All right, we know a lot of folks will be tuned out or screaming in angst with the respective title of this document, so we’ll do our best to refrain from allowing it to spiral into an imbroglio. But, if allowed, there is precedence here for a case to be made of why the next Avengers film in 2026 (which has been delayed now to December 18, 2026, after a recent announcement) will not reach the bar of what was a once-mighty franchise that held the fort for the entirety of the 2010s.

So, let’s start with a major disclaimer: most of the films in the post-Avengers: Endgame era have not fit the bill. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who can justify that every film released since then has been worthwhile.

Barring COVID variables and the dual release, Black Widow was a tale of too little, too late for Scarlett Johansson that didn’t add much oomph to the thriller genre aside from a welcoming performance from Florence Pugh. Eternals was a grand visual setpiece, but very draining to sit through with its bathetically verbose and incoherent structuring. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has Sam Raimi flair, yet atrocious storytelling and gratuitous cameos that don’t serve much purpose. Thor: Love and Thunder was a haphazard film that became overly buffoonish to take seriously despite plenty of color, rock beats, and Christian Bale. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania dismantled its tiny hero’s essence and panache in favor of spectacle (and a villain that will probably be placed back on the wall like a tchotchke for the near future). The Marvels contained a neat and refreshing concept, but was prone to another run-of-the-mill villain and monotonous “MacGuffin” plot device structuring. And Captain America: Brave New World was coasting on life support because it desperately tried to mimic its predecessors’ concepts in a dull affair (while reminding you it should’ve been Incredible Hulk 2).

Genuinely, the only MCU films since Endgame that have left a lasting impact are the gargantuan generational events that coasted on nostalgia a la Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine, the fantastic and well-choregraphed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a fitting emotional cap off of a trilogy with our zany misfits in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the deft Black Panther: Wakanda Forever due to the loss of the late Chadwick Boseman. And major flowers for Thunderbolts* in crafting a simple tale on loss and bleakness for a group of anti-heroes trying to find their new place in the ever-evolving world.

Back at the SDCC in July 2024, Marvel announced that Robert Downey Jr. would return to play the villainous Victor Von Doom in the upcoming Doomsday and Secret Wars sequels, along with the Russo Brothers returning to direct. In hindsight, this might be good news, but it’s a mark of two steps backward for Marvel that doesn’t seem to have much faith in its audiences nowadays in the ever-sprawling universe. You see, Marvel Studios had to pull some different characters out of the bag to make them stand out from Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man once the 21st century emerged. They risked it all and put their money on Iron Man, Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, and lesser-known characters to the public. And thanks to some excellent character work and writing, these folks emerged as fan-favorites across the broad spectrum of superheroes, leading the paradigm shift for years in superhero pop culture. Marvel made new stars out of Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Chadwick Boseman, and Tom Holland.

However, they nowadays rely on well-known actors to carry the mantle, such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Florence Pugh, and Angelina Jolie. Going back to Robert Downey Jr. to play a major villain, who has a streak of billion-dollar days with his Iron Man and Avengers involvements from yesterday, is a “leaning back to the past” effort rather than a progressive one. Had his assault charges not been at the forefront, Marvel “might’ve” had a wonderful bet on Jonathan Majors to play Kang thanks to his rising performances, or someone else to play Dr. Doom like a Tom Cruise (ironically once poised to play Iron Man many moons ago) or a Brad Pitt. Another prominent issue is that Marvel started to bank too much of its new territories on the past to secure more viewership/box office totals. Would Doctor Strange 2 have earned as much globally had it not acquiesced to some cheap cameos? Would Deadpool 3 have earned over $1 billion under the MCU banner without Hugh Jackman? Would Spider-Man: No Way Home have seen such success right after COVID and without the involvement of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire?

Pondering aside, there is also a cornucopia of issues that seem to be at Marvel’s doorsteps, aside from their misguided attempt to think that generational nostalgia will solve all their long-term issues (have we learnt nothing from Star Wars?). The multiverse aspirations have been very confounding as they are ridiculous to keep close eyes on. And yes, rewatching the select titles and Disney+ shows may remedy this, but are you in this to watch as a chore or a casual fan? Consequently, the perplexing output means that the massive Avengers sequels must explain this favorably to keep audiences invested and engaged. Remember how Marvel set up Avengers: Infinity War with the monstrous Thanos? Much more delicately and with grace than where we’ve come now. (And lest we forget, let’s hope that someone is working on giving the VFX/visuals teams more time to work on the effects; we don’t need more outbursts of Marvel shunning their talents and prospects.)

So, Marvel will be in a precarious position to deliver next winter with Avengers: Doomsday. Provided it does (and with great optimism it does so with the Russo Brothers back helming), this could be the shot of adrenaline to get the series back to its A+ cinematic destination it was years ago. If not, Marvel will be in the same boat as DC was years ago when they pushed past a Man of Steel 2 at SDCC 2013 in favor of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice: a grave error that led to that universe’s slow demise.