In a little over two weeks, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will close the book on its first 10+ years of superhero films. It's hard to believe this all started back in 2008 with a little film called Iron Man. I think we all knew something special was coming, but we couldn't have known just what an impact that film would have on the entire industry.
After Iron Man's debut, Marvel has rolled out 2-3 new superhero films each year, all culminating in Avengers: End Game, set to release in the states on April 26th. DC has now stepped up its game, and the past three releases, including the recently released Shazam, have been extremely well received at the box office and by critics. But I have to wonder, as a result of this onslaught of superhero films, is a superhero fatigue settling in?
I am a HUGE Zachary Levi fan and have been PUMPED to see Shazam since I saw the first previews last year. However, I was disappointed in it, but I don't really know why. It had a good story, provided the origin story we needed of Billy Batson, and even had a couple surprises at the end, but something about it just fell flat. I felt the same way about Captain Marvel. Another film I really wanted to love, but it just didn't check all the boxes, even if I don't know what boxes I wanted it to check. These experiences have me wondering if I'm just tired of superhero films.
If I am, that makes me really sad, because I love them! I love action-adventure, family films with heart, and most of the superhero films fulfill that. But I think with so many coming out, you start to expect them to one up each other -- the next film has to have more plot twists and higher stakes, but is there a point where that's no longer feasible? Is there a point where there are no higher stakes, there are no bigger plot twists we can do? I surely hope not.
As I look ahead, I'm curious to see where Marvel will take its MCU after End Game, and I'll still see the Shazam sequel. Maybe I'll just have to lower my expectations though, and maybe not watch the trailers so much.