Summary
Arrowverseproducer Marc Guggenheim weighed in on the current state of rival company Marvel Studios' interconnection of shows and movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His advice to Kevin Feige comes when theMCUfranchise seems to be struggling to maintain what was once an untouchable level of success with fans.
Starting with 2008’sIron Man,theMCUis a large media franchise and an interconnected cinematic universe made up of adaptations and original content revolving around characters, story arcs, and other IPs stemming from the pages of Marvel Comics. The franchise rollouts were split into Phases, allowing fans to easily follow through and join in at any point within the overarching narrative. Over time, the franchise grew exponentially and became a worldwide phenomenon, with the mainline MCU films doing so well that only blockbusters likeTom Cruise’sTop Gun: Maverickcould beat theAvengers' box office record.
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However, the MCU’s popularity has dropped significantly, with the recentSecret Invasionsetting a disappointing new recordfor the Disney-owned franchise. Guggenheim weighed in on the situation during an interview on theAarthi and Sriram YouTube channel. “If I was suddenly in [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige’s role, basically, I would do what Iger was saying, which is prune the tree. You know, there’s just too much content. I’m like the biggest Marvel nerd ever, and I haven’t seen Moon Knight. I just can’t keep up. There’s just too much content.”
Guggenheim comparedThe Winter SoldierandDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessto highlight issues with the MCU’s fourth phase, like how many fans considerhaving to watch the Disney Plus shows too much homework. “That’s the problem. Each of these movies in Phases 1 through 3, they all stood on their own. Look I get it. I think honestly what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going through right now is the same discovery that the Marvel print universe and the DC print universe also went through,” he said. “Which is - I think of these universes like ships, and the longer a ship sails, the more barnacles get attached to its hull, and the more that weighs down the ship and the more it affects how fast the ship can move through the water. And every now and again, you need to do some sort of reboot that scrapes off the barnacles, like ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths.'”
Guggenheim, who admitted tofeeling like he wasted his time on DC’s Arrowverse showsdue to the lack of recognition he got from James Gunn and Peter Safran when they undertook the restructuring of the mainline franchise, certainly speaks for a growing number of his fellow fans. More to the point, he has a different but equally useful perspective as someone who has tackled the issue of keeping an interconnected franchise of disparate shows together cohesively and appealingly. This means that his advice should be considered seriously, no matter how seemingly drastic or unprofitable.
While some fans might not feel that Guggenheim’s radical advice is necessary, it does seem like the MCU is trending more and more towards needing a clean slate to let newer fans in on the action and renew interest from older fans. WithThe Marvelsalready being flaggedfor requiring too much Disney Plus homework, Bob Iger will have to do something about theMCUsituation soon.
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Source:Aarthi and Sriram/YouTube
