By Jacob Oliveira
With new superhero films being released every few months and this summer especially being a massive moment for superhero releases, one must ask: does the audience still care about Marvel Studios and their films?
When asking the average movie goer about Marvel films and their knowledge, it often seems quite lacking. Most fans don’t know or understand what is going on as they are not able to keep up with the non-stop stream of movies and shows. Especially with alternate universes where the lines of what’s important and what’s not becomes even more blurred. One BHS student stated, “I don’t really care for the newer stuff. The peak was at Endgame and Infinity War.” Many fans share the same sentiment and don’t think these movies are worth spending much time on.
Marvel doesn’t just have to worry about inflation of the genre because they are not the only competitor in the space. Both DC and Invincible are releasing to high praise from comic fans and average consumers alike. DC’s Creature Commandos is sitting at 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and Invincible Season 3 is currently sitting at 100% on the Tomatometer. It doesn’t seem like DC is slowing down as they continue to drop films such as Superman and Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2, which fans seem quite excited for.
Although, it doesn’t seem like even these films and shows have won over the fans who are tired of Marvel and the superhero genre. When asking moviegoers what they thought about DC and if they’re winning them over with their films, I was met with comments such as “DC is bummy right now. Nothing good.” or “Not yet, but I am excited for that new Superman movie.”
So it seems like, even with DC releasing huge films and taking risks with a complete restart, they’re still struggling to win over Marvel fans who are not even that interested in the MCU. So the question becomes, are people sick of the MCU or just superhero films?
Although it doesn’t look good for the genre, it’s safe to say it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. These films still make a killing at the box office and streaming services alike. Marvel still has a massive lineup of movies to be released in the upcoming months. Disney wouldn’t give up on a product like this no matter how hard they decline, with their seeming thoughts of quantity over quality shown with the rampant releases of Star Wars products and Marvel products. We can see that these films won’t go anywhere as long as they’re backed by these massive corporations and die hard fans as there is too much money left on the table for them to not continue releasing these movies to their audiences.
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