For all the excitement surrounding Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, it's hard to shake the feeling that Marvel Studios may be relying a little too heavily on a formula we've already seen play out to great effect in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
There's no denying that the Russo Brothers delivered something special with both those and all of their MCU movies. Together, they represented the culmination of over a decade of storytelling and delivered this franchise's greatest triumph (concluding the Infinity Saga in such epic fashion that it's overshadowed every project since).
However, as Marvel Studios attempts to reignite that same enthusiasm among casual and hardcore fans, it increasingly feels as if we're heading down a very familiar road.
Based on everything we've heard so far, Avengers: Doomsday is following a structure remarkably similar to Infinity War. In 2018, we watched in shock as Earth's Mightiest Heroes suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Thanos. As fan favourites such as Black Panther and Spider-Man turned to dust, the Mad Titan sat victorious as the credits rolled.
Now, it seems Doctor Doom is set to achieve something similar. While specific plot details remain under wraps, the expectation is that Doomsday will conclude with Doom sat on his throne, the triumphant ruler of Battleworld (the remains of the countless realities destroyed in the Multiverse's Incursions). From a storytelling perspective, that certainly raises the stakes, but it also risks feeling less like a bold creative decision and more like a replay of a strategy that has previously proven successful.
Then there's Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel's Multiverse Saga has been built around alternate realities and Variants, with Secret Wars as the grand finale. Unfortunately, the broad strokes sound suspiciously close to Endgame. Instead of revisiting key moments from the Infinity Saga via time travel, we'll likely just encounter legacy characters from across Marvel's cinematic history in unfamiliar surroundings.
Endgame was an event unlike anything audiences had experienced before. Seeing beloved heroes reunite, witnessing the portals sequence, and celebrating the culmination of 22 movies created an emotional payoff that can't be replicated by simply copying the formula and swapping out time travel for cameos. In fact, that's what worries me most about Marvel Studios bringing back the Russo Brothers.
While their return undoubtedly inspires confidence—even after a series of AGBO-produced disappointments like The Electric State—it also suggests the studio is retreating to familiar territory after several years of inconsistent results. Rather than taking creative risks and forging a new path, which is what we'd have got with Destin Daniel Cretton's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Marvel appears determined to recreate the magic of the Infinity Saga by reassembling the same architects who delivered it the first time.
Isn't that why Robert Downey Jr. is being brought back, albeit as the villainous Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man?
From a business perspective, it's understandable. Deadpool & Wolverine demonstrated that nostalgia and legacy characters remain powerful draws, and after some recent stumbles, playing it safe may seem like the smartest move. Still, safe isn't exciting.
The Infinity Saga succeeded because audiences had never seen anything like it. Infinity War shocked viewers by allowing the villain to win. Endgame stunned fans with its ambitious approach and an emotional payoff. Trying to recreate those moments, potentially beat-for-beat, runs the risk of diminishing what made them so special in the first place.
Of course, Doomsday and Secret Wars may find ways to surprise us. The Russo Brothers have earned a degree of trust, and Marvel Studios has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to exceed expectations. Still, based on what we know right now, it's hard not to wonder whether the MCU's next two Avengers movies are attempting to recapture lightning in a bottle instead of creating something entirely new.
The Infinity Saga wasn't magical because it followed a formula; it was magical because nobody knew what was coming next. With Doomsday and Secret Wars, it feels like we know exactly where this story is heading...