Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantummaina: When Will We Tire of Superhero Films?

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantummaina released on 17 February.

Marvel Cinematic Universe is relentless in its mission to serve its audience content – from shows like Loki to movies like the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummaina – there isn’t a shortage of Marvel content. However, like with everything else, not all of it perfectly ties together in regard to its narrative continuity.

WandaVision, mimicking the template of the classic sitcom, was the first of its kind under the superhero genre. And its brilliance is not lost on the audience. It packed a punch with its conceptualization and tonality – remaining true to its roots but bringing something new to the table with each episode. 

However, the less popular Eternals did not enjoy such a rousing response at the theatres despite boasting a cast of Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek and others. The storyline was predictable and dragged on for no apparent reason. 

In a way, the upcoming content from Marvel studios after the reverberating success of Avengers: Endgame has a 50 per cent success rate. The storylines meander, while at other times it is enjoyable, but never consistently so. 

But does the sheer amount of movies produced create an underlying exhaustion concerning the genre? 

There is, no doubt, a deliberate attempt to repackage the genre. Moon Kight is a shining example of the same – it steps away from the classic superhero template that Marvel has mastered – the Oscar Issac show stands on its own two feet. And with films like Spiderman: No Way Home, staying close to the template – both work for now. 

Marvel is tiptoeing between the 'something of the old and something of the new' mantra. And doing it with good reason. 

However, the explosion of content has arguably tired the audience. But how this fatigue transforms the cine-goers only time will tell. 

Kevin Feige dismissed these concerts, reports news portal Aceshowbiz, he argues: "I've been at Marvel Studios for over 22 years, and most of us here at Marvel Studios have been around a decade or longer together. From probably my second year at Marvel, people were asking, 'Well, how long is this going to last? Is this fad of comic book movies going to end?”

Adding,  "I didn't really understand the question. Because to me, it was akin to saying after 'Gone With the Wind',' Well, how many more movies can be made off of novels? Do you think the audience will sour on movies being adapted from books?'"

Despite his outright dismissal the rise and fall of genres have always been pertinent to show business. The westerns had their moment in the 1950s and romantic comedies were immensely popular in the 1990s – Pretty Woman was the most commercially successful film of 1990. However, the success these genres earlier enjoyed has since waned. 

Even though superhero films can be packaged in various templates, for instance, The Batman which was essentially a detective-mystery film – the larger narrative remains the same. A caped crusader must overcome hurdles to bring justice to the world. 

So even if the templates keep shifting, the tropes largely remain the same – this might be comforting for some and frustrating for others. But to completely discount the possibility of its gradual dwindling popularity is unrealistic. 

This is not to say, it would happen immediately – it won’t. But these big films – trying to be bigger still – with an overload of parallel universe themes and intergalactic travel – can only take you so far. In the end, though, it’s not a question of 'when' we will reach our saturation point but 'how'.