IS THE AGE OF THE SUPERHERO FILM DEAD?

By Onochie Onyekwena

For more than ten years, superhero movies ruled the global box office, captivating audiences with larger-than-life characters and breathtaking action scenes. Marvel and DC, the two big players in this genre, kept making successful movies, creating movie universes that were unbeatable.

Marvel started this trend with ‘Iron Man’ in 2008, which kickstarted what we now know as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Some of these movies made over a billion dollars (like ‘Avengers,’ ‘Infinity War,’ and ‘Endgame,’ etc.).

DC tried to compete with their own universe called the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which was not as successful as the MCU but still had some hits (‘Wonder Woman,’ ‘Aquaman’).

But now, things have changed for Marvel and DC at the box office. People are talking about the possibility of getting tired of superhero movies. Is the ‘Superhero Movie Fatigue’ real?

Marvel’s Challenges

The MCU used to be really popular, with movies that connected and became massive hits. But lately, their movies haven’t been doing as well. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ wrapped up a big story, leaving the other movies struggling to be as exciting. Movies like ‘Eternals’ and ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ got good reviews but didn’t make as much money as before.

Some people worry that there are too many superhero movies now, and the characters aren’t as interesting as they used to be. In the past, the MCU took time to develop characters like Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Thor, and people cared about them. Now it feels like that’s missing. Stark is dead, Rogers is gone, and Thor isn’t the same.

The new characters seem dull or don’t have much personality. Recently, ‘Antman And The Wasp: Quantumania’ didn’t do well at the box office, ‘Wakanda Forever’ didn’t meet expectations, and some Marvel shows on Disney+ got bad reviews (like ‘Secret Invasion’).

There’s also the terrible writing and the shoe-horning of “woke” themes that tend to create weak characters and hurt the story rather than strengthen it (She-Hulk, Secret Invasion, Ms Marvel).

DC’s Struggles

DC Comics tried to make their universe to compete with Marvel, but it’s been tough. Even though they had some hits like ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Aquaman,’ it’s been hard for them to make everything fit together. Trying too hard to chase after the MCU instead of moving at their own pace has caused DC to release some forgettable films (Birds of Prey, Suicide Squad, Black Adam) and their own critically panned version of The Avengers, “Justice League.”

The studio couldn’t make their movies feel consistent, and important actors left, making it even harder for them to compete. More recently, ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ and ‘The Flash’ didn’t do well in theatres. ‘Blue Beetle’ only made $81,501,809 worldwide in two weeks, even though it cost $104 million.

People’s Preferences Are Changing

Apart from getting tired of too many superhero movies, people want different kinds of stories now. They want storytelling that’s new, familiar and less preachy with woke nonsense. Folks go to see superhero movies to be entertaining and live the live-action of their favourite book characters, not to be beaten over the head with some politically correct message and told they are “-ists” and “-phobists” when they dislike the content.

Also, after almost 50 movies in almost 20 years, people want more complex stories that go beyond the usual hero versus villain stuff.

Streaming Services Are Changing Things

Streaming services are changing the way people watch things. Now, there’s a lot of different content to choose from. Because of this, some superhero shows and movies are moving to streaming platforms like Disney+ and HBO Max. This can be good because it lets them tell deeper stories, but it also means people might not feel the need to see these stories in theatres.

Nevertheless, the streaming superhero content needs to avoid the Disney + route that gives the viewer too much to follow. Seeing that there’s an interconnected universe, it feels more like homework to watch every single movie and series to tie up loose ends. For instance, you’d have to see “WandaVision” to understand why Scarlett Witch is suddenly the protagonist in “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.”

Is The Ride Over?

Marvel and DC movies and shows are having a hard time at the box office, and this makes us think about the future of superhero movies. It’s too early to say that superhero movies are ending, but things are changing. These studios need to deal with people getting tired of superhero movies, changing tastes, focusing on the story over the message and being wiser on weaving storylines for streaming platform content.

To succeed, Marvel and DC need to come up with new ideas and stories that fans and everyone else will love. The survival of superhero movies depends on being able to change, come up with new things, and show heroism in new ways as movies keep changing. We want to keep seeing superhero films, but not one we’ve seen 20 times before.