How The MCU Disney+ TV Shows Broke Marvel

Aside from a couple of obvious outliers, the MCU Disney+ shows are in a tailspin and in danger of breaking Marvel entirely. Following the well-publicized flop that was Secret Invasion, Marvel finds itself at a crossroads with some serious creative decisions to make. Thankfully, according to some reports (via Hollywood Reporter), drastic changes are en route for its TV offerings, and with so many streaming shows already in the pipeline for the MCU, it’s not a moment too soon.

Loki season 2 could not have come at a more crucial time for Marvel, reinvigorating the MCU’s Disney+ presence by breaking viewing records and earning critical acclaim after just one stellar first episode. Provided Loki can keep the ball rolling for the remainder of its run – and there is every reason to think it can – it is now up to Marvel to rebuild on that momentum. The moments that brought the MCU to this point, however, are myriad.

Related: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best

With Netflix dominating the streaming world, Disney had to start strong with its own streaming platform. Luckily, it had recently acquired two of the hottest properties in cinema: Marvel and Star Wars. This was in addition to its own iconic cavalcade of animated offerings. Unsurprisingly, then, the order was issued for each of its newest acquisitions to start churning out content for the platform immediately. This was uncharted territory for the MCU, which immediately started treating TV shows like extra-long movies, and hasn’t stopped since. This, to be fair, led to a pretty strong start for the studio as it produced one of the best MCU TV shows so far.

WandaVision is a show that’s quality is rarely up for debate. It took numerous narrative risks as it delved into one of the MCU’s dangerous characters while setting up some hefty stakes for the future of the MCU. For that reason, it also stands as one of the few MCU Disney+ shows that was significantly tied to the big-screen cinematic universe itself. The show was somewhat necessary viewing for anyone who wanted to watch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with a clear view on why Wanda had suddenly become villainous, and what the Darkhold was. This, however, was not a trend that would persist throughout MCU streaming shows.

Marvel’s Disney+ Shows Aren’t Required Viewing For The MCU

While shows like WandaVision and Loki, two of the most-viewed MCU Disney+ shows, urge viewership partly due to their connections to the wider MCU, the need to view MCU Disney+ shows has diminished with successive installments. She-Hulk, for instance, does not necessitate viewing for any of the next big MCU installments, with its most significant beats like Hulk’s Sakaaran son, Skaar, being an easy tidbit to catch for those who didn’t watch the show; it immensely brief reveal, after all. Ironically, that didn’t stop She-Hulk from becoming one of the more watched shows on Disney+.

Of course, making every MCU Disney+ show required viewing is far too tall an order for Marvel to be demanding of its audience. Running shows like She-Hulk that introduce an important character while slotting in piecemeal plot points that connect to the larger picture is a healthy way of running both shows and movies that share the same universe. It does, however, mean that the shows will take a hit on viewership – and that seems to be exactly what has happened with other shows.

Diminishing Viewership On Marvel Disney+ Shows

With She-Hulk being an exception to the rule, recent MCU Disney+ releases have suffered from diminishing viewership at an alarming rate. While She-Hulk rivaled Falcon and the Winter Soldier and beat Moon Knight on ratings, other shows released after Loki Season 1 were not so lucky. Hawkeye, Secret Invasion, What if…?, and Ms. Marvel have garnered 1.8 billion to 3.5 billion minutes in viewership in comparison to Loki‘s and WandaVision‘s 5.2 billion and 4.8 billion, respectively.

It isn’t as if these shows are bad, either. Ms. Marvel is among the better-rated MCU shows, but can also be caught up on via cliff notes rather than a binge-watch ahead of The Marvels’ release. What If…? meanwhile, has no bearing on the wider MCU whatsoever, unless the Multiverse Saga decides to incorporate some of the stars of that particular show – which is unlikely. Secret Invasion, on the other hand, suffered a deeper issue than a weak connection to the wider MCU.

BTS Changes On Marvel Shows Led To Quality Issues

Secret Invasion was a wakeup call to Marvel. It failed to deliver on the impact of the seminal storyline of the same name in the comics, instead offering an underwhelming slog that culminated in not very much at all. Narratively, the show had next to no wider impact on the MCU, instead landing right back where it started. The problem was, not even getting to that point was a particularly enjoyable watch – and the MCU lost two fan-favorite characters in the process. Tragically, Secret Invasion is now the MCU’s worst-rated and only “Rotten” MCU Disney+ show.

Secret Invasion wasn’t made in the typical MCU fashion, with outside executives brought in to run the show, only for them to reach an impasse early in development. This led to multiple shake-ups of the teams responsible for delivering the Fury-led series, and the results of this speak volumes. A rushed plot, unsatisfying payoff, and an overarching sense that this would have been better off as a movie marred what should have been one of the MCU’s most significant releases in Phase 5. The positive part is that it has given Marvel – during the Writers’ Strike – the necessary motivation to switch-up its approach to TV productions.

How Marvel Is Fixing Its TV Process

Although Echo and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries are both slated for release in 2024, and unlikely to undergo any major changes within that time, it looks as though Marvel is overhauling its process for developing TV shows starting with Daredevil: Born Again. The idea of a six-hour movie is being scrapped in favor of more traditional TV format. This means more episodes, less reliance on post-production fixes, and actual showrunners, to name just a few things. The days of producing a movie across six episodes and then making changes are seemingly over for Marvel.

The fact that Daredevil: Born Again is set to comprise 18 episodes is evidence of this. It is also slated to be a less gung-ho depiction of the lawyer-turned-superhero, as Marvel toys with a more grounded approach to telling the stories of its characters via the small-screen medium. This is something that, coincidentally, will begin with Echo, a more street-level depiction of one of Marvel’s most interesting heroes.

How this will affect more visuals-heavy shows like Agatha: Darkhold Diaries and Ironheart does, of course, remain to be seen. There is also the fact that Loki season 2 is currently riding high, despite being the very “six-hour blockbuster” that Marvel aims to veer away from. But to see Marvel react productively to the outcomes of its most recent flops is a positive outcome, and as long as the studio does justice to Daredevil this time round, this could usher a welcome new era of MCU streaming.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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