The MCU phases are now shorter than ever: Phase 4 ends this year, and Phase 5 lasts only two years. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has always promised that the company would only go to Comic-Con in San Diego if they felt they could exceed expectations. This was certainly the case: Marvel officially announced the end of Phase 4 at SDCC 2022 and unveiled plans for Phase 5 and parts of Phase 6 of the MCU.
According to Faiga, phases 4 through 6 are known collectively as the “Saga of the Multiverse.” Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror is at the center of this story after he appeared in “Loki,” and he will return in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantomania.” From now on, Kang will become more and more significant — “Avengers 5” is officially called “Kang Dynasty”. However, as exciting as the announcements were, many viewers were somewhat surprised to learn that both phases would last only two years. This is quite remarkable compared to previous stages: for example, stage 1 lasted from 2008 to 2012. It looks like Marvel is moving to a two-year schedule.
In truth, this approach is probably reasonable. The MCU is now a transmedia franchise with a number of Disney+ TV shows complementing the films – and unlike previous Marvel Television shows, they are connected to and influenced by storytelling in tent films. This means more MCU content is coming out than ever before, and Phase 4 is already taking up more hours of viewing than all Phases 1-3. The “Infinity Saga” lasted 11 years, and the “Multiverse Saga” lasted only 5 years.
Short two-year phases are better for MCU
The Marvel cinematic universe is growing at an incredible rate, and it is difficult for the studio to coordinate its actions, which is understandable given the task it faces. Unfortunately, this gave Phase 4 some incoherence, and some viewers struggled to define its overarching narrative direction. While the MCU was clearly preparing a multi-sided Secret Wars event, it’s hard to see how some movies and TV shows fit into this arch, making the overall story more disorienting than before.
Hopefully, the shorter phases will allow Marvel to solve this problem by reviewing the narrative of the entire phase and providing a more careful balance. This may explain the absence of Armor Wars on the updated tablets — perhaps they either did not fit into the general arch, or could have been rolled into something else due to the similarity with another Disney+ TV show. To eliminate some of the criticisms of Phase 4, Marvel will need a much more balanced and interconnected approach when it comes to going through Phases 5 and 6. Of course, there are already hints of this long-term strategy, with the New World Order now serving as the title of both the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the title of Captain America 4. It will be interesting to see how Marvel will refine its approach to the MCU as the “Multiverse Saga” continues throughout phases 5 and 6. .
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