("We are out of time" - Vision - Infinity War 2018)
I first asked for the respondents to list all the Marvel films they had seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I left Captain Marvel out of the survey as when I first launched the survey it was not out. But judging by its review bombs, mixed reviews and attendance at the midnight screening last night, it is going to have a slower viewing attraction. Similar to some of the results I had found.
As expected the earlier films had gained higher viewer numbers and as such their films in general have a high viewing rate. The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World were the noticeable anomalies. However, both had negative reviews and were lampooned at the time, so it is clear that they have had an effect on the viewing choices of the audience. After Phase One the numbers begin to fizzle out, there are rare hits with Guardians of The Galaxy but in general only the Avengers films become the most watched by the majority of the audience.
As I predicted in my first post and discussed with Adrian back in December, there is a trend of the lesser known superheroes not getting any attention. Despite there being a huge following for more content after Avengers Infinity War, barely anyone bothered to watch Ant-Man and The Wasp. And judging by the attendance at the screening of Captain Marvel last night only the die hard fans are likely to continue following the franchise until the masses return for Endgame in April.
I then decided to assess the effects of the television shows. I first asked for the general viewing consensus. My gut instincts were that most people will have watched the Netflix shows and Agents of Shield as it was broadcast on Channel Four in the UK. But I had no idea what to expect from the other shows. The results were astounding, Jessica Jones and Daredevil were the most watched as they launched the TV universe on Netflix and the numbers rapidly dropped for Luke Cage and Iron Fist. I would have liked to have split each show down into seasons to get better information but it is no wonder Netflix cancelled the shows. The numbers are not consistent between the connected shows.
Agents of Shield got the expected figures as when it launched it was a very marmite type show. Some loved it, others hated it. It is still going strong however and is now planned to go on for seven seasons. With Cloak and Dagger being on Amazon Prime I would of thought it would of had higher viewing numbers and I didn't expect anyone to have watched the Runaways as that airs on Hulu. A VOD service that isn't as popular in the UK.
I decided to check BARB to see what VOD services people are using in the UK and Netflix is continuing to dominate. As such it is no wonder the others are not gaining traction from UK audiences and I had a feeling this would be the case. Amazon is the next big following after Netflix, so I wonder why Cloak and Dagger hasn't got bigger viewer numbers, I personally think it is due to the heroes involved. People had heard of Daredevil due to Ben Affleck's film version and it is a household name. This is something I investigated later on in terms of films being developed for phase four. The biggest shock was that no one watched the Inhumans, especially as it was rumoured to be a film in the franchise at one point and it is view-able on Sky in the UK.
I followed up the tick box questions with comment boxes so the respondents could divulge information that might explain their viewing choices. I have extracted some of the eye opening ones, followed with my comments:
With Endgame being the conclusion of Phase Three. Are you likely to carry on watching the MCU as it softly reboots itself? If so why?
"Probably not, unless they diversify the stylistic qualities of their films, it'll be far too cookie-cutter."/"Absolutely not, I am tired of the entire MCU and try to avoid the films where possible"
This has been a recurring criticism of the MCU, the issue is not the heroes themselves but it is the style of the film and as we enter the 20+ phase it is not surprising in the least. The second comment is more revealing towards the notion of superhero fatigue. Some have rightly complained that Marvel is saturating the market and with its Fox merger its only going to get worse.
"Yes because i love the marvel universe and think that the mcu will do a great job with whatever future they’re planning, however I don’t think anything will ever be the same/be able to beat the original avengers and each of the og characters"
There has been similar comments supporting the MCU as it expands, with some other comments stating it has been part of their lives growing up and they want to see it mature and continue. But as expected after the original heroes have been done the initial charm appears to be running thin for some.
"I might use the ‘soft reboot’ as a jumping on point since I’m not prepared to watch through the backlog of MCU movies I’ve missed out on."
The final extracted comment from this section, is that audiences are struggling to keep up with the releasing of films. There are so many to view, that if you want to jump into the latest film and fully enjoy it then you'd have to be in the loop with whats going on. For instance the Tesseract (one of the infinity gems) has been a constant plot device for many of the films and it first appears back in Captain America: The First Avenger and most recently appears in Captain Marvel. In order to know what it is and track its movement then you will have to watch the other films. This is not too uncommon for a franchise but for a franchise of this size it is understandable that it becomes a chore.
Does the disjointed distribution of the television shows put you off from watching them? Would you be more likely to watch them if they were all under the same roof? I.E Netflix/Disney +
"Yes. I usually watch shows on Netflix now and the fact they only really have Netflix originals there kind of bothers me because they arent the ones i'm really interested in. For example I really want to watch Runaways but its either on Hulu or I have to watch it illegally."
