Some diehard fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are of the opinion that the constant rollout of interconnected television shows and films might be too much for casual viewers. With stories and plots that are interwoven, and characters that hop from one franchise to another, certain folks are starting to think that regular viewers might start to get overwhelmed.
A Reddit discussion picked up major steam once the issue was brought to the online table, as fans shared their thoughts on the original post asking about Marvel’s back to back superhero offerings.
A standout comment was a fan’s opinion that the rapid and sequential films and series are “going to be too much for casual audiences to keep up with.”
Hardcores will watch everything, though, but your everyday moviegoer might end up missing key plot points when they watch a movie without watching a show, because one notable characteristic about the MCU is the interlaced narratives between feature films and streaming exclusives.
A notable example is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where Wanda Maximoff’s story picked up right from the ending of WandaVision. While it doesn’t necessarily require having watched the series, some fans did complain that they missed integral moments in the Scarlet Witch’s story, and were expecting a strict Doctor Strange sequel.
Many have agreed in the discussion that Marvel is beginning to rush its storylines in an effort to link two or more character plots together.
However, the superfans were happy about the bombardment of Marvel content, with some even citing the pandemic as a major period of drought for them, cinema-wise.
Phase Four of the MCU is still very much on the go, and was the first to introduce episodic content, with WandaVision and Loki kicking things off, and while several films and series have been released since, more are still underway, making it Marvel Studios’ largest phase yet.