How Would You Save The Marvel Brand?

[Detective Conan]

It’s no secret Marvel has been going through some troubles recently. Their recent slew of movies have either underperformed or flopped, and a lot of streaming shows have been a tad bit underwhelming(to say least). The heydays of the Infinity Saga are long behind Marvel, and they’ve seem to have entered a slump quality and commercial wise.

So I poise this question to you. If you were in charge of Marvel Studios and you were tasked with figuring out how to restore the brand back to its glory days what you do?

 

[Spider-Fan]

My approach would be simple:

1 - Avengers movie ASAP in the slate

2 - End Multiverse Saga imminently. Not outright dump it, but end it. Get Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars out FAST

3 - Build next Saga around the Mutants, but still have the Avengers

4 - To end Phase 1 of Mutant Saga, Avengers vs X-Men....not my favorite story, but the concept will get hype

5 - D+ content will focus mainly on street level heroes and will not have ginormous 200-300 mil budgets

6 - More selective about movie franchises. I love ya Rhodey and Eternals and such, but we gotta focus on 3 films per year and focus more on characters we know people love already. Introduce the oddball new hero like Shang-Chi here and there, but streamline it.

7 - Make sure characters dont go like 4 years between appearances for our major players

8 - Avengers movie every Phase. The idea that they're saga enders is dumb. It's best way to get major players visibility

I may add more later, but these are first changes I would make.

 

[Lip]

All the above.

Also, we all want and love crossovers and big events. That's what made the MCU so popular. But make it less complicated. Don't force the audience to watch 7 movies and 12 tv shows just to watch another movie. Following the MCU should be fun, not an exausting task.

And if you're going to tie a show with a movie, plan them very well to make sense.

 

[Link]

Streamline is the keyword. This franchise used to be planned to a T, we need to go back to that. Quality over quantity, there's no need to have so many projects that seemingly don't even make a dent in the big picture that is the MCU. I don't want to feel like my time is being wasted with material that isn't good enough or even relevant, that exists solely to fill an annual corporate quota. I want to feel excited again, instead of feeling like I'm watching their material out of obligation or habit. There are already plenty of good suggestions in this thread, I firmly believe Disney can save the franchise, there just needs to be a shakeup, a big one.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Bring back the Russos.

Knock Dr Doom and the X-men out the park.

 

[Iceman]

Team events at the end of every phase need to be compulsory. The first phase without and it became a separate collection of tons of superhero content which couldn’t keep casuals engaged. The shows can’t be compulsory viewing as too much of the GA haven’t seen them. Even most comic fans haven’t seen them all.

 

[Maestro216]

Bring the Avengers back not some off shoot kids version. Get rid of Kang in one film drop the variants.

 

[psylockolussus]

Kill the Marvel Sony movies.

2 movies per year - maXimum.

Fast track another Avengers, Spidey, Strange and Black Panther.

Save Thunderbolts/Blade when the brand is much stronger.

 

[CB Fan]

No more Disney+. I actually think that would help more than just Marvel. Rename it Disney Vault and only have movies and shows from the past and then add new movies a year or so after blu ray release. If that’s too much then only have animated shows on Disney+ ran by someone other than Feige. His focus needs to be on movies and the mcu needs to go back to being a big screen only brand.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

I think they just need to start actually utilizing all these new characters they introduce.... an show that its all connected still

 

[psylockolussus]

No more Disney+. I actually think that would help more than just Marvel. Rename it Disney Vault and only have movies and shows from the past and then add new movies a year or so after blu ray release. If that’s too much then only have animated shows on Disney+ ran by someone other than Feige. His focus needs to be on movies and the mcu needs to go back to being a big screen only brand.

I am curious what effect it would have on Marvel Studios' quality control IF they were to go back to making movies only. The shows aren't really popular so even if they don't make 1 for the neXt 3 years, I doubt there would be an outcry. Also they've released about 10 shows since 2021. Thats a lot in 3 years.

As I said few years ago, the more shows they produce, the more likely people would cherry pick what to watch. By the time, they released their 20th MCU show for Disney+, are people still going to be eXcited for it? I already skipped the 2nd season of What If? because I just don't feel like I need to watch it.

Getting rid of the shows wouldn't solve the brand fatigue in the cinemas, and future Marvel movies may still flop like The Marvels, but I think quality control, it could make a difference.

 

[Darkprime]

Start by bringing back Iron Man and Captain America through multiversal variants. Both get recruited by shield in secret. Iron Man acts as a secret government agent a call back to when Fury/SHIELD said he should be a consultant. Going around recruiting new heroes like F4 and the X-Men taking the Nick Fury role from Phase 1. Doesn't get involved in the action only on rare occasions. Steve Rogers is recruited as a secret Spy going on high risk infiltration missions for shield. Hes forced to drop the name Captain America as it's now publicly Falcons. He calls himself Nomad going forward.

