Last month, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’sGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy finally concluded with the critically acclaimed and financially successfulGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While the MCU still has plenty of content for film and television in production, the film was very much a goodbye to a team that has been a big part of the MCU’s storytelling for nearly a decade. For many fans, along with this departure to familiar faces came a bit of a crossroads.
It’s no secret to anyone following the statistics that in a post-Endgame world, Marvel has not entirely been performing as well in the eyes of critics and audiences as it used to. The more recent Marvel Disney+ shows have displayed declining interest from fanswith low viewership numbers. On the cinematic side of things, February sawAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaserve as a warning to the studioin the shape of a Box Office Flop.
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To put it simply, the more recent films and shows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have not managed to keep audiences as interested in the franchise as Marvel Studios probably hoped. Despite this, whenGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3was released in May to far better box office numbers than February’s financial blunder, as well as a highly favorable critical reception, it was proven that yes, these films can still make money when they are deemed worth seeing by the audience. With that in mind, here are some things Marvel Studios can learn fromGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3in its future endeavors in an attempt to have the MCU regain its lost footing.
Not Everything Needs to Be a Setup
One of the most important reasons for Marvel Studios’s initial success with its film universe, to begin with, was its willingness to connect its films with the purpose of drawing audiences into an ever-expanding shared narrative that spanned multiple franchises. Given that the inclusion of cameos, Easter eggs, and planting seeds for future plot threads has always been a staple of the MCU, it’s not inherently a problem that thepost-Endgame line of films and tvhave done the same.
However, there is a stark contrast in how such things were handled years ago, versus how they are handled today. Whereas movies like 2010’sIron Man 2started to lay some of the groundwork for the Avengers Initiative, and the post-credits scene of 2012’sMarvel’s The Avengersgave audiences their first glimpse at Thanos, many of the films and shows of the ongoing Multiverse Saga havein and of themselves. 2021’sBlack Widowdid not serve much more of a purposethan to introduce audiences to Yelena Belova, and nearly all the Disney+ shows suffer narratively by being forced to include connections to other shows and movies.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, however, does none of that. While the ending leaves the door open ever so slightly for certain characters to return, the film’s story is 100% committed to furthering one story, and one story only: its own. This is a breath of fresh air and makes getting invested far less of a chore for audiences who don’t want to have to see another project to understand it. If more MCU films focused on this type of storytelling, it could make for more digestible experiences for viewers.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Personal
In its efforts to continue itsever-expanding cinematic universe, Marvel has noticeably raised the stakes in its more recent movies. Gone are the days of solo superhero films such as 2015’sAnt-Man, a fairly simple heist movie, or any of theIron Manfilms, which all have Tony Stark dealing with relatively low-stakes conflicts between him and his enemies. Phases 4 and 5, in comparison, have consistently brought world-ending, universe-ending, or even multiverse-ending threats to the stage, leaving viewers with less time to sit back and get into the finer details of the stories. When the latestAnt-ManandDoctor Strangefilms have higher stakes thanAvengers: Endgame, it’s pretty clear the power scaling of MCU threats has gotten a bit out of hand.
In contrast to this trend,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3keeps the threat relatively low for the universe. The film’s stakes are instead tied directly to the fates of the protagonists. The very personalhistory between Rocket Raccoonand The High Evolutionary allows the story to become more emotionally potent, raising the stakes in a far more impactful way for the audience than the arbitrary and increasingly frequent “death of the universe” could hope to accomplish. While certain concepts such as the multiverse should no doubt be explored given the fact thatAvengers: Secret Warsis where it’s all headed, the MCU ought to also be able to tell smaller-scale stories where the stakes are directly tied to the beloved protagonists, which is somethingGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3excels at.
Don’t Be Afraid To Have An Ending
One of the very clear pitfalls of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s storytelling model is its lack of willingness to end the stories of its heroes in solo films, instead preferring to save the sendoffs for the major crossover events. While this can lead to films like Avengers: Endgame having a lot more emotional payoff, can negatively impact the stakes and expectations for the solo films which generally are not able to give conclusive endings for their protagonists. In February’s trilogy-cappingAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,no protagonist dared be harmedout of fear that they would not be able to appear in the next Avengers movie. The film is all set up for the future of the MCU, a creative decision that removed any real potential closure from the Ant-Man trilogy as a three-part narrative.
Where films likeAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniahave failed to effectively bring any sort of arcs from the trilogy full circle,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3is exclusively focused on telling the final chapter of the team’s three-part story. While the door is left open for certain Guardians members to return, their arcs are complete, and nothing in the film is sacrificed by the limitation of preparing for future crossovers. In this sense, theGuardians of the Galaxyfilms may be the most effective standalone MCU trilogy, with defined and complete journeys and arcs for its protagonists. It is no doubt something Marvel ought to look at in high regard and take inspiration from in other projects down the line.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3is in theaters now.
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