Let's Get Reel

I know, Captain America Brave New World isn’t the smash hit that makes people shout “the MCU is back!” but I still think this is the turning point from recent lackluster titles.

The MCU has struggled to keep people engaged since Avengers Endgame. Many of the movies struggled with quality and connectivity with fans continuously begging to see their favorite characters again. It’s been four years since we’ve seen Shang-Chi and we’re just now getting the Captain America movie that Endgame promised in 2019.

Afterall, why should people care if we may have to wait half a decade just to see these characters again?

As these criticisms were mounting, Marvel Studios faced another crisis with Jonathon Majors. It was clear that a new direction was needed.

Let’s dive into the timeline of Marvel’s MCU course correction, how they may have impacted production of Captain America Brave New World, and why we can be optimistic going forward.

2023 Was a Wakeup Call for Marvel

There was a time where Marvel thought they could release both Avengers The Kang Dynasty and Avengers Secret Wars this year. It’s crazy how times have changed.

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania was the first signal to Marvel Studios that they were in trouble. It was a box office disaster and still stands as one of the worst reviewed MCU releases. This is when the studio began doubting Kang’s ability to lead the franchise like Thanos did. Jonathon Majors’ lawsuit all but confirmed a shift away from Kang.

Secret Invasion, The Marvels, and an overall lack of direction drove fan enthusiasm to an all time low. The MCU was not dead as many people wanted you to believe, but a massive change was needed.

The watershed moment was during a Palm Springs retreat in Fall 2023. This is reportedly where the decision to pivot from Kang to Dr Doom was made.

The first signal that things were changing was with Daredevil Born Again. The series famously shot half of its first season before deciding to go back to redo it. This was so pivotal because it proved that Marvel was listening to feedback and was willing to spend time and money to get things right.

This leads us to Captain America Brave New World. It’s the last film that was in production when these decisions were made, marking it the turning point of the Multiverse Saga.

Captain America Brave New World is the Turning Point

Marvel Studios seems to have a clear vision of where things are going. They brought Robert Downey Jr. back to play Dr. Doom, the Russo Brothers to direct the next two Avengers films, and seem confident in their next few releases.

Captain America Brave New World was caught in the middle of all of this. It was clear that Marvel needed to focus on quality which is why they were rumored to have done multiple rewrites and reshoots. Another disaster like Quantumania and The Marvels would’ve hurt their efforts to rebuild fans’ goodwill. Some of these reshoots can be felt in the final product, but I think most people will admit that it was nowhere near as bad as some expected going in.

The future is looking bright. Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four First Steps both went into production after Marvel’s course correction and the trailers have been spectacular so far. The studio has shown a lot of confidence in these films and hope that they will reignite the passion that audiences once had for the MCU.

While Captain America Brave New World is not one of the best additions to the MCU, I think that audiences will look back at this movie as the point where things finally turned back around.

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See Captain America Brave New World in theaters now.