This is undoubtedly the biggest problem that Marvel's strategy poses. Since all of the movies are inherently tied together, if one movie or superhero fails the entire franchise can be brought down. Its possible that one of their pre-existing franchises stops working for whatever reason, but the more likely outcome is that one of the new heroes spoils the brand for everyone else. Fans can point out that X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn't foil 20th Century Fox's plans for a full-on press of X-Men films, including more Wolverine films, but Wolverine was already an iconic character at the time. Disappointing returns for Superman Returns wasn't going to stop Warner Bros. from rebooting Superman, but if Gal Godot doesn't work out as Wonder Woman in Batman vs. Superman (title pending), fans could be waiting a long time for that character to reappear. This could easily happen with one of the new Marvel properties. I don't think Ant-Man is going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, Edgar Wright has a very strong track record and this appears to be the rare combination of big-budget production and passion project, but Guardians of the Galaxy could prove to be disappointing. We already know that the MacGuffin for Marvel's next phase is going to be found in that film, and if it fails to connect with audiences that could mean that most of the people interested in seeing the second Avengers film would go in blind. When you build a franchise around several $200 million plus films, you need every possible person to buy a ticket to your movie in order to be successful. And if less people decide to keep coming back because they were soured off the brand by the previous film, it makes the entire process difficult to navigate. Look, Marvel has had an incredibly good track record up to this point. All of their movies have been entertaining, and some have even been great. But their insistence on embarking (and then proceeding to double-down) on one of the boldest business strategies from a franchising perspective in film history is going to have an adverse impact on their films. If they don't produce great films, they are in serious trouble.
Bryan Hickman is a WhatCulture contributor residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bryan's passions include film, television, basketball, and writing about himself in the third person.
