The phases of mcu are now shorter than ever, with Phase 4 ending this year and Phase 5 lasting just two years. President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, has always claimed that Marvel Studios would only go to Comic-Con in San Diego if it felt it could keep its promises. This was certainly the case, since Marvel has officially announced the end of Phase 4 at SDCC 2022 and unveiled the schedules for Phase 5 and part of Phase 6 of the MCU.
According Kevin Feigephases 4 through 6 are known collectively as “ The Lultivers Saga“. Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, is at the heart of this story after his introduction in Loki, he will return in Ant-Man & The Guest: Quantumania. Kang will only grow in importance from now on, Avengers 5 is officially titled The Kang Dynasty. Despite the joy that these few announcements may have caused, some fans have however come up against a new reality, Phases 5 and 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will only last two years. This is quite surprising in comparison to the previous phases: Phase 1, for example, took place from 2008 to 2012. Marvel seems to be moving towards a new model for only two years.
In truth, this approach probably makes sense. the mcu is now a transmedia franchise with many TV series on Disney+ which complement the films and, unlike previous series marvel, they are linked to the plots of the films and influence them. This means that there is much more content related to the mcu than before, phase 4 is already longer in hours of viewing than all of phases 1 to 3. There ” infinity saga ” lasted 11 years, while the “ multiverse saga will only last 5.
A more sensible format
Kang the Conqueror © Marvel Studios
the Marvel Cinematic Universe is developing at a prodigious rate, which presents a coordination challenge for the studios. Unfortunately, this left the whole of Phase 4 feeling disjointed, with some fans having trouble identifying the overall narrative direction. While the mcu clearly set up an event based on the multiverse, Secret Warsit’s hard to see how certain movies and series fit into this arc, which makes the overall story more disorienting than ever.
Hopefully shorter phases will allow Marvel to counter this problem by taking into account the narrative of the entire phase and ensuring that it is more carefully balanced. This may explain the absence of Armor Wars in the new program marvel studiosit may not fit into the overall arc or it may have been incorporated into new content from Disney+. To resolve some of the criticisms of the Stage 4, Marvel will need to take a more thoughtful and interconnected approach when it comes to navigating the Stages 5 and 6. Admittedly, there are already hints of this longer-term strategy, with the New world order which now serves as the title of both the first episode of The Falcon & the Winter Soldier and of Captain America 4. We’ll have to watch how Marvel improves its approach as the ‘Multiverse Saga’ continues through Phases 5 and 6.
