9 Ways The Marvel Cinematic Universe Could End

8. The Superhero Bubble Bursts; Everything Just Stops

The only thing harder to avoid than Phase 3 rumours is people pondering when the "superhero bubble" will burst; when will audiences collectively decide they've had enough of A-list stars dressed in spandex or coated in CGI and start going to watch something else?

Given that this has been asked for about ten years now (the first rumblings came when X-Men and Spider-Man turned out bloated third entries), it's probably going to take longer than many critics are suggesting, but it seems unlikely that superheroes won't eventually wane; the western is a common point of comparison, but just about any stylistic genre has would up having a limited shelf-life and it'd be bold to say supers won't go the same way.

We may actually be seeing the first stages of it - Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man, while both successes, didn't quite hit the high expectations in either box office or critical reception. And when it does, probably caused by a number of duds in a row or everything becoming so similar it's like watching a beige wall and grosses slowly drop, there'll be a massive scramble to reduce losses.

The way movies are currently made mean it won't be instantaneous, but a few years after things start to turn we'll begin to see the MCU (and other worlds) begin to wrap up. How it'll do that will depend entirely on when the bubble pops, but whatever the narrative conclusion it'll be likely a lot less impressive than fans would like.