The Post Endgame Problem

Phase 4 feels like like the side quest after you finish the main levels in a game

It’s almost as if a story should end

As much as I miss Gravity Falls. I love the decision to actually just end the story instead of drag it out like Marvel is doing.

One of the main things that drew me in to the early movies is that they took themselves seriously. Whereas now every movie is trying to have all the same comedic relief that was in the original Iron Man movies, but that was what made THAT character good, not every character needs that. If they cut back 85% of comedic relief the new movies would be a lot better.

Phase 4 feels like an AI trying to continue a song beyond the ending

Phase 4 feels like watching a filler episode on a tv show.

Post endgame marvel is like having a justice league franchise without Superman or Batman

My other issue with Phase 4 is the introduction of the multiverse. Where the Infinity Saga was so brilliant at weaving storylines together (all to the credit of the writers), now multiverses give the safety net of nostalgia and mulligans on story structure.

My biggest problem is how the raising stakes make endgame seem almost irrelevant

In my head, I like to imagine a world where the MCU ended with Endgame

The MCU was propped up by the crazy chemistry and charisma of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansen and Mark Ruffalo. The new group don't mix well

I saw almost every single movie before Endgame, and I was so deeply satisfied with Endgame as an ending that I decided then and there that I wouldn't watch another. Every discussion I have seen since makes it seem like the right choice.

I've never missed an MCU movie in my life... but then suddenly during Phase 4 I missed several. It was getting hard to keep up with shows and movies all while Disney was trying to sell me their product over and over and over again.

My two biggest gripes are: -Shoving jokes in every other line. Everyone tried to have the same snarky sense of humor as Joss Whedon, it's played out -They keep trying to end the world and it's lowered the stakes. Eternals, Moon Knight, Ms Marvel... no, they're not gonna end the world in a D+ show, or in the movie right after Endgame. Come on.

I’ve always felt that Marvel Studios should’ve taken a long break after Endgame to just bask in what a massive accomplishment that was but also to really sit down and meticulously plan their next steps. I’ve found recent Marvel stuff to be entertaining but not having that sense of cohesion that the Infinity Saga had. Directionless fun is entertaining but directionless nonetheless. Also the amount of TV shows has hurt them in my eyes. I feel that WandaVision and Loki were bangers but everything else after that has been dull fun. This was a really solid video 🔥🔥🔥

I felt something very strongly when I watched Endgame, at the beginning of the credits where all the major cast members had their signatures show up (shades of Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country), that it really was The End. This was the end of the MCU. The greatest shared universe, beginning and ending with Tony Stark as Iron Man, the last truly epic filmmaking achievement of our lifetimes (possibly of cinema EVER), and now it was over. And it was fantastic. What a goddamn achievement. It felt like anything after that would just be beating a dead horse. Beating a zombie Doctor Strange, maybe. And you know what? Nothing I've seen since then has convinced me that I was wrong.

I just feel so exhausted from this phase that it has drove me to genuinely not care any more.

Their movies went from mostly being action adventures with some comedy and comedic characters that fit their personality into every movie being a comedy with some action adventure, and every character trying to have a stand up routine in every scene

In phase 4 the approach emphasis felt like it shifted from centering on "story craft" to "consumer product development" complete with "market segmentation" thinking.

This video hits even harder after Quantumania