2023 will be a new kind of year for Marvel Studios, and that’s mainly because, after Phase Four, many fans of the MCU will be expecting the company’s Disney Plus formula improves since it’s those series that will make up most of its content strategy.

All things considered, next year will see Marvel release twice as many miniseries as movies, with 6 TV shows and 3 films, meaning it will have to bring its A game to streaming to defeat the notion that Disney Plus series dilute the MCU’s value or, at the very least, that not everything it puts out is a must-watch. Unequivocally, there’s been a declining trend in interest and viewership for the shows, not the movies, so what lessons are there to be learned from Phase Four’s TV experiments?

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Timing Is Everything, Even In The Multiverse

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It’s safe to say the overall performance of Phase Four, from both an artistic and commercial standpoint was marked by experimentation, but regardless of the tinkering that affected that very successful Marvel formula, not all the changes were entirely voluntary. The MCU’s Disney Plus era, and the service as a whole, kicked off during the COVID pandemic, at a time when many consumers had extra viewing time they could allocate to entertainment, and thus were probably less picky with their choices.

WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki, two of Marvel's most-watched series, were all released when Marvel fans were experiencing post-Endgame withdrawal symptoms as there weren’t really any superhero movies to compete with, nor had Star Wars fully made its mark on streaming. That landscape changed when Marvel movies returned to theaters and new Disney Plus content extended beyond just The Mandalorian and a few animated movies.

Under former CEO Bob Chapek, Disney Plus toyed around with the days it dropped new episodes for Marvel shows, whether it was on Wednesday or Fridays, as well as even double-dipping at times, since the relatively unknown Ms. Marvel briefly had to compete for attention with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Similarly, all the series involving legacy characters from the Infinity Saga came out before the newcomers, and ultimately left Moon Knight and She-Hulk for last.

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There’s a reason concerts have opening acts and main events, and it’s arguable that Disney Plus could be set up this way, but unfortunately, 2023 will again feature Nick Fury’s Secret Invasion and Loki in the earlier part of the year and leave Ironheart, Echo and Agatha Harkness for later. While it’s clear this schedule is planned years ahead sometimes, with The Marvels closing the movie slate in summer, Marvel Studios might have shot itself in the foot by relegating its least popular characters to a quieter period.

If Disney and Marvel want their new superheroes to succeed, they ought to give them the best chance to do so, and it should be a no-brainer that includes releases when interest in the franchise is high and fans' undivided attention can be shifted to streaming shows, not the other way around. By 2023, Disney and Marvel's executives should have enough data in hand to have perfected their timing.

What’s Actually Wrong With Disney Plus’ MCU?

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A common complaint among Marvel fans is that many of the Disney Plus series play out like 6 episodes that 4 years ago would have been turned into a movie. Another is that, despite the extended format and time, MCU shows continue to be rather formulaic in their approach, as fans have come to expect the typical big reveal in the penultimate episode, followed by a big CGI battle in the finale.

Television provides writers with newer avenues to explore, and that should involve partly ditching what’s become pretty much a port of the Marvel third act from movies. Disney Plus’ MCU currently does not fully embrace that change completely, except for She-Hulk, as well as its two special presentations, Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Sure, She-Hulk was one of Phase Four’s worst performers when it came to viewership, however, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is proof that audiences don’t have any issues warming up to new Marvel characters, provided they’re presented in the right way. Like much of WandaVision, She-Hulk adopts the TV format to its fullest, which is something that Echo, a series that belongs in Daredevil’s world, should definitely have in its DNA.

Back when Daredevil was on Netflix, nobody would contest Jessica Jones, The Punisher, and Luke Cage were not TV shows, and as such, they were never put next to Marvel Studios movies for comparison. As long as viewers continue to find the same tropes from MCU movies on Disney Plus, the latter will continue to be seen as a place for B-listers that weren’t deemed important enough to get their own movie.

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The Secret Invasion storyline is very complex, and while Marvel Studios surely compromised many aspects of it, Nick Fury’s solo adventure already looks prone to falling into the “extra long movie” or “not enough episodes for a TV series categories. Loki was Disney Plus' biggest hit for Marvel, and judging from the fact it had a guaranteed second season, that was hardly a surprise for a studio that trusted its importance in introducing Kang the Conqueror, as well as the mission-like style each episode had for Loki and Mobius.

Marvel's problems on TV aren't born out of failing to honor the MCU's traditions, but rather from sticking too close to that formula. Considering all these series will get made anyhow, as Disney Plus will always need more content, showrunners should tackle streaming like a creative playing ground where new ideas unfold, much like What If...? does. Failing to do so won't kill the shows, but it will continue making them less special, especially as their frequency ramps up.

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