The MCU: First Steps, Brave New World, and Born Again

Looking at what's coming up within the vastness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

I’m profoundly conflicted about the Marvel Cinematic Universe/comic book movies/franchise filmmaking/etc etc. On the one hand, Martin Scorsese is one of my top five favorite artists working in any medium. I also understand his critiques of the super hero/comic book films and their omni-presence.

Perhaps the most famous take-out quote from Scorsese on this is:

“Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

And… you know what, I kind of see his point. I don’t go to these kinds of films for the same reasons and to have the same experiences as when I watch a film by Scorsese or Robert Bresson or Paul Thomas Anderson or Quentin Tarantino or whomever. It is, to some degree, like a theme park—thrills, entertainment, excitement. There is the possibility for more (these are still narratives that tell stories with themes and ideas), but I kind of see his point. I can also see why seeing these, broadly, kinds of films take up so much space at movie theaters and in turn making it more difficult for other kinds of films to be released and find an audience… you would get a bit frustrated if you were someone like Scorsese. His critique isn’t saying that they’re bad, but rather that they’re something different from what he refers to as “cinema.” Honestly, I see his point

But I’m also someone who grew up reading comic books and watching television cartoon adaptations and playing with action figures. This was part of my cultural upbringing and a part that I enjoyed and thus carry with me. Before I was reading works of true literature, I was reading X-Men and Spider-Man comic-book arcs that at least hinted at the emotional and psychological depth I’d encounter when I picked up my first book by, say, Hemingway. I love those stories, I grew up with them, I cannot deny that and thus seeing them put onto either the big screen or given a presence on major streaming platforms is something I enjoy. Even if it is something like a theme park… I can certainly enjoy and appreciate a theme park.

So, with that little preamble out of the way, I wanted to do a quick run-through some of my thoughts on the goings-on within the MCU right now. To begin, I’ll give my quick thoughts on the last MCU movie I caught up with, which was Deadpool and Wolverine.

The film was a decidedly mixed bag. Like probably every young boy, Wolverine was my favorite comic book character, and I (like everyone else) enjoyed Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of the character on the big screen (the X-Men and Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies were these landmarks of popular culture as I was in high school). Thus, seeing him again (even after that emotional and resonant send-off in Logan) with a gesture towards bringing him into the MCU itself, was quite a thrill.

Also, like just about everyone who watches these kind of movies, I enjoyed the first two Deadpool films starring Ryan Reynolds. The meta-quality, the jokes, the irreverence, they were a lot of fun. But while Jackman’s performance as Wolverine was great and it’s exciting to think about adding the X-Men to the MCU equation, the Deadpool/Ryan Reynolds of it all felt a bit tedious.

The irreverence and jokes did not feel as fresh as they did with the first two films (there actually felt like too much reverence, or it was explicitly stated while in Spider Man: No Way Home is was left implied), and thus what should’ve been exciting ended up feeling like a bit of a slog. The cameos/presence of characters in “the void” were fun, and Cassandra Nova was an intriguing villain, but ultimately the film fell flat. As I thought this had the potential to be fun and do a lot to further the MCU, that was a bit of a disappointment.

We’ve also got trailers for the upcoming MCU films. Captain America: Brave New World is the first one of note, and this film sees Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson continue where he left off in The Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney Plus show by picking up the mantle shield of Captain America.

I like Mackie and that they’re using Sam Wilson as Captain America (though Falcon and Winter Soldier wasn’t as good as I might have hoped, there was still some thoughtful stuff being engaged with through Sam Wilson becoming Captain America in the world of the MCU). Also, Harrison Ford and Giancarlo Esposito are great actors I generally enjoy watching, which adds to my interest. I do think, after so much multiverse/far out stuff going on in the MCU, having a film that’s a bit grounded will help (akin to Captain America: Winter Soldier perhaps). But the small stakes of the film, at least from what we’ve seen in promotional materials, makes it not as exciting of a release.

Though this feels a bit like the people who talk about television ratings when it comes to what teams end up playing in a given sports’ championship (like… who cares/why does this matter), I do think the question of what gets the MCU back on track hangs over everything and I look at Captain America: Brave New World and I don’t think it can be that film (by virtue of it’s “lower” stakes).

Thunderbolts*, which seems like Marvel’s answer to DC’s Suicide Squad, feels similar. I really enjoy much of the cast—Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, and David Harbour are all great presences within this cinematic universe and Wyatt Russell’s performance as John Walker is growing on me. But the film feels so detached from the big picture of this cinematic universe that my interest is only so great. While I might try to go to the theaters for Captain America: Brave New World, I have a hard time seeing myself getting to a movie theater to see Thunderbolts*. I imagine I’ll be catching up with this one when it ends up on Disney Plus.

Now, this is big deal. Short of fully bringing the X-Men into the MCU, getting the Fantastic Four involved is about as big an addition as you could get. I love the casting (though I would’ve enjoyed seeing John Krasinski get to play Reed Richards full time and not just as a cameo in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, I love Pedro Pascal and think he’s going to do great) and think the retro style of the film is an excellent choice.

After having caught up on The Bear, Ebon Moss-Bachrach playing Ben Grimm/the Thing is extra interesting. But, circling back to this question about what can get the MCU back “on track,” Fantastic Four: First Steps could be the movie that does it. Introducing the “first family” of Marvel, the team that set up so much of the Marvel brand, would be huge and also have those large-scale interstellar implications that you need with these kinds of movies.

Finally, this is the Marvel release I’m most excited about. Daredevil is and has been my favorite Marvel character for a while now, and I was a big fan of the Netflix show (Charlie Cox’s performance as Matt Murdock, Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of the Kingpin, the action, the grittiness, yeah the Catholicism). Finally seeing Daredevil get his own show in the MCU (as opposed to popping up in Spider Man: No Way Home or She-Hulk: Attorney At Law) is really exciting.

I think getting Daredevil and Kingpin firmly established within the MCU would mean you could do great things with the New York-based street-level superheroes (think Spider-Man and Daredevil). I’m also hoping for long discussions about what the Catholic views are on Thanos and the snap/the blip. There’s some fascinating theological ground to cover. But this is easily the upcoming Marvel/MCU property I’m most excited about, and I hope it does well because it could bring something good and different to the equation.