Will “The Marvels” Become The Least Successful Marvel Project?

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Ever since the events of Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe can’t seem to help but come across as an old dog failing to adapt and learn new tricks to keep its loyal audience members intrigued.

Of course, over the years the MCU has without a doubt been the most successful and arguably the most entertaining film franchise out there.

With the comic book storyline spanning across an impressive 32 movies, and that isn’t to mention the 23 television features that have been scattered about various platforms over the last 10-15 years.

Although there have been some redeeming factors involving the MCU in recent years such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3, ever since the Infinity Saga concluded itself in 2019, the MCU just hasn’t been the same. And the box office numbers fail to argue against this.

Out of the top 10 highest grossing MCU projects of all time, only 3 of which are productions released after the events of Avengers: Endgame. A statistic that does not bode well for the team behind creating the largest film franchise of all time.

But what does this come down to?

Does the movie-going world have less interest in a Marvel Cinematic Universe that no longer contains the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers? Or are there just no more compelling stories for Marvel to tell?

With Nia DaCosta’s “The Marvels” set for cinematic release in November of 2023, the backlash and criticism that the film received online following the trailer release just a couple of months ago forces the following question:

Will “The Marvels” Become The Least Successful Marvel Project?

It goes without saying that we must take our hats off to the creative team behind the MCU, it’s blatantly obvious that they are trying to create various new branches of content within the universe, and the Marvels is just one example of this.

But do movie-going audiences really have the patience to sit through another 10 years’ worth of comic-book content to see a new superhero dynamic that they may eventually enjoy watching? My money says otherwise.

The Marvels is set to follow the dynamic between three MCU returnees in Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan (Ms Marvel).

We have seen the latter two in Disney+ television projects such as WandaVision and Ms Marvel, whereas we of course have seen Brie Larson portray herself as the iconic Captain Marvel several times in recent years.

But when the trailer for Nia DaCosta’s first Marvel project was released just months ago, the internet and online MCU fanbase didn’t seem to receive it very well.

As closed-minded as it comes across, it seems as though the majority of the movie-going public just isn’t ready for an all-female trio to lead a MCU project.

2008’s The Incredible Hulk currently holds the title for the least successful Marvel project over the course of the MCU’s 15-year cinematic run, grossing $264 million worldwide. Chloe Zhao’s “Eternals” almost gave the film a run for it’s money back in 2021, but just scraped into 31st place.

But following the recent decline in successful MCU projects, and the amount of criticism that it received post-trailer release, could The Marvels become the least successful MCU project to date?