Delays in Marvel movies are what MCU should have been after the game ended

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the MCU must now delay the start of phase 4, but this should always have been the plan after Avengers: Endgame. The team epic led by Joe and Anthony Russo closed the Infinity saga with Jon Watts Spider-Man: away from home acting like his epilogue. Since End of Game marked the end of an era, it would have been better for Marvel Studios to always plan a break before phase 4.

While End of Game ended the first ongoing MCU story after 11 years, the universe will continue with a confirmed chain of projects. The slate in Phase 4 and beyond is made up of new and familiar faces as Marvel Studios begins to build another global narrative with the promise of a road-going end. They are also expanding their horizons with small screen projects on Disney +. In short, there is so much to expect in the MCU, starting with Black Widow which was to be deployed in May, followed by that of Chloé Zhao Eternals that was going to happen this fall. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hollywood has been almost immobilized. Marvel Studios delayed Black Widow until November, forcing them to push back all their slate.

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This decision saddened many moviegoers because it means there will be more than a year of difference between the last MCU film, Spider Man: Far from home, and the next; However, even if there was no global health crisis, Marvel Studios should have opted for a longer hiatus from the start. Taking a much longer break between Infinity Saga and Phase 4 gives the audience more time to come to terms with the purpose of the film’s major deaths and the retirement of Captain America. It allows the events of the film to sink completely before moving on to new adventures – that way you don’t feel like End of Game was just a normal movie in the MCU library, because it isn’t.

This is particularly important because phase 4 will actually start with Black Widow. Since Natasha’s death Avengers 4, seeing her run around Taskmaster shortly after her tragic death at Vormir, somehow mocks her death, even if people know that her standalone film is a prequel. This goes for Tony and even Captain America if the rumors are true that they have cameos in the film.

The endings are hard to pin down in general, but the Russos have delivered a perfect mix of great blockbuster actions and character scenarios in Avengers: End of Game making it a satisfactory conclusion. Replicate the success of End of Game would be an even greater feat than End of Game himself. While the public knew that the MCU would not end with the film, it was marketed as the end of an era, which makes sense given that it was the last chapter for some founding heroes.

So having a longer gap would also have given the MCU a sharper break between End of Game and phase 4, generating more interest and anticipation. At this point, Marvel Studios has a fresh start with phase 4. Launch this new phase while the audience is still processing new events from Infinity War and End of Game might have been too early, considering the number of people involved in the Iron Man and Captain America story arcs. So while the wait for Phase 4 is a bit longer than originally planned, the MCU will be better for this.

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