Credit: Marvel StudiosThe Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of great movies and characters, but over the past 15 years, the franchise has made some fatal flaws that might lead to a MCU reboot one way or another.
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Kevin Feige has done wonders. Ten years of storytelling led to one of the greatest moments in comic book history. Avengers: Endgame (2019) was THE moment. The MCU finally had all of the pieces in place. The Avengers against Thanos (Josh Brolin) with the stakes as high as possible. The 3-hour film managed to tell one epic story that still amazes fans.
With moments like Tony Stark’s sacrifice, Cap’s final stand against Thanos, and Spider-Man’s reunion with Iron Man, it’s clear that Marvel could tell stories that mattered and ended the saga with a beautiful twist that made everything worth it. Now, the MCU is struggling to keep up. After years of wowing fans, the narrative has changed. Marvel is failing to deliver, and their desire for bigger stories is alarming because the smaller stories aren’t being handled properly. There are several reasons why Marvel needs to reconsider what they are doing, but here are five for why a reboot is actually necessary:
5. The MCU’s Plot Needs a Rework
Fans know that Thanos’s blip affected everything in the MCU, but if another super hero appears after the Mad Titan’s shocking twist, it’s just a messy ordeal. That’s because Marvel has to convince fans that heroes like the Eternals had a reason not to interfere, but it doesn’t matter what Marvel Studios says. It still feels cheap and like a never-ending plot hole for the franchise.
With the X-Men and Fantastic Four joining the franchise soon, it’s clear that the MCU has its own fair share of problems. When the MCU began, they didn’t have the X-Men or Fantastic Four to guide the MCU. Just the Avengers, and now that they got the rights, the franchise has to write a bizarre reason for why Mutants suddenly exist and why none of those heroes were around to stop Thanos.
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A reboot helps alleviate these problems because whoever the big bad is, Marvel can start their stories from the very beginning and have a new franchise where Mutants have been around for decades, and people like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark can work with Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. Since the MCU has killed off some of their iconic Avengers or left them in a weird spot, some stories are no longer possible to tell, and having a new structure within the MCU would really help.
4. Marvel’s Hall of Heroes Needs A Refresh
Sometimes, Marvel adds heroes way too late into the MCU and misses out on some amazing stories. Daredevil and Spider-Man should easily be intertwined, but the MCU focused on Spidey and Tony Stark’s story instead, and while that worked, Tom Holland’s story in an MCU reboot could focus on working with Charlie Cox’s Daredevil.
Phase Five of the MCU might focus on building this relationship, but both heroes will have their own stories told beforehand, leaving some stories unable to be told. There are plenty of other stories that just can’t happen right now. With Black Widow gone, Marvel could use her sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh), to tell some stories, but it wouldn’t be the same. Even some of Captain America’s stories can’t be told anymore because Steve Rodger isn’t around, and while this works, the MCU’s adaptation of some heroes like Ironheart only proves that a reboot could’ve done it better.
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New heroes mean new beginnings for the MCU, and sometimes, the best time to start something with new heroes is a reboot. Take the DC Universe for example. James Gunn isn’t rebooting DC by repeating what Marvel did and retelling origin stories again for fans. No, the franchise will start with plenty of heroes making the universe feel lived in, starting in Superman: Legacy (2025). Marvel could learn from this and make a reboot feel lived in but decide who gets the spotlight this time.
Maybe the Avengers take a back seat and Marvel can focus solely on the X-Men franchise for a while and then build up the group for an epic showdown against the Avengers. If some actors don’t have an interest in playing the role for years, Marvel can work around that without having to worry. Tony Stark doesn’t have to be the face of the MCU every reboot, but at least the character is around.
3. A New Bold Style for the Franchise
The franchise won’t move forward if Marvel continues to tell their stories with the same formula. Changing how they tell stories would be very important. One easy way to do this is by having a new reboot focusing solely on characters and more on how the character grows in a certain story rather than focusing on an epic, action-packed adventure.
This storytelling style will help tell more mature stories in the MCU, but it will be a fresh breath of air for the franchise because it would be fantastic if each project is treated like a character study. While each story can be widely different, having a new formula for the MCU could go a long way toward building up a new, strong franchise.
2. The MCU Can Now Tell More Dynamic Stories
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One thing about reboots is that every project in these Sagas could focus on one certain goal. Having one saga be all about the Skrulls while another one is about a big bad like Galactus would help guide the Avengers or any Marvel super heroes towards an endpoint like Endgame without dealing with finding space for other projects. No one says that Marvel can’t do projects outside of Sagas, but keeping certain movies and shows together to tell one narrative would really help build a narrative that fans can follow more closely.
Knowing that every story for that Saga is important and relevant helps fans see projects they probably wouldn’t have. This would keep Marvel’s engaged audience around longer and tell more compelling stories than the Infinity Saga could do. While Thanos’s story was epic and well-written, fans didn’t get hints about Thanos right away, as one movie did a small thing with an Infinity Stone but focused on another story entirely.
1. A Reboot Happens After A Saga is Over
This new format will keep the MCU fresh and in a better state. Fans know that if one Saga isn’t something they are pleased with, maybe the next one will be more interesting. With each reboot, Marvel can make some bold decisions and tell epic stories and have characters like Tony Stark make the sacrifice or die because it won’t ruin the actor’s career. Tony Stark can appear again in another reboot, maybe with the same actor, and tell a different story, but since each Saga is focused on one story, it’s not like their character arc will be ruined.
The Multiverse Saga offers the chance to rewrite how Marvel makes stories because it could be that after Kang the Conqueror, fans could expect a saga dedicated to newer super heroes, but won’t have to worry about characters like Captain America being gone and out of the picture. If anything, fans would probably be happy to see heroes return with a fresh start because some of the stories they wished they could see might happen in the new reboot now that Marvel has acquired more rights. Maybe Spider-Man could play a bigger role in some movies or shows because Tom Holland can play an older Spider-Man.
Marvel can keep their original structure and release a few phases every Saga, but fans are growing tired of Marvel playing it safe and not telling stories that matter. Loki Season 2 will focus on the Multiverse, but Echo probably won’t. Ironheart will probably focus on introducing the super hero and not on the huge impending threat to the Multiverse, leaving fans disinterested. Why watch a show that won’t affect the franchise? It’s only a matter of time before the reboot happens, but Marvel better do it sooner rather than later.
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