There was a time when it seemed Marvel Studios could do no wrong, but that's changed with the Multiverse Saga. The jam-packed past few years of storytelling have seen the MCU deliver its first "Rotten" movies and a handful of box office flops.
There have been more hits than misses, but it's all played into the "superhero fatigue" narrative some Hollywood insiders are eager to peddle. Fans, meanwhile, have expressed disappointment with many creative decisions and a general inconsistency in quality and connectivity.
Marvel Studios is looking to right the ship, with Daredevil: Born Again and Thunderbolts* serving as the first offerings from the post-overhaul MCU.
After being a good soldier and agreeing to produce as much content as possible for Disney+, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is getting more hands-on and out to ensure the MCU returns to quality over quantity.
An article from The Wall Street Journal has shared additional insights into that, revealing that Feige realised Marvel Studios had created a "no new fans club." Apparently, he "recently told his Marvel Studios colleagues that watching every new Marvel TV show [and] film had started to feel more like homework than entertainment."
As a result, "They are now moving to only 1 or 2 live-action shows per year." There's also a belief that these series will be a little more standalone, like Daredevil: Born Again, to avoid fans feeling they need to see everything on the small screen to understand what's happening on the big one.
Earlier this year, Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum said, "Frankly, you know, in all honesty, there was a mandate to kind of create as much as we could for Disney+, as quickly as we could, and then there was a shift, and all of a sudden, we have to, you know, start spreading our release dates out."
"We're using that time, we're not sitting idle, it stays in the oven, you can bake certain things a little more. I think ultimately it's only going to make things better. But most of it's frankly just shrapnel from the business," the executive added.
Marvel Studios is looking to recapture its past success with an impressive lineup of movies, including The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
On streaming, we're still getting the last few series from that "quantity" era, with Ironheart, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies, and Wonder Man all on the way this year.
The biggest takeaway from this report is that Marvel Studios is aware of what's gone wrong and is setting out to do something about it. That's great news for fans.
Do you agree that the MCU has become a little too much like homework?