Marvel Franchise Expansions: Where the Films, Shows, and Games Worked and What’s to Come
Marvel has been a huge name in entertainment for decades. From its days of going head-to-head with DC in the comic book scene to its modern dominance of the annual cinematic slate, Marvel has continued to depict the epic superheroes people are dying to see on the page or on the screen.
The films and shows within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have become the focus for the brand and discussion around Marvel for several years now. Its place in the entertainment sphere, even with the somewhat lacking recent instalments, looks to still have very firm footing. So, what’s working, and what could be next?
Expanding Across the Entertainment Space
The big thing with Marvel on film is that it held such high standards for a very long time. Up to Infinity War, you could cite a few, maybe a handful of continuity errors or significant breaks in common sense, such as the existence and hiding of Wakanda with its technology and location within the world.
Even so, enough fit the overarching story and the continuity established after each chapter that it’d continue to be engaging and a story that you could run with knowing that each new piece fit and was worth your time. Endgame threw a bit of a spanner in the works with the introduction of time travel and Captain America deserting.
After that monumental and deserved box office hit that was Endgame, the MCU decided to expand into TV shows as well as Phase Four and Five of films. Games were also released in the form of Avengers, Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and Spider-Man 2, but they’re not considered to be canon to the centrepiece universe.
Neither are the Spider-Verse animated films, but they are also of a very high quality to begin with and then cut too short for the second. On TV, however, while Marvel has tried to expand the universe with long-form entertainment, it’s struggled to stick the landing, particularly when it comes to continuity.
There’s a case to be made for Moon Knight being an interesting concept with a character who could fit into the wider story, but others have significant issues. Secret Invasion changes everything we know about the setting, WandaVision redeems the irredeemable, Loki trivialises the Infinity Stones, She-Hulk can leave through the fourth wall, and so on.
Where to Go Next for Marvel
Doomsday is on the way. Out of nowhere, a new big bad will be revealed, and the heroes of the jumbled-up Marvel film series will need to react to their arrival. Helping to inspire confidence is that Spider-Man: Brand New Day – a retread of No Way Home that also makes Jean Grey a horrifying villain who murders and enslaves at will – made over $2.4 billion worldwide.
Still, there are more arenas that this goliath of an entertainment property could explore. For example, Game of Thrones has spread from books to TV to tourist hotspots to board games, stage plays, and online gaming. On stage, the setting boasts the novelty of being among the few non-British creations to take to the Royal Shakespeare theatre in the form of The Mad King.
The IP could also retread old ground, if permitted. There used to be a very popular suite of official Marvel jackpot online slots. They were replaced when the current IP owner took over. Now, the online casino in Canada hosts its replacements and expansions in the form of the Age of the Gods games.
These slots feature all manner of gods, deities, mythical creatures, and more, being quite a straightforward flip from the former Marvel games featuring The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and so on. Even so, the scene has become a hot spot for major franchise expansions, as shown by Game of Thrones and The Lost Boys games.
Marvel, being such a colossus, has a lot of room to manoeuvre. To truly set the record straight and try to curry the same favour as the MCU’s first three phases did, they’d need to put a direct end to the current line, end it all, and then begin again with whichever heroes they want to follow a new story and develop new characters.
Unfortunately, Marvel’s most popular line of products – its film and TV shows – have failed to uphold continuity and meet the standards set in the first three phases. The best thing to do is to start anew with talented and mostly untethered writers who can forge a new foundation for another successful run across entertainment.
