10 Ways Marvel Can Stop The MCU From DYING

Though the MCU undeniably needs to be looking forward to the bigger picture, it'd also benefit massively from delivering more intimate, character-driven stories that audiences en masse actually connect with.

The first two-thirds of Shang-Chi were absolutely on the right track - before it descended into CGI-slathered schlock - by presenting fans with a likeable, relatable hero who faced off against an intriguingly motivated antagonist. And that's why it remains one of the better post-Endgame standalone films.

It's also important for the MCU to quit constantly trying to go bigger, and instead embrace smaller-scale stories with a deep personal element.

Secret Invasion, for example, could've been an MCU phase in of itself rather than a terrible TV show, and one that while not matching the universally apocalyptic stakes of Endgame, would've had major implications for the central characters and the very notion of identity in the MCU.

The largely lackluster response to the Multiverse Saga so far suggests that going bigger after Endgame was a trap.

Even if The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars end up delivering a satisfactory payoff to it all, how do you possibly go any bigger without eroding the stakes or rendering it all impossibly convoluted?

Though studio executives firmly believe that bigger is always better, there's something to be said for the MCU scaling back and allocating its plentiful resources in all the right places.