With over thirteen shows already airing on Disney’s streaming platform and a handful more already on the way, the MCU has been pushing the boundaries of what “cinematic” truly means in the past couple of years. While the move away from the silver screen and into a more streaming-centric approach has provided hours of new content for avid fans to sink their teeth into, this transformation didn’t come without its consequences. Perhaps the most egregious influence the Disney+ shows have had on the MCU as a whole is the loss of the once tight-knit narrative that held the cinematic universe together.
The MCU’s Formula of Long-Term Planning
The unprecedented success of the MCU has always relied on meticulous long-term planning and interconnected storytelling across films and franchises. Now, with an exponential expansion into streaming TV through shows like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Echo and Secret Invasion, the MCU faces a new era in which the waters have grown murkier and the course less clear.
The WandaVision Experience
Remember when we all crowded around the TV each week to watch WandaVision? At first, it was a thrill ride down sitcom memory lane, with Wanda and Vision acting out our favorite classic shows. But slowly the mysteries mounted, along with Wanda’s powers, until we were on the edge of our seats wondering how everything set by the show would fit into the larger MCU.
As it turns out, the payoff for the whole WandaVision affair was something that could’ve quickly been introduced in the early stages of any MCU film. The only thing worth noting in the show was that Wanda had kids – but they were from another universe. Everything else – from her character development to Vision’s fate – was completely ignored by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
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The Problem of Unnecessary Streaming Shows
That problem highlights another issue with the Disney+ shows: they don’t feel necessary – and that’s because Disney knows these shows aren’t the main attraction in the MCU. Much like one-shot comics, the Disney+ shows should help broaden the scope of the MCU, but you can’t force fans to watch them in order to comprehend what’s going on in the movies.
When put like that, these streaming series don’t sound all that bad – at least, they wouldn’t be, if they were enjoyable. Some Marvel fans might remember the so-called “Marvel One-Shots.” These direct-to-video featurettes expanded the story of the films in usually comical ways, and most of the time were as enjoyable as the movies they were based on.
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An Alternative Approach to Disney+ MCU TV Shows
Perhaps that would have been a better approach to the Disney+ shows: instead of trying to bloat the MCU narrative even more with the series, the platform could have offered an alternative to the mainline MCU storylines. After all, that’s essentially what What If…? and Werewolf by Night did, and those are two of the better MCU Disney+ shows.
The rise of streaming and serialized television has presented new challenges for the MCU and its traditional formula of interconnected films. While the Marvel shows on Disney+ have demonstrated the potential for more character-driven storytelling, there is a risk of the MCU becoming even more disjointed in the long run.
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The MCU’s Current Slump and the Future of Streaming
Now that the franchise finds itself in a slump following the dramatic conclusion of the Infinity Saga, the higher-ups might need to recalibrate their approach to streaming if they wish their fans to stay for another epic saga. If all we have left is movies like Quantumania and shows like She-Hulk and Agatha All Along… the MCU might be in the throes of a cataclysmic event that would make House of M. look like no big deal.
