With news of Daredevil: Born Again's next season being its last, and the cancellation of Wonder Man, I think the solution to Marvel's live-action TV shows’ problem is clear: Stop making live-action TV shows! Most of them are not doing well. Not since Season 2 of Loki have I heard everybody talking about a Marvel TV show.
Which is a shame, because the MCU on television had lots of potential. Unlike the Star Wars shows, which MOSTLY didn't transition into the theaters (The Mandalorian and Grogu being the exception), the hope was that MOST of these Marvel shows would somehow connect to the movies, but that just wasn't meant to be. So, here's why Marvel should just quit with these live-action TV shows.
They’ve Seriously Run Out Of Gas
I’ll never forget when I first watched WandaVision. It was unlike anything else in the MCU. Then came The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which felt exciting at the time since we knew it would impact the movies going forward.
Follow that up with the first season of Loki, and Marvel was on a roll. Then, after What If?..., which was interesting (and animated), and Hawkeye, which was enjoyable, it pains me to say that Moon Knight might have been the first stumble. I’ve already talked about how the show was a bit of a missed opportunity, but I think the main issue was that it didn’t seem to hit with people in the same way that all of the other aforementioned shows did.
Ms. Marvel was deemed fun, but there was a lot of vitriol (mostly misguided) when it came to the next show, She-Hulk, which I loved, but a vocal minority on the internet hated. That was Phase 4. Phase 5 was when Marvel TV really went downhill. Secret Invasion was generally deemed terrible, Loki Season 2 was a highlight, but Echo, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, and even Daredevil: Born Again felt kind of unnecessary. So, by the time Wonder Man came along, most people had already checked out of Marvel’s TV output. Gone was the excitement of 2021’s WandaVision, that’s for sure.
Disney+ Already Has Enough Movies And TV Shows As It Is
Another reason why Marvel should stop with the live-action TV shows is that they don’t need to make any more. I mean, have you SEEN how stacked the Marvel pillar of your Disney+ subscription is right now?
There are over 30 MCU movies to watch, several Marvel movies NOT in the MCU (The Spider-Verse movies, both the Chris Evans Fantastic Four movies AND the Michael B. Jordan one, the Fox X-Men movies, and even the Sony Spider-Man-less-Spider-Man movies like Madam Web and Kraven, just to name a few), and so much more already on Disney+.
This is on TOP of the Marvel shows they already have, which also include things like whole seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and even Inhumans. So, in other words, Marvel has ENOUGH content already that they don’t need live-action TV shows anymore. That said…
Maybe They Could Just Stick To Animation Now, Like With X-Men '97
If Marvel wants to continue making TV shows, why not just stick with animation? While I’m sure animated shows are still a pretty penny to make, I doubt they cost as much as putting together another live-action show that will likely not bring in the subscribers that all streaming services crave.
X-Men ‘97 is a great example of a show that gets people talking, and I’m sure they could come up with more creative animated shows that don’t break the bank, but still provide new content. Marvel Zombies was pretty interesting, and while I didn’t check out Eyes of Wakanda or Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, I’ve heard good things.
So, while the upcoming VisionQuest might prove this entire article wrong and have people flock to the show, I won’t hold my breath. So, Marvel, stick with the cartoons, and maybe save yourselves some money!
