Commercial success, however, doesn’t always directly correlate with quality. And a downward drift for the Disney-owned unit raises legitimate questions about whether Marvel’s efforts to feed the parent studio’s streaming service, Disney+, have contributed to diluting its output.
Marvel has also entered into what amounts to a throat-clearing phase after the epic conclusion of the Thanos-Avengers saga, so a degree of resetting the playing field was anticipated. Plus, there’s another huge sequel, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” due later this year.
Even so, the flaws in “Eternals” — a movie that seemingly bit off more than it could chew in adapting a little-known commodity — and now “Thor’s” shortcomings feel like invitations to debate whether any of that is attributable to a content glut.
Marvel, of course, has excelled at playing a very long game, beginning with its audacious plan to produce a quartet of movies building toward “Avengers.” Everything since has proceeded along that trajectory, adding dimension (and dimensions) to its cinematic universe.
The big unknown hovering over Marvel’s approach, though, has always been on its ability to keep building outward without draining the core. To the extent Disney+ has fueled demand for Marvel titles featuring lower-profile heroes, it seems logical, even inevitable, that those efforts would place greater strain on the theatrical portfolio.
Does any of this mean Marvel and Disney should be hitting the panic button? Hardly. But it does raise a few warning flags.
Thanks to streaming, Marvel finds itself with another very hungry mouth to feed. That doesn’t automatically lead to a higher percentage of misfires, but it does increase the chances that trying to keep everyone satisfied will be met less often with “Thunder”-ous applause.
