Marvel, where were we?

When Anthony Mackie, the new Captain America, stopped by Rome to present the MCU film Brave New World, he made it clear that the superhero universe has not undergone through any rebranding. Instead, just like The First Avenger in 2011, it is simply a (new) beginning. It couldn't be otherwise, given the long period of reflection Marvel has taken, putting its world on standby for a year, dedicating only one theatrical release to Deadpool & Wolverine, while facing the box office crisis—dubbed “superhero fatigue”—after the disastrous performances of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, both flops of 2023, as well as the backlash following the arrest and trial of its chosen villain, Jonathan Majors' Kang. «We all know that it would be impossible to match Infinity War or Endgame, especially since when something is called “Endgame,” you know you can’t go back. It’s the end of the game. How do you start over?». According to the actor, the answer lies precisely in Captain America: Brave New World, though it’s not certain that the audience will see it the same way. «If you look at the foundation of its universe—the actor continues—This film is very similar to The First Avenger. It finds itself at the same starting point and is being used to set up the next climb to reach the peak, just like Endgame. It is a necessary piece in the various storylines so that the next generation can be introduced and move toward the next Phase».

Exactly, because Brave New World is not even the first film of the next MCU Phase, but rather it lands at the tail end of the fifth and turbulent segment that began in February 2023 with the third Ant-Man film and will conclude with the upcoming Thunderbolts*, set for release in May. The position of the thirty-fifth Marvel film is as ambiguous as its arrival in a moment of stagnation for the MCU, which, despite its confidence in healing the wounds left by post-Endgame films—inevitable given that it marked the actual end of an era—pretends to forget that it has a character and an actor lacking charisma. It compensates with the necessary bravado to avoid completely wallowing in its own downfall. And it’s not simply because «You’re not Steve Rogers», as he is told in the film, since even Chris Evans wasn’t the star he eventually became, carrying the weight (and the shield) of the character to whom he owes his lasting fame. Mackie portrays a protagonist who doesn’t work as a protagonist. He’s better suited as a comic relief or part of a duo—case in point, one of the few respectable Marvel series on Disney+, Falcon and the Winter Soldier—yet here he shoulders a film that feels like a hybrid due to its temporal placement and the absence of a true star to shine in the role of Captain America, making Brave New World a cautious and understated attempt to move forward.

Just one more small step to at least reach the point where there is a glimmer of hope for the MCU, with The Fantastic Four - The Beginning, still slated for 2025 as the first film of Phase 6. And to truly take a step forward, it has no less than five Avengers films and another one featuring Marvel’s most beloved character, Spider-Man, already planned. With Captain America: Brave New World, we must clench our jaws to make it to next July without stumbling too much, when audiences will be welcomed not only by some of the most beloved Marvel comic heroes but also by three out of four actors capable of drawing crowds on their own, forming a true power alliance. That’s the secret of their “family,” a concept on which the film seems to be primarily based, including Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn (both starring together in Gladiator 2), Vanessa Kirby, and "Uncle Richie" from The Bear, Ebon Moss-Bachrach. The position of the MCU is one of pure survival, which is evident even in the marketing strategy of revealing the big plot twist in promotional material. Perhaps the only solution to counter the continuous test screenings that kept generating audience dissatisfaction, leading to multiple additional reshoots and delaying its release from July 2024 to February 2025.

Harrison Ford, who takes over the role of Thaddeus Ross from the late William Hurt, is the infamous Red Hulk and, in effect, the only major draw Marvel has wisely chosen to promote the film. Revealing a mystery that, had this been during the MCU’s glory days, would have been kept under wraps for a gradual revelation of secrets within the film—a reward for those who patiently waited until the end and rushed to the cinema on opening weekend to avoid spoilers from social media comments. The transformation occurs gradually in the film, triggered by an external agent (which we won’t name, but can be found in the cast list on Wikipedia) that ties back to past events. So far in the past some don’t even remember it, and it would have been a smart move to connect it to Captain America: Brave New World if it had meant completely wiping the slate clean before restarting the entire universe. A step that, clearly, is not happening, prolonging the question: When will Marvel be great again? At this point, the question might even require an added “if.” When, and if, Marvel will ever be great again.