MCU: 10 Things That Didn't Go The Way Kevin Feige Wanted
1. Most Of Phase 4 (So Far)
With Thor: Love and Thunder marking what appears to be the halfway point of Marvel Studio's Phase 4, a quick appraisal of the cinematic and televised projects let loose from WandaVision onwards points to the biggest franchise in the game not quite matching the heights of its previous displays.
The already noted decision to force more content than ever before out of their Marvel machine hasn't in any way consistently equalled critical smashes and the sort of stunning pieces of blockbuster cinema seen in everything from Thor: Ragnarok to Guardians of the Galaxy.
If anything, it's often felt as though Marvel is simply treading water before properly doubling down on the next incoming super-baddy in Kang and heavily hinted-at ensemble epic that is the MCU's take on Secret Wars.
And while there have still been bright sparks in the form of a few small screen darlings, with Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang Chi both proving there's still life in the MCU on the cinema screen, too, you can bet that Feige was hoping for a much more triumphant expansion of his universe than the often lacklustre and tired next Phase of filler the studio have delivered up to this point.