 

[Jack Reacher]

At this point, it would be a very tall order to save the MCU. It's fallen too far and audience apathy has sunk in.

So much truth in this:


Deadpool 3 will be a success, because it plays off the idea of the MCU being a joke. But the films that come after (Captain Falcon, Thunderbolts etc) that require the audience to take this universe and characters seriously again... are likely screwed.


IMO the DCU is in a better place right now to build an effective boy brand (with Superman, Batman, Robin, GL etc) for younger audiences in the way that Marvel did during it's first phases.

All these Phase 4/5 characters are probably quite lame to kids/teens and don't have the same appeal. It doesn't compare to the days when they had a very charismatic Ironman, and Cap, Hulk, Thor, T'Challa/Black Panther, Spider-man, and to a lesser extent Starlord/Guardians, as the flagship characters of the MCU. Back up a money truck to Tom Holland and Sony, and make Spider-man the central character of the MCU at this point. That's probably their best chance, because NWH is the one post-Endgame film that truly delivered a 4-quadrant blockbuster that exceeded expectations, and Spider-man is still insanely popular with younger audiences.

 

[Chris B]

Cutting back on content and being more thoughtful about who and what gets a movie, TV series, or even just a special. Secret Invasion really should have served as the basis for a Captain Marvel or Avengers film. The likes of Daredevil and She-Hulk lend themselves to a series, but for a character like Agatha Harkness, a special presentation suffices.

On a related note, the shows shouldn't be required viewing to understand the films. The Marvels in particular fell into this trap. The shows just aren't going to reach as broad of an audience as the films.

Sneaking in an Avengers film before Kang Dynasty would also be wise. Infinity War and Endgame worked in large part because we were invested in the team beforehand and the character dynamics had already been established. I'm skeptical of saving that for the films that are going to wrap up the Multiverse Saga.

And to state the obvious, ensure that the Fantastic Four and X-Men stick the landing with their introductions. Those two properties are really the ace in the hole to breathe new life into the MCU.

 

[Zant]

Kill the Marvel Sony movies.

2 movies per year - maXimum.

Fast track another Avengers, Spidey, Strange and Black Panther.

Save Thunderbolts/Blade when the brand is much stronger.

Lol... Sony movies are not the reason why the Marvels had an almost 80 percent second weekend drop or why Secret Invasion was one of the worst shows of last year.

Also, expect a big box office drop for the next Strange and Black Panther films

They should follow DC and do a complete reboot after Secret wars..

 

[psylockolussus]

Lol... Sony movies are not the reason why the Marvels had an almost 80 percent second weekend drop or why Secret Invasion was one of the worst shows of last year.

Also, expect a big box office drop for the next Strange and Black Panther films

They should follow DC and do a complete reboot after Secret wars..

It doesn't matter if you think it has no effect. The thread is talking about the Marvel brand, which is Sony Marvel movies are connected to, so lol that.

Outside of these forums, people will still see Madame Web, Kraven, Venom 3 as Marvel movies especially when the Marvel logo shows up.

 

[kguillou]

1. Streamline: two movies and two D+ shows a year. Making each one more special.

2. Bring back story threads between movies. Get back to making each movie feeling like a piece of the larger puzzle. This is what was getting audiences hooked and made each film feel integral to watch.

3. Similar to #2 but ENOUGH with these stupid gag post credit scenes. Lets get back to making post credits scenes EXCITING again. Leave the audiences going “OH S***!!” When they leave the theater. I cant tell u how manh times these movies end with a gag and you could just FEEL the palpable disappointment of the people in the crowd feeling like they wasted their time sitting thru credits (this goes for DC too).

4. Start building to Dr Doom. Lets start introducing this character and building up his rise to villainy throughout several movies. Not just Fantastic Four movies.

5. NAIL FANTASTIC FOUR. Fantastic Four cannot just be a good movie, it HAS to be spectacular and land in a similar way the first Guardians of the Galaxy landed. They need to make the team the new lynchpin of the MCU going to forward along with….

6. X-MEN! Lets get to the Xmen already. Theyve been teasing us enough. Its time to bring in the mutants and have them and the F4 be the future of the MCU (and Spider-man).

7. Rebuild the Defenders on D+. Starting with Daredevil Borg Again, lets start rebuilding the street level mcu heroes and do Defenders right this time. And make the D+ grittier and more adult than the stuff we get in the movies.

