Marvel movies have been dominating our theaters for years now. Movies like Avengers Endgame, Spiderman No Way Home, and Black Panther are some of the highest-grossing films ever. After Avengers Endgame the Infinity Saga came to an end, leaving fans excited for a new chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which would later be known as the Multiverse Saga. Unfortunately, this new era of Marvel movies hasn’t been perceived well with the three lowest-rated Marvel movies of all time belonging to this new saga.

Debuting the Multiverse Saga was the unfavorably reviewed Black Widow. People were quick to point out a bad CGI explosion. This was the first time that there was bad VFX, but certainly not the last. Thor Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi and Actor Tessa Thompson even pointed out bad CGI in their own movie saying “Well, does he look real?No, none of us do,” Thompson added that “something looks very off” with her character. Fans were annoyed saying that the bad CGI took them out of the experience and that leaving in bad clips was lazy. In recent subreddit posts, VFX workers have come forward complaining about how they are constantly overworked and are breaking down because of how much new Marvel content they have to produce. 

That brings up another problem, mass production. In the past, Marvel produced around three movies per year. In 2021, Marvel released four movies and five TV shows. Mass production, no matter the subject, will usually bring quality down.The stories almost seemed to be rushed, and they followed the same model as every other movie. Many people have said that they are so focused on making more movies and content that they rush and don’t focus on proper character-building and good storytelling. The whole reason everyone loved the MCU was because of their lovable, funny, and creative characters. Tony Stark was such an amazing character because of his character arc. He was originally displayed as a very selfish person, who later developed into a selfless hero who sacrifices himself to save others. Fans have requested that Marvel slow down on the number of projects and focus on quality stories and characters. 

Another reason ratings for the new movies are so low is because they’re comparing the new films to the huge crossover movies like Endgame. After movies like Infinity War, Endgame, and even Spiderman No Way Home, people are now looking for huge cameos. Critics are now judging these projects not as individual achievements, but based on expectations from previous movies. A new Marvel movie may have been perceived as 7/10 before Endgame, but now be rated a 4/10 because it doesn’t measure up to the tons of cameos and 365 million dollar budget an Avenger movie has.

  So is the Marvel Cinematic Universe dead? Surely not, but only time will tell. There are definitely more stories that they can tell based on comics. Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, acknowledged fan’s complaints saying “the pace at which we’re putting out the Disney+ shows will change so they can each get a chance to shine.” So if Marvel is able to continue to listen to the criticism of fans and fix mistakes, they definitely have a chance. They need to stop the oversaturation and go back to focusing on quality over quantity. Hopefully, these bad movies are just a phase and we will be able to love the new characters as much as the old ones.