How Marvel Plans to Reinvigorate Its Waning Audience
By Movieguide® Contributor
It’s no secret that Marvel has struggled to maintain its massive popularity since ENDGAME was released in 2019; executive producer Brad Winderbaum explained why the franchise has struggled as of late and how they plan to fix the problems.
“We’ve learned a lot. We produced a lot of content very quickly, and we’re primarily a filmmaking company,” Winderbaum told ComicBook. “So, you can see that our first round of shows have had a very movie-like structure: they arc out the characters by the end; they feel like a standalone limited series.”
The MCU also flooded the market with a new series or movie releasing almost every month for years. This has led to fan burnout as the quality of the productions slipped and the time commitment to track all the divergent stories became overwhelming.
“Marvel’s primary contribution is just being the standard-setter and being guilty of doing too much too fast and in a way that rushed things at times and resulted in less coherence and thus less resonance,” Forbes reported.
“Moving forward, our content is going to feel a lot more like television. It kind of drives toward the horizon; drives towards the future, and keeps people engaged for longer periods of time, in the more leaned-back setting of your living room,” Winderbaum said. “To set it apart, frankly, from the big, cinematic event experiences in the movie theater.”
Marvel also seems to have heard the cries from fans about the oversaturation of content. With only five shows releasing to Disney+ this year, along with one movie, fans will finally have a chance to catch their breath and digest the current storylines.
With Marvel gearing up for phase six of its cinematic universe, which will culminate in at least two new Avengers movies, the franchise needs to find its footing soon if it hopes to recapture the worldwide phenomenon of AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Hopefully, this shift in focus will help the franchise regain its popularity and allow it to become something that all fans can once again enjoy.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Marvel Cinematic Universe announced changed dates for its upcoming TV shows.
The lineup features some new shows and a few continued seasons with familiar heroes and villains.
Marvel stated that its animated series WHAT IF…? will release around December 25. ECHO, a HAWKEYE spin-off, got pushed to January 2024. X-MEN ’97, another animated series, will arrive in early 2024.
LOKI Season 2 will arrive October 6, 2023, on Disney+. Production for both IRONHEART and DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN is paused due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
“The writers’ strike began May 2, while the actors went on strike July 14, significantly impacting production and development. At the same time, sources say Marvel wants to focus its efforts to make each title an event for fans and audiences,” the Hollywood Reporter said.
In other words, some of the pushed and paused show dates coincide with Marvel’s intent to grow viewer interest.