As expected Netflix became a recurring item for this question and explained massively why people were not watching the other shows on different platforms. For international audiences people are struggling to watch the ones they would have to go out of the way to watch. The fact piracy was mentioned here is a key indicator and an issue in the industry. In this case it proves that access is reason for why they pirate television. I too myself have been guilty of this and do so with Gotham as it isn't easy to access on terrestrial television in the UK. Variety reported in 2017 that piracy rose and that "Around 53% of total piracy occurred on unlicensed streaming platforms, and it’s much higher in the U.S. for television (94%) and movie (77%) content."
"No. I rember watching Sheild and it wasn't even coherent when running in one channel! It kep beihg on inconsistently and it just stopped making sense even when you caught up. The plot was also a weak point and it made me think other TV shows would be similar"
Others too have blamed access as an issue but rather in terms of keeping up with it. The shows quality in earlier seasons of Agents of Shield had also put them off from different shows. Despite them being produced by different companies and showrunners, the Marvel connotation was a key turn off. Another issue in the industry is that now we utilise cross media storytelling it all needs to be working for the brand. There is no point in having additional content if it doesn't enhance the main core of what makes the franchise work.
"I'd be more likely to watch them if they were all in one place, and it was possible to watch them 'in order' without having to research the correct order to watch them in."
Speaking of cross-media and shared universe story telling another factor despite the all in one place argument is following their order. As so many key events happen throughout the MCU it can be impossible for audiences to pinpoint what is going on where. Agents of Shield continually follows the films, but the Netflix shows for instance are all set after the first Avengers film and don't move much further past it. And despite claiming I'm a Marvel guru I have no idea when and where the other shows take place.
Other comments noted how the characters were unknown to them and that the television shows drag out the character development too much, as they prefer short and concise character arcs and storylines in the films. The unknown characters is a massive issue and could be the downfall to the MCU eventually. They managed to pull it off with Guardians of the Galaxy, but even then they were recent characters in the comics books and were mildly recognisable.
When I presented respondents with upcoming film projects produced by Marvel there was very little recognition of who they were. Blade is known due to Wesley Snipes' films which are rumoured to be rebooted and Ms Marvel is a popular comic book character but the rest barely anyone knew. I can see Marvel's reasoning that they would set up recognisable features in their well known characters first and then branch out to new characters. But it is incredibly risky especially as existing audiences are already clearly dropping off . Perhaps the soft reboot is the best option so that you can jump in fresh and new audiences can discover these new heroes at the same time as the old ones. One key thing to notice from this is that the films listed are more diverse than its predecessors.
As I wrapped up the survey I asked for some final thoughts on the MCU as a whole, as a point of reflection and to see how it coincides from what I've learned on this journey.
Finally, what are your thoughts on the MCU? Are you a fan of a large shared universe or would you rather watch a contained one off story? Is there anything you would do to change the universe?
"I appreciate their overall impact, but it has now in a sense monopolized the blockbuster market. With what supposedly will be a film/show every two or three months it feels oversaturated. In five years time there will likely be a superhero fatigue, but whilst it is still here I would hope they start using the talented filmmaking roster at their disposal for genuinely creative efforts."
"I think Marvel are the first and only studio doing it well. I really couldnt get into DC, and franchises like LOTR/Harry Potter have tried to extend their universe beyond one narrative with The Hobbit and FBAWTFT and I've just not been invested whatsoever. However, Marvel has something for everyone."
"I like it but i'm not a die hard fan. Make it more inclusive and I think that will happen now that there is Black Panther and Captain Marvel. I hope the writing will improve as well."
"I was dubious about the shared universe when it first started developing, but now, I enjoy it; I think it adds a different element to the stories that always risk falling into the trap of being perfectly average, spectacle-fuelled, forgettable superhero movies. Linking the stories together adds a different flavour to it, although I do believe it's important to maintain the expectation that the films should be good on their own."
These comments are some of my personal favourites and say a lot about the MCU. There is clearly a love for the MCU and there is still much to be done. In general the consensus is that as the franchise goes on they need to continue taking risks and start diversifying their content. There is a lot to devour and I hope, like comments have said Marvel starts to take its time with content. There are consistently great but they could defiantly be a lot, lot better. Will superhero fatigue arrive? Yes of course but as the first comment says lets use the talent we have and knock it out of the park whilst we still can.
Marvel has something for everyone and has no signs of slowing down. As noted throughout this process there are issues and some are being solved whilst others are becoming more apparent. Regardless it is something that hasn't been done before and continues to be a landmark for the industry. Whether you think that's good or bad its up to you. For now this is goodbye, but I may return after Endgame premieres.
