To say it’s been a rough couple of years for the once-prosperous Marvel Cinematic Universe would be an understatement. Fans were looking to “Deadpool & Wolverine” as the film that finally ends the studio’s streak of mediocrity. Director Shawn Levy looked to break the record for the most successful R-rated movie in history and succeeded, delivering a fan-favorite action-comedy in the process.
Roman Medina ‘25 said, “Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool delivered a lot of funny meta jokes, and what made it funny was he wasn’t afraid to poke fun at the state of the MCU and the comic book movie genre as a whole.”
Fans like Roman found Deadpool’s jokes at the expense of the MCU funny because they had some truth to them. As Deadpool remarks, the multiverse, the key aspect of the latest Marvel phase, has not been implemented well by the MCU outside of the Spider-Man films. This correlates with a steady decrease in film quality and lower ratings, setting the stage for San Diego Comic Con where executive producer Kevin Feige revealed the new direction of the franchise.
To the surprise of many fans, this new direction came in the form of Robert Downey Jr. in Doctor Doom robes. The reveal of the most heroic figure of the MCU’s heyday under Doom’s mask threw both the crowd and the internet into a frenzy…for about two seconds. Soon after the initial hype wore off, fans started to question the casting decision.
Fans of Doctor Doom were quick to point out several inconsistencies with the character’s comic book counterpart. For example, RDJ’s Jewish/German background conflicts with Doom’s Romani descent (which plays a large part in Doom’s origin story). This made many fans angry about the casting since this would not be the first time that the MCU whitewashed a Romani character (see Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch).
Rafael Kelly ‘25 said, “This casting decision has the potential to ruin Iron Man’s sacrifice and legacy in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ because he was played by the same actor as the new biggest villain in the MCU.”
Apart from the controversial casting decision for the villain of the next two Avengers films (set to release in 2026 and 2027), fans are worried about jumping into yet another giant multiversal story so soon. “Deadpool & Wolverine” was proof that Marvel Studios can give fans crazy cameos and impressive action, but enthusiasts worry that the studio will rely on cameos too much in upcoming films instead of building up a likeable, modern-day Avengers roster. This has left fans speculating that the studio may be floundering to set up a capable team of heroes for future films.
Marvel Studios is looking to remedy this problem with the upcoming release of “Captain America: Brave New World”. If Marvel can establish Captain America as a strong leader of the future Avengers team before 2026, then all hope is not lost. Despite recent box-office success, Marvel Studios’ future is still as uncertain as ever. The studio will have to work hard these next critical years to determine whether the MCU can maintain relevance into the 2030s and beyond.