If you've seen "Avengers Endgame" like me, then you might agree with me when I say it was an epic, overwhelming experience. If you haven't seen it and haven't been spoiled, then you are in for a treat.
One thing I'm sure everyone can agree with is the fact that what Marvel Studios has managed to do is extremely successful.
Since "Endgame" came out, it not only surpassed "Infinity War," to which it's a direct sequel, on the list of top box office grosses of all time, but it also managed to become number two on that list when it replaced "Titanic." With the way things are looking, it looks like the movie may become number one, meaning "Endgame" has made over $2.2 billion.
Marvel Studios didn't just get to that number by just shoving out movies one after another.
They took the time to create stories that were not only respectful to their source material, but also entertaining to the fans of that same source material or just ordinary non-fans.
I was one of those non-fans at some point. I've always been a nerd, but when the Marvel Cinematic Universe started, I wasn't really into it outside of buying the Slurpee cups at 7-Eleven. It wasn't until I decided to see "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" in theaters that I became a fan.
Other movie studios have tried to recreate the success of the MCU by having their own connected film universe.
But so far, none have succeeded and I personally haven't been a fan of them.
A lesser-known cinematic universe is King Arthur. Yes, that King Arthur. There was supposed to be an entire cinematic universe dedicated to him courtesy of Warner Bros., but that all fell apart when "King Arthur: Legend of The Sword" dropped in 2017. The movie didn't interest me at all, but what turned me off from it entirely was the news that it was getting its own universe. This was so unnecessary and such an obvious attempt at jumping on a successful trend without putting in any effort. Thankfully others agreed as the movie flopped and killed these plans entirely
Another failed cinematic universe is the DC Extended Universe. Out of all the people who should have jumped on this bandwagon, it should have been DC. They have just as many interesting characters and stories as Marvel to put on the big screen.
Unfortunately, studio interference from Warner Bros. prevented this from happening.
When Marvel started the MCU, fans had to wait years for their favorite characters to appear in movies. It took three years for all of the Avengers to appear on screen together after the MCU first started.
Warner Bros. wanted to copy the Marvel formula without putting the work in.
The second movie in their cinematic universe, "Batman vs Superman," released in 2016 and featured Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The entire movie was pretty awful and it felt rushed (which it was). Up next was "Suicide Squad," which was also pretty bad.
The nail in the coffin for the DCEU was the awful 2017 "Justice League" movie. This was yet again a mediocre and rushed film that wasn't even better than the worst MCU film, which is "Thor: The Dark World." Although, it does seem like the DCEU is getting back on track with "Wonder Woman," Shazam," and "Aquaman."
These movie studios have tried chasing after that MCU money but refuse to put in the work Marvel Studios did to get it.
I'm glad that I was able to be a part of a cultural phenomenon like this. Seeing "Infinity War" and "Endgame" when they released were the best movie theater experiences that I've ever had.
Judging how studios are trying to hop on this trend, it will be a very long time until it is done successfully. Until then I'll enjoy my superhero movies before the so-called "superhero fatigue" sets in.
