The information got here, as such information so typically does, at that annual summit of studio hype and mental property promotion, San Diego Comedian-Con. Robert Downey Jr. — newly minted Oscar-winner, a star emancipated from green-screen obligation — will be returning to the franchise that revived his career, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not, thoughts you, to the function of Tony Stark, the mogul-turned-superhero he performed for a couple of decade, beginning with the primary MCU installment, Iron Man. No, Downey might be entering into the armor of a special character: arguably essentially the most iconic Marvel supervillain of all of them, Physician Doom.
The followers there in Corridor H naturally went wild. How might they not? It was like a stay model of one of many cameo appearances we’ve come to count on in an precise Marvel film: From the studio that introduced you John Krasinski as Mr. Improbable and Chris Evans as a special superhero he performed for a special studio comes… Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark as Victor Von Doom. Or one thing like that.
On the danger of sounding like a complete celebration pooper, isn’t there really one thing type of… determined about all this? Luring Downey again with a boatload of cash ($100 million, if estimates are to be believed), coaxing fellow Marvel alums the Russo brothers to direct one other two Avengers films — these are the strikes of a studio in retreat. Beneath the roar of applause, you might hear the panic of executives satisfied that the one option to climb to the summit of Hollywood once more is to maneuver backward, to transparently pressure for the victories of the previous.
Not so way back, it felt like Marvel might solely look ahead — to the following crossover, to the following summer time, to the enjoyable you’ll have later should you preserve tuning in. Essentially the most damning case you might make in opposition to films like Iron Man 2 was that they operated like glorified previews for different films: a cinema of coming points of interest, at all times teasing what’s on the distant horizon. After all, that paid off huge time with Avengers: Infinity Warfare and Avengers: Endgame, the one-two punch end result of each MCU blockbuster that got here earlier than, rewarding the patronage of the devoted with an all-purpose climax that smashed collectively each toy Marvel had dropped into the sandbox over the prior decade.
However how do you retain audiences invested in a narrative that reached such a pure endpoint it was referred to as Endgame? The Marvel films launched within the wake of that box-office phenomenon have lacked the sense of ahead momentum that outlined the primary three “phases” of the MCU. If the mosaic plotting of the franchise has at all times been a triumph of branding greater than anything, current entries have didn’t create the impression of a bigger story price monitoring. It doesn’t assist that the collection has misplaced its most interesting anchors of character: Iron Man and Captain America. And the characters launched since, like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, haven’t precisely crammed these large boots.
Since 2019, it’s been amount over high quality for Marvel. Little greater than a month ever passes and not using a film or a Disney+ collection hitting the market. That oversaturation might have glad stockholders (and saved the roles of executives who solely should keep away from dangers), however it hasn’t essentially grown and even fully held onto the viewers. Rushed via manufacturing — and generally into theaters with unfinished results — the films themselves have gotten worse. And that’s been mirrored within the smooth turnout for cruddy blockbusters like Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Marvels. As Deadpool tells Wolverine in final month’s please-let-this-work team-up, “You’re becoming a member of at somewhat little bit of a low level.”
Marvel is, after all, nonetheless churning out loads of hits — Deadpool & Wolverine being the newest instance. However the studio’s grasp on the creativeness (and wallets) of the moviegoing public has undeniably slackened. So it’s no large shock to see Kevin Feige and firm seeking to yesterday. In that respect, the Multiverse has proved a helpful gimmick. In the event you’re hemorrhaging widespread characters and failing to switch them with widespread new ones, why not go digging round in film historical past for some ringers? It’s largely paid off to this point. Spider-Man: No Manner Residence, with its trio of web-swingers, almost equaled the success of Endgame. And the current Doctor Strange and Deadpool sequels have each drawn audiences to theaters in huge numbers with the promise of seeing acquainted faces from different universes.
As for bringing again Downey, that may nearly definitely get butts in seats, too. There’s no motive to conclude that it could possibly’t work creatively as properly. Any comedian reader will inform you that turning the great man into the unhealthy man is a reliably entertaining twist on method. And given how a lot Tony Stark looms over this complete franchise, there’s lots the filmmakers can do to toy with the associations of the viewers and the characters alike — assuming, after all, that Downey’s Physician Doom is a model of Stark and never a complete completely different character. That can be odd.
Nonetheless, Downey’s return betrays uncertainty about how you can proceed. It says that everybody in cost is sweating the way forward for the MCU and banking closely on its previous. The general impression is that Marvel is in its ouroboros period, devouring its personal tail to maintain from ravenous. That doesn’t appear to be the soundest technique for long-term success. Avengers: Secret Wars, coming in 2027, will seemingly play like one large contract negotiation, arranging for appearances by each recognizable actor who’s ever slipped on the costume of a Marvel superhero. However then what? As soon as the cameo provide is exhausted, how do you retain individuals hooked?
For this large, ongoing, ungainly franchise to outlive, it’s going to should do greater than merely retrace its personal steps and organize periodic hits of spot-the-reference dopamine. Feige must make individuals keep in mind why they fell in love with Marvel within the first place — with new characters price following, with new tales price telling, with new films price lining up across the block for. In any other case, ultimately, it actually might be doomsday for the Avengers.
For extra of A.A. Dowd’s writing, go to his Authory page.
