So I was watching Infinity War earlier on Netflix and it struck me that the MCU is really the cultural sequel to Lord of the Rings. Before LOTR there had been fantasy movies (and superhero) and book adaptions but nothing as ambitious as a very high budget trilogy of films. Star Wars would be the only comparison but at least at that time sci fi was relatively popular and profitable. Harry Potter doesn't count for a few reasons but the most important being it's aimed at a young audience. Fantasy in films has done marginal at the best of times. But then LOTR happened and it was a huge success. Audiences were willing to sit through nearly 3 hours of elves and wizards and come back for more. Again I want to stress that that was pretty much unheard of before LOTR.
So what was the next step? Not just a single story told over a series of films but a series of films with their own stories spanning over a decade which created a very rich and detailed universe all driving towards a final confrontation. At first audiences came to see Iron Man or Hulk but eventually they started coming to see the next step the Marvel Universe would take. I know you all know this and I'm not pretending to say anything profound or original it just hit me as I finished Infinity War what a truly massive undertaking it must have been on every level. I mean it's often difficult to get the same actor sign on to do 2 movies let alone a decades worth. My only wish is that it all ends gracefully with Endgame. I know there is a Spiderman movie coming out after that but that's ok since Sony has rights to it and it doesn't need to connect to the larger MCU after Endgame. I think it would be a mistake to continue the MCU as a whole after Endgame for a variety of reasons not the least of which is name recognition. Most people had heard of Captain America or Iron Man, Ant Man and Black Panther are pushing it. If they continue with unknowns outside comic fans sales will dwindle. If they pull a DBZ and try to one up the Thanos story fans will get weary and sales will dwindle. Endgame is the end and it needs to be that way or else.
Anyone have any thoughts?
