Diehard Marvel fans are finding themselves bored with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and are wondering if it is on the path to failure.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, is one of the largest movie franchises in the world, inspired by the Marvel comics. For years, it’s been hugely successful, with Avengers: Endgame becoming one of the largest grossing movies in the world. But today, people have been enjoying the movies less, not as much money is coming in, and people are beginning to wonder if “superhero fatigue” is becoming a real concern for the franchise.

Superhero fatigue is the idea that people can become tired of watching the same kind of movies: heroes coming in to save the day by defeating a semi-evil villain with a giant battle by the end of the movie. 

“I feel like the fans are being overwhelmed and then are less interested,” sophomore Jonathan Evans said of the MCU. “You know what happened with Westerns, that that kind of fizzled out. There’s so many, I feel like that’s gonna happen to superheroes.”

This isn’t the only concern, though. People are starting to feel there’s no plot to the next “saga” of the MCU. 

“I don’t feel like they found the next narrative,” said English teacher Kevin Deliee. “It doesn’t seem like this is leading up to anything.” 

For years, Marvel Studios has been wildly popular and wildly successful. When the Avengers came together in The Avengers, after being in separate movies for four years, it was a big stride in the moviemaking industry. Starting in 2021, however, the fanbase started to waver. People became overwhelmed, confused, and annoyed. Marvel could easily be blamed for the declining success of their movies and shows. But some people have other ideas, too.

“I feel like fans can be their own worst enemy at times,” Evans explained. “Marvel fans who say Phase 4 is bad and isn’t good discourages Marvel to make more things, so fans have less to watch.” 

People may begin picking and choosing which movies and shows they’re going to watch as more things begin to come out and more interest is lost. Some people may not have time for everything on the Marvel Studios docket and begin choosing what interests them instead of watching everything.

Freshman Anna Ibarra explained that people were excited to see what would come next in the universe, but with very high standards.

“I don’t go out of my way to watch every single series and movie,” Ibarra said. “I definitely do have more interest in certain ones than others.”

With fans concerned that the next saga of the MCU has no plot, or that there is not enough variation in their stories, these concerns could become a big issue for the future of the studio. With almost 20 revealed MCU titles coming out by 2026, Marvel Studios may very well be in over their heads. But some fans are greeting these new titles with pure excitement. There was a huge amount of enthusiasm at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) this past summer as president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige announced titles like “Daredevil: Born Again,” “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.” 

Some fans will remain loyal to the franchise, no matter what, it seems. 

“I’ll watch it all. I’m a diehard fan. I’ll live and die like that,” Evans states.