Avengers: Endgame made $2.8 billion. It was the culmination of 22 movies over 11 years — a storytelling achievement unprecedented in cinema. Every movie built toward it. Every character arc served the narrative. When it ended, the question was: what now?
The answer, apparently, was: spend even more money and hope a plan materializes.
The Multiverse Problem
Marvel's post-Endgame plan was the "Multiverse Saga." The idea: introduce the multiverse as a concept, bring in Kang the Conqueror as the new big bad, and build toward another Avengers-level event.
The execution: chaos.
- Ant-Man: Quantumania ($200M) was supposed to be the Multiverse Saga's launchpad. It was critically panned and underperformed. Jonathan Majors, who played Kang, was later dropped due to legal issues. The entire villain setup collapsed.
- The Marvels ($220M) became one of the lowest-grossing MCU films ever at $206M worldwide. Against a $220M budget. That's a catastrophic loss.
- Secret Invasion — a TV show that was supposed to be a major event — landed with a thud. Nick Fury deserved better.
The Budget Escalation
Here's what's wild: Phase 5 movies cost MORE than the movies that made the MCU great.
- Iron Man (2008) — $140M → launched the MCU
- The Avengers (2012) — $220M → unprecedented crossover event
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — $170M → turned nobodies into A-listers
- Ant-Man: Quantumania (2023) — $200M → forgettable
- The Marvels (2023) — $220M → flopped
The early MCU movies cost less and delivered more. They had tighter scripts, clearer stakes, and directors who were hungry. Phase 5 movies cost more and deliver less because the formula has become the product. The machine is running but nobody's steering it.
The Assembly Line
Marvel Studios under Kevin Feige operates like a factory. Multiple movies and shows in production simultaneously. Directors are hired but given limited creative freedom — the "Marvel house style" overrides individual vision. Scripts are reworked during production. VFX timelines are compressed to meet release schedules.
This worked when the narrative engine was firing. When you're building toward Endgame, every piece matters, and the factory approach ensures consistency. But when the destination is unclear — when even the audience doesn't know what the Multiverse Saga is building toward — the factory just produces... stuff. Expensive stuff. $200M stuff. But stuff without purpose.
The Crew Burnout
Marvel's VFX pipeline has been widely criticized. VFX studios report impossible deadlines, constant revisions, and late-stage changes that require weeks of overtime. Artists work on shots that get cut or completely reworked because the creative direction changed mid-production.
These are some of the most talented visual effects artists in the world. They can build anything. But they're being asked to build things that keep changing, for stories that aren't locked, on timelines that aren't realistic. The result: burnout, declining quality, and a growing resentment in the VFX community toward Marvel specifically.
The Phase 1-3 crew members got to build something historic. The Phase 5 crew members are building content. Same skills. Same hours. Completely different energy.