Marvel has moved to a new approach, with Phases 5 and 6 lasting just two years each. Why are the new phases of the MCU so short compared to the past?
the UCMPhases are now shorter than ever, with Phase 4 ending this year and Phase 5 lasting just two years. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige always promised that the company would only go to San Diego Comic-Con if they felt they might overdo it. That was certainly the case, with Marvel officially announcing the end of Phase 4 at SDCC 2022 and introducing the slates for MCU Phase 5 and part of Phase 6.
According to Feige, phases 4 through 6 are collectively known as “The Multiverse Saga”. Kang the Conqueror by Jonathan Majors is at the heart of this story after his introduction in Lokiand he will return in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang will only become more important from here on out. avengers 5 is officially titled the kang dynasty. Still, as exciting as the announcements may be, many viewers were a bit surprised to learn that Phases 5 and 6 will only last two years. That’s pretty remarkable compared to previous phases: Phase 1, for example, ran from 2008 to 2012. Marvel seems to be moving into a two-year pattern.
In truth, this approach is probably sensible. the MCU is now a transmedia franchise featuring a range of Disney+ television shows that complement the films and, unlike previous Marvel Television shows, connect to and influence the narratives of blockbuster movies. That means more MCU content is coming out than ever before, and Phase 4 already has more viewing hours than the entirety of Phases 1-3. “The Infinity Saga” lasted 11 years, while “The Multiverse Saga” will last only 5.
Short two-year phases are better for the MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is growing at a prodigious rate, and that’s a challenge for the studio to coordinate, understandably given the task at hand. Unfortunately, this has given Phase 4 a somewhat disjointed feel, with some viewers struggling to identify its overall narrative direction. While the MCU has clearly been establishing a multiversal secret wars eventit’s hard to see how some of the movies and TV shows fit into this arc, which makes the overall story feel more disorienting than before.
Hopefully, the shorter Phases will allow Marvel to counter this problem by considering the narrative of the entire Phase and ensuring that it is more carefully balanced. This may explain the absence of armor wars on the updated slates: It may not have fit into the overall arc, or it may have been folded into something else for a resemblance to another Disney+ TV show. To resolve some of the criticism of Phase 4, Marvel will need to take a much more considered and interconnected approach when it comes to navigating Phases 5 and 6. There are certainly hints of this long-term strategy already, with New world order now serves as the title of both the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the title of captain america 4. It will be interesting to see how Marvel improves its approach to the UCM What “The saga of the multiversecontinues through Phases 5 and 6.
Want more San Diego Comic-Con 2022 coverage? Check out our essential content below…
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: November 11, 2022
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)Release date: July 06, 2018
- guardians of the galaxy vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
- Wonderland/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: July 28, 2023
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