Are Superhero films dying?

[Thomas Shey]

All of it ... it's a lot. By having every single studio trying to recreate the MCU while the MCU was dramatically expanding, we have a glut of content. And, to be fair, quite a bit of it is good! But it's ... again, it's a lot. And it's really hard to get that kind of "event" feeling for most of it that makes people want to get to the theater.

From what I understand of current intentions, Marvel/Disney seems to agree with you. Part of this is writers strike impact, but we're only supposedly getting one movie next year and and an uncertain (but probably no more than six, tops, and could be as few as four) TV shows.

Now that doesn't do anything about everyone else who's dropping superhero or superhero-adjacent content, but that's kind of the nature of media competition.

 

[Gammadoodler]

And there was a strike that put a huge dent in marketing for that film. Guess what - wen the stars of the film can't take part in marketing, the film's economic performance suffers! Go figure!



I've had several friends see it and love it, so I am looking forward to it as well

I'm hopeful. I wasn't blown away by Captain Marvel (I thought it was fine) but I thought the Ms. Marvel show on Disney+ was pretty great.

 

[Argyle King]

This isn't about "enfranchisement" of the audience. This is about satisfaction of the audience.

Yes, that's true.

At the same time, a brand with an established reputation can use the relationship built with an audience to get away with misteps and/or trying things outside the box (that less established brand cannot afford to try).

Being able to do that requires building some amount of trust with and reputation with the audience. But that trust needs to be rewarded, otherwise it diminishes.

For example, Marvel was able to take a gamble on the first Guardians of the Galaxy and feature largely unknown characters. Yes, that could be done because the Marvel products at the the time were delivering the satisfaction you mention, but it's more than that -it's also that a certain level of expectation was built. Fans of the franchise were willing to take a risk on seeing a movie they otherwise wouldn't.

Now? That same faith in the franchise has been eroded.

Marvel, as a brand, is still healthier than DC, but there have been a lot of stumbles in a row.

 

[ART!]

When a year passes with no major studio releasing a super-hero movie, we'll know. Or maybe when Marvel releases only one in the course of a year.

I think instead of dying we'll just see more variations. Maybe they will settle in as just another common genres like war movies, spy thrillers, etc., where you might see a couple-few in the course of a year or more, and then nothing big for a while.

 

[billd91]

Compare, on the other hand, Cyclops of the X-Men movies. Cyclops was central to the X-Men for decades, and his tortured nature, his flawed yet strong character made for a surprisingly complex character (at least for my middle and high school self). But neither of the two Cyclops actors were able to embody that at all, if only because cinematic Cyclops was written as a rather boring character (the 2nd version was a bit better, but never really came to fruition before the line died). Similarly with Storm - she was cardboard compared to the Ororo of Claremont days.

This has a lot to do with the first couple of X-Men movies being largely driven by and focused on Wolverine and Rogue. Cyclops and Storm are comparatively minor characters. Neither get a chance to really shine as distinct characters. They weren't written as ensemble movies in the sense that everyone is an equal member of the ensemble.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

"Popular in Comics" is irrelevant. No one in the UK had heard of Iron Man, but the movie was still hugely popular - because it was good. People will turn out to see a character they have never heard of - if the movie is good enough.

Even with the greatest writers ever it's still a tired old franchise. The kindest thing would be to take it behind the barn and shoot it.

The pattern has changed - people will still turn out for "event movies" but they aren't going to the cinema on a regular basis any more. And Marvel movies just aren't event movies any more.

Personally, I think "event movies" are also on borrowed time. Cinemas are closing, and if people have to travel large distances to go to the cinema, they will even wait for event movies to stream.

It's absolutely relevent, the hard-core nerds provide the hype, energy, and excitement that draws in the fans and that eventually draws in the casuals.

 

[Gammadoodler]

It's absolutely relevent, the hard-core nerds provide the hype, energy, and excitement that draws in the fans and that eventually draws in the casuals.

That has not been my experience with comic book movies in the slightest. In my experience, most of the drive to see new characters has been novelty, curiosity, and quality of the cast/director, and an impression from the trailer.

Edit: I realize my experience may not be representative.

 

[Thourne]

When a year passes with no major studio releasing a super-hero movie, we'll know. Or maybe when Marvel releases only one in the course of a year.

I think instead of dying we'll just see more variations. Maybe they will settle in as just another common genres like war movies, spy thrillers, etc., where you might see a couple-few in the course of a year or more, and then nothing big for a while.

I believe only Deadpool III is coming out from Marvel next year.

 

[Stalker0]

One of the other things I think Marvel needs to pivot on is the format of their shows.

For a little while we were getting some variety with our shows: ones a comedy, ones a drama. That werewolf tv show they did was a cool old school horror project.

But I think most marvel shows are paint by numbers at this point. There's always a forgettable villain and a CGI army and a lot of quips, etc. You can practically call the plot of any marvel movie just due to the formula.

For example, I would love some context about the blip itself. Show me a little bit more grit, where people were really struggling, some of the crazy things that happened during that time. That is such a crazy time to think about, there has to be 100s of stories you could write.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I believe only Deadpool III is coming out from Marvel next year.

Yeah, they moved everything else, which makes perfect sense with Phase 5 being... this.

But, it won't seem like it, because there'll be Madame Web, Kraven, Spiderverse part 2 and, oh god, Venom 3 from Sony.

Am I reading this release list right? That's a lot of spider-adjacent stuff to put out in a year.