 

[SPO2 Dalisay]

No more Disney+. I actually think that would help more than just Marvel. Rename it Disney Vault and only have movies and shows from the past and then add new movies a year or so after blu ray release. If that’s too much then only have animated shows on Disney+ ran by someone other than Feige. His focus needs to be on movies and the mcu needs to go back to being a big screen only brand.

Unfortunately Disney is the boss, not Marvel. And The Mouse is demanding that their investment puts out and earns its keep. But then most of the loved content was already picked up on disc by the fan base before the exclusive streamer was a thing.

Unlike the comics real life actors are aging out before they can get to the event movies due to a real life COVID and strikes Blip. So they might as well reboot the entire thing instead of the soft reboots of turning back to Netflix's efforts here and fixing whatever is wrong with Blade and the 45 year old Falcon there.

 

[TheVileOne]

Abandon Multiverse and Kang.

Immediately figure out how you want to introduce Dr. Doom and X-Men.

Introduce Mutants and Wolverine in a Hulk vs. Wolverine type of story. Wolverine starts as a Department H/Alpha Flight agent teams up to fight Hulk who is being framed. Eventually teams up with Hulk to fight Wendigo and/or Weapon X a-holes. Maybe Weapon X experimenting on Hulk and Wendigo. They did something to Hulk/Banner that makes him lose control of his transformations again. Maybe it even causes the creation of Gray Hulk/Fixit.

At the end, Wolverine leaves Dept. H and accepts offer to join the X-Men primarily because of Heather. Grows disenfranchised with Canadian government and anti-Mutant sentiment.

 

[MarvelFan]

It kinda infuriating me to agree with him but Bob Iger said that not every character needs a 3th, 4th film...and so on. And I agree with that sentiment. as much as I love Thor, I think a 5th movie isn't necessary unless they make it with new direction (the last one eventhough it was fun but I kinda dissappointed with it)

And introducing Kang in an Ant Man movie was a mistake imo...
if there is one property that suits to properly introduce and build up Kang, it's F4.

 

[TheVileOne]

It kinda infuriating me to agree with him but Bob Iger said that not every character needs a 3th, 4th film...and so on. And I agree with that sentiment. as much as I love Thor, I think a 5th movie isn't necessary unless they make it with new direction (the last one eventhough it was fun but I kinda dissappointed with it)

And introducing Kang in an Ant Man movie was a mistake imo...
if there is one property that suits to properly introduce and build up Kang, it's F4.

Marvel's approach to Ant-Man has always been sub-par for refusing to make Hank Pym the main Ant-Man and Janet Van Dyne the main Wasp. No one cares about Hope. Hope had nothing to do in Quantumania. She was barely even a character in that film.

Hank Pym's biggest storyline in the comics is creating Ultron and they gave that to Tony Stark.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Scott was fine as Ant-Man. The issue really comes down to the Ant-Man films were good low stakes romps, and they took him out of what people liked about the first 2 movies. That's what killed Quantumania.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

They made a massive mistake trying to use Kang to prop up an Ant-Man movie when they were also prepping the character to be the next Thanos in the whole saga. They shot themselves in the foot just to make Payton Reed happy because he didn't want to helm "palate cleanser" Ant-Man movies anymore.

 

[psylockolussus]

It kinda infuriating me to agree with him but Bob Iger said that not every character needs a 3th, 4th film...and so on. And I agree with that sentiment. as much as I love Thor, I think a 5th movie isn't necessary unless they make it with new direction (the last one eventhough it was fun but I kinda dissappointed with it)

And introducing Kang in an Ant Man movie was a mistake imo...
if there is one property that suits to properly introduce and build up Kang, it's F4.

Considering we have yet to get a 3quel for Black Panther/Dr. Strange, a Thor 5 really feels redundant to me.

Also the X-Men.

 

[MarvelFan]

They made a massive mistake trying to use Kang to prop up an Ant-Man movie when they were also prepping the character to be the next Thanos in the whole saga. They shot themselves in the foot just to make Payton Reed happy because he didn't want to helm "palate cleanser" Ant-Man movies anymore.

Well...to be fair to them, they also sneaked in Thanos in the first Guardians.
Granted, Thanos wasn't the integral part to the plot the same way as Kang in Quantumania, as Thanos was merely on the screen for 1 minute tops, and the most important thing is that he didn't got beaten up in his first appearance. Lol.

The point is I think Marvel thought that swooping a major villain on any movie will get them a massive hype as it did Thanos in the first Guardians. And not to beat a dead horse but yeah, introducing Kang as the next Thanos level villain in an Ant Man movie (and got beaten up on the top of that) is a massive mistake, and even now Marvel still trying to salvage the fallout (not all their fault though as it was more because of Jonathan Majors)...but if they could've wait a little longer to introduce him, they wouldn't be in this mess.