Phase 4?
After a little over a year off from releasing content the MCU has been pushing as much content as possible into the eyeballs of fans everywhere, but this might not be a good thing. Before talking about the quantity of output, there has been a general concern of a direction-less future for the MCU but that is the farthest thing from the truth.
Phase 4 is a rebuilding phase just as Phase 1 was, but with an already expansive universe, there is a baseline size that the universe has reached that the universe can’t go under.
That aside, the universe has still expanded into different sections — which is also something that people don’t like. In all fairness, it is a great idea because it allows for the fanbase to pick and choose what (and who) they like. Marvel has created the multiversal, grounded, space, mystical and many other sides to the MCU but that has led to the biggest problem of all — an oversaturation of content.
To put it simply, the MCU is doing too much. Not only is it hurting the content itself but the image of superhero media overall. Normally these comparisons hurt to make but it is one that needs to be said. The biggest issue – quality wise – within the MCU is that their stories are not only incomplete but are created through reshoots and tight VFX deadlines.
Though they don’t have the greatest track record, the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) has delayed an entire slate of movies in order to have more test screens, time for VFX, and best of all, deliver the fans the best product possible.
With as much content as the MCU is putting out, they don’t slow down and it leads to their quality decreasing. Runtime wise the numbers are absolutely mind-blowing. Phase 1 of the MCU had a total of 12.4 hours of content, Phase 2 – 12 .7 hours, Phase 3 – 24.9 hours, but Phase 4 has had a whopping 49.5 hours — and we are only halfway through. The quality of almost every single project in phase 4 has been called lower than the phases prior.
This isn’t to say the projects are bad but the shows all feel like an excuse to get more content out there, they take time away from VFX work on movies, also making them feel cheaper. Complaining about how a movie’s CG/VFX work is never deserved but recently VFX artists have come out and exposed Marvel for their lack of care for the workers and the strict deadlines put on them.
Not only are these deadlines tight but they are constantly making story changes leading to a messy final product. Marvel’s newest release Thor: Love and Thunder proved just this.
It is being said that Taika Waititi shot over 4 hours of footage for the film but due to story and time constrains that Marvel put on him, he cut it down to under 2 hours. For a movie as expansive as Love and Thunder it needed that extra time.
On the other hand, Multiverse of Madness, a movie riddled with reshoots and story problems, works. That won’t always be the case however, and not only Love and Thunder but the weak, basic, and borderline passable stories in almost all of the shows. proves that. With the exception of Loki and Ms. Marvel, it seems like all of the shows are rushed and incomplete in their stories.
Though most projects have been really good throughout Phase 4, this is the reality of the MCU’s future if they don’t make a change with the quality of their stories for the future.