The Marvel Cinematic Universe is like the popular kid in school—everyone wants to be them and everyone follows the trends that they set. It’s no coincidence that DC began trying to set up their own cinematic universe after seeing the success that Marvel was achieving with the Avengers. In a similar vein, Marvel may once again be able to retain its title as the superhero trendsetter with its upcoming Disney Plus MCU shows.
In theory, the cinematic universe model is a great idea; it keeps fans coming back to see their favorite characters in new stories (and entering into the stories and lives of other characters), and having a consistent, planned plotline that threads through most of the movies and actually connects them makes every move feel intentional. However, it seems like Marvel is one of the only companies that managed to create a successful cinematic universe. DC has had more misses than hits, and other attempts at cinematic universes (such as the Dark Universe) have just fizzled out.
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While Marvel certainly set the standard for their cinematic releases, it seems like they’ve been slightly lacking in the television department thus far. Shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are successful, but not watched by the same number of people who keep up with the movies, and others like Agent Carter didn’t get the views necessary to have more than a few seasons. Even most of Marvel's Netflix Original shows only got a few seasons and never quite gained the popularity of the films (and it didn't help that the storylines and characters weren't really connected to the main MCU films in any way). It seemed strange that this giant of the entertainment industry was having trouble making their television properties as viable and successful as the stories that hit the big screen.
Enter Disney Plus, the Disney-exclusive streaming service, and suddenly Marvel came out with a plethora of announcements about upcoming shows, stirring excitement in fans who were excited to see some of their favorite comic book characters finally come to life in a TV show. Not only was this a way for Marvel to introduce new stories, but it provided a perfect avenue to expand on some of the Marvel characters the audience already knows and loves, with the same quality they would get from a theatrically released movie. With WandaVision now streaming and the upcoming releases of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Loki, it seems that Marvel might once again be starting a trend.
Television shows are the perfect way to extend the stories of characters without being restricted to a two-hour film or how viable that character's story is going to be for box office sales. What is most important - and will likely become most influential - about these Disney Plus releases is that they tie directly into the movies, and use the MCU versions of these characters, rather than creating stories unconnected to previous MCU entries or new versions of pre-existing characters, like some superhero shows have done in the past.
This is what is going to set the MCU's TV universe apart from competitors like DC, at least initially. If the way movie trends have gone is any indication, it's likely that eventually, companies like DC might start to create their own television shows around pre-existing DCEU characters and releasing them onto a streaming service.
Marvel has mostly told its stories through film, so with the extra time that a TV series allows to spend with characters and storylines they might be able to break some new ground. The Disney Plus MCU shows will allow Marvel to explore characters in interesting formats that would not work as well on screen. For example, the sitcom style of WandaVision plays much better as a TV show than a film (because that is the format that it's parodying), and it being a show on a streaming service rather than a big film release allows the team behind the camera to be more creative and experimental in the way that they tell this story.
In general, the Disney Plus shows are going to allow fans to spend time with some of their favorite characters that have perhaps been more pushed to the side in the mainline MCU movies. WandaVision will give fans more of an insight into Wanda's character, and more specifically, just how much her powers can do, which is something fans have been begging Marvel to dig into for a few years. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will allow the audience to spend more time with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, fan-favorite characters who until this point have always just been the supporting characters in Captain America's story.
Even Loki gives fans a chance to see another one of the most beloved Marvel characters on screen again, and gives him free rein to get up to whatever antics he wants, instead of once again being slotted into only supporting character or villain screen time. This kind of approach will likely be very popular with Marvel's ever-growing fanbase, and it might be an indication to other comic book franchises of how to provide the kind of content that fans want, but that also further explores the storylines they've already established.
It will be interesting to see how successful the MCU Disney Plus shows end up becoming, and whether or not they will set a trend in the industry in the same way that the MCU film releases did. It's likely that if the shows are at all successful (and let's be honest, with the sheer size and loyalty of the Marvel fanbase, it's almost guaranteed that the shows will do well), we may see more superhero shows coming out in the future that follow the formats of these upcoming Marvel ones.As the entertainment industry is currently in a golden age of TV with the rise of streaming services and high-budget television, it's no surprise that the superhero genre might be the next to dominate the TV industry, with Marvel once again at the helm.
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