Why the MCU May Never End the Multiverse Saga

For Marvel Studios, it feels like a time of reckoning. The originally independent production house has enjoyed an unprecedented 15-year run of almost impossible success. What made it so surprising was how the studio subverted conventional wisdom and expectations among audiences and the industry. Yet, it might benefit the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its long-term future if they do away with their “phases,” and the so-called Multiverse Saga simply never ends.

Those old enough to remember a world before the MCU know that, when it launched, it seemed like they were getting started too late into the already-waning “superhero fad.” Star Robert Downey Jr. was a long way from his “Brat Pack” heyday, and director Jon Favreau was still “the Elf guy.” As laid out in the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, each film leading up to Avengers was the product of a desperate studio just trying to make good on a line of credit. After Disney’s purchase, the studio introduced the strategy of organizing the movies into phases. While the post-Avengers: Endgame releases showcase a studio trying to expand its identity, the conglomerate of films its producers called Phase 4 feels disjointed and hard to understand. This current phase is no different. It wasn’t until after Tony Stark snapped his fingers and died that audiences even knew the MCU to that point was called “The Infinity Saga.” The answer might be to simply do away with the phases and let the Multiverse Saga continue in perpetuity.

The MCU Might Be Closer Than Ever to a Total Reboot

Because of the nature of the comic book events, the idea that Avengers: Secret Wars will reboot the MCU existed before the current troubles. No one, probably not even Kevin Feige or Bob Iger, truly knows what Marvel Studios’ future holds. But it’s still a safe bet that by the end of the Multiverse Saga, the multiverse will likely go away. In the old Arrowverse, their Crisis On Infinite Earths miniseries locked the door to other DC Earths until the final episodes of The Flash‘s final season. Once the MCU deals with whatever big multiversal threat that’s coming, that will be it for “incursions” and other such crossovers.

However, it shouldn’t. If Marvel Studios simply never ends the Multiverse Saga, they could both reboot and keep the story going forever. Characters could crossover into the main continuity for a few adventures. Marvel Studios could experiment with uniquely different worlds like those in Eternals or even Werewolf by Night, without worrying about how it will affect Shang-Chi, Groot or any other character not immediately tied to that specific story. It’s not the substances of the phases that are hurting Marvel Studios, it’s the expectations of fans about what each story block should be. Audiences look at films like The Marvels, the studio’s worst box office performer yet, as parts of a whole. Instead, they should (as they did before they knew about MCU phases) take in each film on its own merits, with future connections left to curiosity and fun lists speculating about what the MCU should tackle next.

The Multiverse Presents Marvel Studios With Incredible Opportunities

When he took over DC Studios, James Gunn was quick to say the DC Universe would co-exist with “Elseworlds” movies like The Batman. While most complaints of “superhero fatigue” dismiss why the MCU struggles in 2023, there is one part of it that does ring true. Anyone who wants to get into the MCU for the first time right now has 55 shows and movies to watch to get “caught up.” Although that sounds fun to Marvel Comics fans, it can be intimidating to people who don’t know their Kang from their Victor Timely. A well-positioned multiverse can offer many new “on-ramps” to the MCU. The biggest continuity problem Marvel Studios has with the X-Men was already echoed by Eternals critics. These super-powerful heroes exist in the universe, but never once lifted a finger to help fight the Chitauri, Ultron or any of the other near-world-ending threats MCU heroes face.

With the multiverse, Marvel Studios could drop into a universe where the X-Men and mutants are already established. A kind of soft reboot for the Fox era of mutant movies. The X-Men story could go on unfettered by prior continuity. They can cross into the main MCU, either temporarily or as more permanent fixtures. However, this approach poses a new problem for Marvel Studios. Sometimes, too many choices — where, literally, anything is possible — can lead to poor creative decisions. Yet, even if that happens, the TVA can zip through, prune that timeline and the rest of the MCU goes on unabated. The Multiverse Saga allows Marvel Studios to continue their long-running story while still experimenting and changing as needed. It would also help audiences and fandom speculators to keep away from critiquing the films as part of a still-incomplete whole.

Marvel Studios Is Already Moving to a Multiverse Approach With What If…? and Spotlight

An example of what this all-multiverse-all-the-time approach might look like is everyone’s favorite vigilante lovelorn lawyer. The Daredevil series on Netflix takes place in the MCU, referencing Iron Man and the Battle for New York. Yet, the MCU films ignored these series, so much so the new series, Daredevil Born Again, may not even share continuity with its predecessor. However, it was recently announced the series will be branded “Marvel Spotlight,” meaning these street-level heroic tales don’t have to worry about the larger, cosmic implications of MCU continuity. Similarly, the animated What If…? series, returning for Season 2 at the end of the year, shows the freedom the multiverse gives storytellers. Season 1’s episode where T’Challa is Star-Lord instead of the Black Panther takes familiar characters and situations in entirely new directions. T’Challa even rehabilitates Thanos without half the universe vanishing for five years.

Extending this content-creating dynamic to the movie side could help Marvel Studios inject enthusiasm and variety into a series of movies designed to look like each other. The multiverse is so versatile, it’s almost a storytelling cheat given what’s possible in different “realities.” No longer would the structure of a Marvel phase get in the way of a good story idea. If Marvel Studios wanted to do a buddy team-up movie with former roommates Charlie Cox as Daredevil and Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, they could — providing Sony Pictures allowed it. There could be one-off “What If?” movies that can help them adjust direction or inject new, fresh energy into their storytelling.

The Multiverse Saga Can Mean the End of the MCU’s Phases for Good

While individual viewers’ mileage may vary on the quality of recent Marvel Studios releases, the most die-hard fans are judging the phases, too. After a worldwide pandemic, the biggest pop culture force on planet Earth dedicated most of Phase 4 to meditations on grief and loss. Whether it was WandaVision or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, these stories touched the people who needed them. But, as a series of stories to set up the next cosmic conflict, Phase 4 did not present a tight narrative throughline as well as Phase 1, which led to Avengers, or Phase 3, which led to Infinity War or Endgame.

Since Marvel Studios also introduced television series into the mix, audiences are looking at each phase overall and deciding which movies and shows to watch and which to skip. The core fanbase of the MCU feels that the continuation of this universe is, like Thanos, inevitable. It’s not. Despite making more than $30 billion for Disney, the House of Mouse could give Kevin Feige the heave-ho and go back to the drawing board after a single bad quarter.

While producers can still use phases for their own planning, each story should stand on its own. Keeping the Multiverse Saga going on indefinitely gives them the freedom to do that. They can even wait to see how a particular project performs before making the final call. If Daredevil: Born Again doesn’t work, call it Earth-whatever and try again until it does. The Multiverse Saga is not a high-concept albatross around the studio’s neck, it’s the narrative conceit that gives them license to expand what a “Marvel movie” means further than ever before.

The Marvels is currently in theaters.