Is it time forMarvelto back away from their old gimmicks? The first time Kevin Feige stood on a stage in front of a massive board with projects planned out ten years in advance was incredible. Each successive attempt to do the same has come across as damage control or a threat. They are in a downward spiral, and Robert Downey Jr. offered them the only way out they saw. Marvel dropped its biggest card almost two years before anyone will seeAvengers: Doomsday, and that looks a bit desperate.
Remember the breaks forapplause inSpider-Man: No Way Home? They’re one of the most irritating elements of the film. They remain one of the most consistent reminders of Marvel’s current goal. They don’t have to worry about making timeless art. They only concern themselves with the film’s first few weekends at the box office. Moves like bringing back familiar faces, both behind and in front of the camera, spell out the need for short-term applause rather than long-term quality in vivid detail.
Why did Marvel reveal Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom at SDCC?
For what it’s worth, Marvel’s reveal got the applause they wanted out of it. It was guaranteed, but that doesn’t make it any more enjoyable. The SDCC audience seemed thrilled tosee Robert Downey Jr. appear behind the Doctor Doom mask. It’s exciting enough to see RDJ in any context, but the energy in the room must have been infectious. That’s probably as deep as the strategy went. This is their attempt to stop the downward momentum in Marvel’s recent history.
Black Widowwas probably the first MCU film to lose money, using the traditional metric of doubling the project’s production budget to account for marketing. It had a bit of an unfair shake since the pandemic delayed it for over a year. Its simultaneous streaming release also prompted some concerns.Eternalsfollowed the downward trend without the same excuses.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaalso failed to break even despite a $50 million tax break from the UK government.The Marvelsis the studio’sbiggest flop to date, falling short of its production budget and likely losing hundreds of millions. Marvel has enjoyed successes between failures, but those disasters hurt. Robert Downey Jr. was behind the glass marked “In case of emergency.” He said “new mask, same task” on stage at SDCC. In some sense, he’s right. He launched the MCU in 2009, and he’ll relaunch it in 2026.
Would the reveal work better in the film?
If someone outside the studio leaked Robert Downey Jr.’s presence inAvengers: Doomsday, fans would brand them a monster. This could have been a massive surprise in the film. Imagine showing up toseeAvengers: Doomsdaywithoutknowing who would play the titular villain, then hearing RDJ’s voice through the mask. People would whisper among themselves through the film, then fall out of their seats screaming when his face finally emerged. The dark side of that reveal would be fascinating.
Currently, a lot of fans are disappointed to see RDJ in the Doctor Doom role. It takes a part away from a Romani actor, ties a new character to an old icon, and is transparently designed to draw in weary fans.They didn’t cast RDJbecause he was the best actor for the gig. He’s there because he was there when the movies made more money. This could be a rare case in which spoiling the twist in advance might have saved Marvel from some future problems. Fans who hate this reveal won’t show up to the theater. This could have been a landmark moment that won some hardcore fans back while scaring off countless viewers. Though the SDCC reveal is grim, it’s probably preferable to the alternative.
Are Marvel press releases getting worse?
The fanfare behind any given Marvel tease isn’t much different from its previous highs. Unfortunately, the content behind the curtain tends to be far less impressive.Marvel’s big reveals used totease something new. They seemed ambitious, but they also suggested a degree of masterful pre-planning. That was more than a decade ago. At some point in the intervening time, their announcements included dozens of projects that people didn’t care about. A lot of points on the chart would disappear or undergo multiple changes. Finally, at the peak of Marvel’s downer era, fans see a tease that promises something old instead of something new. They didn’t come on stage to tell fans that good movies were on their way.They came out to assurethem that the bad ones would end as soon as they returned to the good old days. It’s a grim new low for the franchise.
There isn’t any real way to make Marvel’s Doom announcement without coming off as desperate. It was always going to seem like a cop-out, but thecontext of the revealwould change its impact. Saving Robert Downey Jr. for the big screen would suggest some degree of confidence in the choice, but it would also prompt the same fury fans are expressing now. People know what they’re going in for now. Many lost faith in Marvel when they brought their pinch-hitter back from the dead. They would likely have been even angrier to see it in the theater. Robert Downey Jr. could still be the MCU’s Doom.
