Marvel has been dominating the box office for at least half a decade at this point. Its two latest installments, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, are currently in the top 10 highest grossing films of all time.
Disney is hoping to get into the streaming service industry with Disney+. With their high-quality IPs in animation, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s a no-brainer for the company to try and capitalize on that immense popularity.
The Mandalorian seems to be the most anticipated show on the service’s docket so far in my opinion. It has a budget of a high-quality HBO series and with the brilliant Jon Favreau spearheading the project, there’s no reason to worry there.
So, after seeing that, I was immediately on board with the idea of Disney+. That was until a few days ago when the service’s name was officially announced. Along with The Mandalorian, Disney also announced a prequel series to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story starring Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor.
Okay…that’s not something I necessarily wanted to see but maybe it could be good. Then I continued to read more of the new shows, particularly on the Marvel end. The rumors from a few months ago were indeed true as we now know that Loki and Scarlet Witch would be receiving solo shows. Falcon and Winter Soldier would also make an appearance on Disney+ for their own team-up limited series.
(Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War)
At this time, I have no desire to see any of these characters, even for a short six to eight episode span. Not only does this upcoming Loki series dilute the decision to kill the character off in Infinity War, but it also destroys any empathy I have left for him. His arc in Thor: Ragnarok and his willingness to become a “hero” at the beginning of Infinity War was a fitting end for him. It was also a great way to introduce us to Thanos. In the movie’s first five minutes, The Mad Titan creates a moment by brutally killing The Avengers’ first villain. With the announcement of this series, it completely unravels that epic moment.
To be fair, the God of Mischief is known for faking his death and a lot of people are huge fans of Tom Hiddleston in the role. It was inevitable for Loki to make a grand return somewhere down the line. However, announcing this not even a year after his character’s supposed death? Not a great plan.
So, about this Falcon/Winter Soldier team-up. To sum it up shortly, a series revolving around Cap’s best friends is about as appealing as the characters themselves. Look, there’s a reason why this show is happening. Marvel wants to spotlight characters that didn’t get a shot to shine in the movies. There’s also a reason for that lack of attention though. These guys are side-kicks. It’s not like DC is making a show about Alfred’s adventures before meeting the Waynes.
Pennyworth Begins Filming Later this Year #PennyworthBatmanhttps://t.co/qbrWyl1jEv pic.twitter.com/nKirwTo4tE
— The Nerd Stash (@thenerdstash) August 17, 2018
Nevermind. I think it’s best if we just move on.
Finally, we have a Scarlet Witch’s solo series starring the always amazing Elizabeth Olsen. I was actually on board with this one initially. Especially if we get to see some X-Men introduced after the Fox/Disney deal goes through. The problem I have with this series has to do with Vision (who is rumored to star in the project as well). Like Loki, it kinda ruins Avengers 4 for me. Again, I have to reiterate that I knew some characters would return from the dead. Marvel is not permanently killing off Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, or most of the Guardians of the Galaxy. That being said, what’s the point of bringing back Vision?
It would be far more interesting to see Wanda faced with the post-Avengers 4 world without the love of her life. In the MCU, Scarlet Witch has either been tethered to her brother or Vision so it would be nice for her to be free from that. Also, if Vision is indeed apart of this project, what purpose would he serve other than being Wanda’s love interest?
Honestly, I wouldn’t be this antagonistic about these shows if it wasn’t for the recent developments regarding Netflix and their Marvel universe. This time last year, we had six Marvel Netflix series to binge. Now, that is cut in half with only Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and The Punisher surviving Netflix’s own Infinity Gauntlet snap. Netflix canceling Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders is due to a multitude of reasons. The viewership numbers just aren’t where the company wanted it to be and in The Defenders case, the ensemble mini-series was a dud critically. However, you have to think that the announcement of Disney+ played a big factor. Disney’s competition now and it’s awkward to have Marvel on the Netflix brand with the existence of Disney+.
The feeling I have right now is that Marvel has pretty much destroyed one universe (Netflix) to create another. Which would be fine if the new universe wasn’t filled with less interesting characters. I would be much happier if Disney+ took some risks. Like a Fantastic Four series (post-Fox merger of course). Or maybe even an Ironheart origin story.
These announcements should make me want to immediately jump onboard with Disney+ but instead, it leaves me with a feeling of indifference. If it wasn’t for The Mandalorian, I probably wouldn’t even bother with the service.
Maybe I’m wrong. It happens every once in a while and sometimes I just like to complain. These new shows could potentially give some much-needed depth to these lackluster MCU characters. Maybe the Marvel Netflix universe should end before it falls from grace completely. We won’t know until Disney+ officially debuts in 2019.
Do you agree that the recent Disney+ announcements leave a lot to be desired? What are your thoughts on the new Marvel shows? Do you think the recent Netflix cancelations had anything to do with the new Disney streaming platform? Let us know in the comments below!
