Everyone is familiar with the entertainment powerhouse that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The premiere of a new MCU movie is now a global event with a long list of box-office records metaphorically incinerated by the ticket-buying crowds that turn out for each iteration of the biggest film franchise in Hollywood's history
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The best stories within the MCU are happening on a smaller screen, which is hidden from the public.
Some of the greatest superhero stories in cinema over the last 15 years have been delivered by the MCU. Whether you are looking at the box office, critical consensus, or audience satisfaction surveys, the numbers don't lie. At a time when the studio's distinguished competition seems intent on diminishing the value streaming projects bring to a shared universe, it seems like a good time to highlight just how much.
It feels like a long time ago that WandaVision made its debut on Disney+. When it arrived, the series was shrouded in mystery, but as its story unfolded, it became apparent that this was a project unlike anything the MCU had ever delivered. WandaVision looked at grief and trauma through the lens of a superhero sitcom. It took its time with its sensitive subject matter and that patience paid off with one of the most powerful stories to date.
The high bar set by WandaVision was followed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which explored America's history of racial injustice and historical whitewashing, as well as its treatment of veterans and the power of propaganda. One of the most disturbing scenes in the movie was when John Walker uses Captain America's shield to murder a suspected terrorist.
A combination of smart deconstructions of the MCU's status quo that are rife with commentary on the world we live in followed this one-two punch. The nature of redemption, the concept of fate and free will, and the study of psychological trauma were all explored by Moon Knight. She-Hulk seems poised to deliver a smart, subversive spin on feminism and the superhero world after learning how one's family and cultural history can influence future generations' understanding of the world.
Audiences have been treated with one visually stunning spectacle after another, filled with amazing actors, epic action sequence, and plenty of humor, heart, and heroic journeys of one kind or another. A level of excitement and cinematic experience engineered to appeal to the widest audience possible, offering escapism and immersive world-building in equal measure, without asking their audience to look too deeply into the darker corners of that universe. It would appear that the streaming shows are the best place to engage with that aspect of the MCU.
There is no official distinction between the types of themes that the movies and streaming shows are allowed to explore, but there are a lot of reasons why they would draw lines between them.
Kevin Feige and the studio have a knack for delivering films that appeal to all generations of audience members. Few franchises are as beloved by a wide range of people as the MCU is, and that has as much to do with the status of its characters and the careful mix of what is in each film as it is with what is left out of them.
There is a lot of behind-the-scenes controversy and debate present in the lead-up to a movie's premiere, but there isn't much controversy about the movie itself. For the most part, the MCU films are a safe space for everyone regardless of age, race, or politics, as they choose to focus on the franchise's never-ending battle between colorful heroes and villains instead of wading too far into the weeds of real-world social and political issues It requires a deft approach to maintain with so many films, filmmakers, and writers involved in the process.
There are clear financial advantages to making MCU movies as safe and non-controversial as possible, but that doesn't mean they don't understand that certain topics and themes benefit from a more long-form approach to story telling.
There is something to be said for giving complicated subjects the time and attention they need. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness made it clear when it attempted to pick up where WandaVision left off that the underlying emotional and social themes of the series could not be seen in a single film.
Understanding which themes lend themselves to a two-hour movie and which ones are better suited for a carefully paced series is something that is understood by the company.
It's easy to criticize the homogeneity of the films of the MCU, but there's a lot more to it than that. Movie fans know what to expect when they go to the theater for a movie, and they can also expect the unexpected when they watch a movie on the internet.
It costs more to go to the theater with kids than it does with adults, and the level of confidence audiences have in the movies is built on giving them what they have come to expect. The price of entry to Disney+ makes it the perfect place to be more experimental and surprise audiences with something they weren't expecting. You can come to Disney+ for theatrical blockbusters like Iron Man or The Avengers, but you can also watch streaming shows like She-Hulk.
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