Whether you subscribe to the notion of "superhero fatigue" or not, there's no arguing with the fact that Marvel Studios is not the cinematic juggernaut it once was. Even if you happen to disagree with the general perception that the studio's output has seen a dip in quality of late, diminishing box office returns can at least partially be attributed to a decline in audience interest.
During an interview with /Film, Filmmaker/writer Tony Gilroy reflected on Disney/Lucasfilm's original pitch for the critically-acclaimed Andor, which would have been more akin to a buddy-movie adventure with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk).
"In the show, it's perfect. [K-2SO's late introduction was] something I always intended. The versions that they had of the show prior, they were slick and they were interesting. They were not bad, but they had a fatal flaw, it seemed to me, which is if that's your show, that we're going to storm the Citadel in the pilot, what are you going to do in episode 9? What do you do? You're just going to keep getting the disc?"
If you're wondering what this has to do with Marvel's current situation, Gilroy went on to use the MCU as an example of a franchise he feels has become too overreliant on MacGuffins.
"Trying to get the, what do they call it? I can't remember the name of the box. What the f*** is the name of the box in The Avengers? What the f*** are they going for? [...] The Tesseract! That's why all those Marvel movies are all — that's why they fail. You're just constantly ... if that's all you're doing, then all you're doing is just trying to get the Tesseract."
Though some may view this as a bit of a hot take, Marvel Studios does tend to overuse this particular storytelling device - although the same could be said for Star Wars and many other mainstream blockbusters.
Marvel does at least attempt to mix things up on occasion, however, with the recent Thunderbolts* dispensing with a number of the usual superhero tropes in favor of a more character-focused approach.
What do you make of Gilroy's comments?
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
Returning to their Marvel Cinematic Universe roles are Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The cast also includes newcomers to the MCU—Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer and Wendell Edward Pierce.
Jake Schreier directs Thunderbolts* with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek and Jason Tamez serve as executive producers.