Every time a Marvel or DC movie comes out and underperforms, "superhero fatigue" re-enters the conversation... until the next film comes along and smashes the box office to pieces.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Shazam! Fury of the Gods were back-to-back releases that failed to meet studio expectations (and pretty much tanked completely in the latter's case), but they were followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (which was very successful), and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which is currently No. 1 at the global box office.
Have audiences become tired of the formula, or is it simply a case of sub-par movies failing to put butts on seats?
During an interview with Rolling Stone, writers/producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord made their position very clear.
"I don’t believe it’s super superhero fatigue, I believe it’s “a movie that feels like a movie I’ve seen a dozen times before” fatigue," said Miller. "If you’re using the same story structure and the same style and the same tone and the same vibe as movies and shows that have come before, it doesn’t matter what genre it is. It’s going to be boring to people."
Lord agrees, pointing out that if the right amount of time is spent on the characters, audiences will care about the story.
"The audience in the theater cannot be sustained on Easter eggs and reveals. Or even these big, crazy multiverse stakes. They only care about, like, the relationship between Rocket Raccoon and Groot. And so this story is just so rooted in parents and kids.
And Miles and his family. With the last movie we showed it to some friends early on, and they were like, “You have to get to like all these multiple Spider-People as quickly as possible. That’s the exciting thing.” And we were like, we don’t think so. Because the thing that everybody seems to enjoy is the quieter scenes with Miles and his mom and dad. They can’t get enough of it. And I’m so glad we stayed true to what the audience was telling us."
What are your thoughts on superhero fatigue? Let us know in the comments.
In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, after reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
The confirmed voice cast includes Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Shea Whigham, Jorma Taccone, Luna Lauren Vélez, and Brian Tyree Henry.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters worldwide