Fresh off the failure of Secret Invasion, the latest revelation from Marvel Studios may have just doomed two of its own upcoming projects.
Marvel hasn’t exactly been in top form lately. While some of its projects – such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – have been well-received by audiences and critics alike, others have bombed in every respect, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and its latest Disney+ series Secret Invasion.
Credit: Marvel Studios
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In fact, the latter has been so poorly received by fans that its finale, “Home,” currently holds the status of the worst-reviewed Marvel project of all time on Rotten Tomatoes, with an overall rating of just 7%.
The series is inspired by the 2008 Marvel Comics storyline of the same name (only with far less involvement from the Avengers). It sees MCU staple Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) uncover a secret invasion of shapeshifting aliens named Skrulls and team up with several allies to save the Earth.
Credit: Marvel Studios
What was billed as a tense thriller of a series has peeved fans in particular with several twists in the aforementioned panned last episode – which (spoiler alert) includes giving Gi’ah (Emilia Clarke) every Marvel superpower ever seen on screen, essentially rendering every other MCU character pointless. It also ends in the exact place it started, with Fury returning to space after leaving the Skrulls in an even worse situation than he initially found them (despite the fact that the series started with him in deep guilt after breaking his promise to help them in the first place, because, yeah).
Unpopular as these twists were, it seems like they’re going to be tougher to sweep under the rug than we initially thought. Secret Invasion director Ali Selim has just confirmed that the Marvel series provides some vital setup for two future Marvel Studios movies: The Marvels (2023) and Armor Wars (release date currently unknown).
Credit: Marvel
During a recent interview with Screen Rant, Selim revealed that he was asked to set up several details for the upcoming projects – including making sure that “Nick Fury [is] up in space” and “that Rhodey’s [Don Cheadle] legs don’t work for Amor Wars.”Of course, every Marvel project interlinks. Part of the MCU’s appeal has always been that each installment weaves more details onto a wider tapestry.
However, this has also been its downfall lately. With so many Marvel films in the past few years and superhero fatigue setting in, keeping track of all the characters and plotlines has proved tough and unpopular enough as it is without factoring in keeping track of plotlines fans would rather forget.
If fans need to have seen Secret Invasion for The Marvels and Armor Wars, this poses two potential problems. The first is that those who have seen it (and disliked it) will tap out now before seeing either project.
Credit: Marvel Studios
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The other is that, well, not many people actually watched Secret Invasion. The series currently ranks as the MCU Disney+ project with the second-lowest viewership (after Ms. Marvel). Anyone who learns that it’s a must-watch before seeing the two films may also just decide that the effort simply isn’t worth the payoff.
Whatever the reason, the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t looking too bright right now. Fingers crossed that The Marvels can turn things around against the odds.
The Marvels is due for release on November 10, 2023. It stars Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Iman Vellani (Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel), and Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau) as the three team up against a threat from the Kree while also trying to solve the issue of why they keep swapping places when they use their powers.
Which future Marvel Cinematic Universe project are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!
It’s not looking good. Read More