“The Truth is… I Am Iron Man”. The iconic line for Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark kick-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the first Iron Man movie back in 2008. Ever since the franchise evolved and expanded beyond comprehension and currently stands as one of the most star-studded ones in Hollywood. However, the biggest pull and win for this new connected universe truly came with 2012’s The Avengers and its subsequent iterations.
In the span of its first decade or so of existence, its Infinity Saga, as termed officially, featured four Avengers movies including the whopping acclaimed cinematic experience of Avengers: Endgame. The next five years, unfortunately, have settled for a dry spell of any major crossover of that level, barring Spider-Man: No Way Home. Amid all of this, the latest scoop may rather hint at further disappointment despite its positive nature, given the current situation.
Avengers 5 points a double-edged with cast update
At the height of the chaos and slumping repute, the Kevin Feige-led team desperately needs a mega-movie such as Avengers 5 to not only organize its current pool of characters but also streamline its story. Deadline just reported a positive development in this regard with claims of as much as a staggering sixty characters returning to reprise their roles for the in-development crossover, almost doubling down on the thirty-eight prominent characters in Avengers: Endgame.
In sharp contrast, while the decision may bring a massive event to witness for fans on-screen, it also points a gun at the studio’s foot. Unlike the first wave of Avengers movies which came following years of character development and connection, the current cast features a lot of new faces who have had minimal screen time to resonate with the audiences enough and pull in the hype that the last of these mega-movies garnered.
To add to the woes, Marvel is currently passing through its biggest-ever slump. Major disappointments with the likes of The Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania along with a flood of content in the form of Disney+ shows have expanded the universe to a gargantuan scale that has become very hard to keep track of due to lack of continuity between the new projects.
Fans voice their concerns over Marvel Studios’ possible decision
Spider-Man: Far From Home drew the curtains on phase three of the MCU and opened the gates to unlimited potential with the call of the multiverse. Yet, Marvel Studios failed to capitalize on this prospect and brought over some of its worst critical and audience reception to date with the likes of Secret Invasion and the debacle over Jonathan Majors’ immediate firing as Kang, essentially re-writing all plans for Avengers 5.
Taking note of these and feeling the lack of in-universe growth, Marvel fans have grown vary of a big-ticket movie. Several of them took to social media to voice that the fallout of over-stuffing the movie may ultimately be too hard to recover from. Too many new faces, implies limited screen time for each, further lowering the chances of character development.
Do we need this tho??
Just seems like a desperate attempt to revive MCU— mystique (@mystic_k9) June 4, 2024
Oh, so each one's gonna get like 30 seconds of screentime.
— Possum Reviews (@ReviewsPossum) June 4, 2024
Bigger isn't always better. Cramming so many characters into a movie means their screentime is limited so they can't really shine.
This is going to end up a compilation of one-liners and close ups and single action shots of every hero. Zero substance, 100% nostalgia bait.
— 𝚂𝚘𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚓🗿 (@TheSocrateej) June 4, 2024
There’s no build up to it like Avengers had before ….
— TCMFGames (@TCMF2) June 4, 2024
Have they considered adding in a plot? Marvel hasn’t had a good film since Endgame.
— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) June 4, 2024
They might blow a bunch of money just to have their biggest flop.
Success won't come from an all-star cast.
— Joe Soon (@JoeSoon08) June 5, 2024
Mcu is as bloated as a hot air balloon. It's so convoluted
— Amir (@WorkaholicDavid) June 5, 2024
On the flip side, hope lies for Marvel Studios in the upcoming Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman starrer, Deadpool & Wolverine, labeled as a soft reboot. Thereafter, the same reports mentioning Shawn Levy settling in as the director for Avengers 5, Disney vowing to focus on quality over quantity, and Loki season two harmoniously wrapping up the Kang saga, may finally trigger the return of the MCU to its previous glory.
