It’s Official: Marvel’s Post-Endgame Era Is Over

The post-Endgame era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is officially over, and just in time for Avengers: Doomsday. Avengers: Endgame was a major game changer for the MCU in more ways than one. Endgame had huge implications in-universe, ranging from the Blip and its fallout to Tony Stark’s death, Steve Rogers going into the past, and more. In the real world, however, Endgame had an even bigger impact on the MCU.

It’s no secret that Marvel has been very inconsistent in the years since Endgame premiered in 2019. There have been big hits, namely Spider-Man and Deadpool & Wolverine, but there have also been massive bombs, like The Marvels and Eternals. The MCU has also spawned dozens of television shows that are just as inconsistent, from the highs of Loki to the lows of Secret Invasion.

The post-Endgame era has been defined by that inconsistency and a general sense of directionlessness for the MCU. Phases 4 and 5 started positioning Kang the Conqueror as its new “big bad” only to replace him with Doctor Doom, albeit for real-world reasons. The franchise introduced new characters, like the Eternals and She-Hulk, only to seemingly forget about them entirely. Dozens of new shows cropped up only to end after a single season, with the recently-canceled Wonder Man being just the latest example. Now, however, the post-Endgame era is ending.

After Several Misfires, The MCU Is Finding Its Stride Post-Endgame

After seven years, the MCU is finally ready to exit the post-Endgame era and find a new status quo. Spider-Man: Brand New Day and its record-breaking box office earnings are the biggest sign of that, as it’s the biggest hit the MCU has ever had, even eclipsing Endgame itself. It seems that the MCU is finally finding its stride and developing a new identity, one that isn’t defined by Endgame.

Brand New Day also isn’t the only sign that the post-Endgame era is over. Wonder Man‘s cancelation, for example, is a sign that the MCU has a better plan for the future, one that isn’t as interested in television shows any longer. The lack of appearances from the Eternals and She-Hulk, characters from divisive franchises, also indicates that the MCU is ready to leave the things that didn’t work from Phases 4, 5, and 6 behind.

It’s almost like Phases 4, 5, and 6 were experiments in how to move away from Endgame. Some of those experiments worked, like Loki and Thunderbolts*, while some didn’t, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Marvels. Marvel and Disney were essentially throwing things at the wall to see what stuck, and now that they’ve found out what works and what doesn’t, they can hone in on properties like Spider-Man and the Avengers.

Thanks to Brand New Day, the MCU is back to earning massive box office profits like it was before Endgame. The slate of upcoming MCU movies also indicates that the franchise is done with the inconsistent and controversial plan it had post-Endgame. Projects like Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider movie and announcements like the new Black Panther indicate that the MCU has found a new status quo and is ready for a new era of prosperity.

Avengers: Doomsday Can Cement The MCU’s New Era

The inconsistent and controversial post-Endgame era is over, but it still remains to be seen if the MCU can keep the momentum of this new era. Brand New Day was a tremendous start that proved the MCU and superhero movies at large still have a lot of juice, but it was still just a start. Only Avengers: Doomsday can prove, one way or the other, if the MCU’s new status quo is here to stay.

Doomsday is a chance to prove beyond a shadow of the doubt that the MCU has figured out how to handle itself in the aftermath of Endgame. It will introduce all the building blocks of the franchise’s future, from the X-Men to the new main antagonist, Doctor Doom. As the first film after Brand New Day, it will also have a chance to prove that the MCU can be consistent again, and that profits aren’t tied directly to the wild popularity of specific characters like Spider-Man.

If all goes well, Doomsday will be essentially a reboot for the MCU. Kevin Feige has said there will be a new simplified universe after Secret Wars, which means the end of the Multiverse Saga is a chance to get rid of all the bloat and failed experiments of the post-Endgame era. This movie is also going to set the tone for the next chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Hopefully, it will give the franchise a good starting point to continue this new era of prosperity.

Movie(s)

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, ​The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Werewolf by Night , The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, The Punisher: One Last Kill

TV Show(s)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Wonder Man, Echo, Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda

Cast

Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors