Summary

Less MCU output and focus on essential characters could be a positive correction for the franchise, says Mark Ruffalo.
The expansion to streaming has made it difficult for casual viewers to keep up with every moment.
Too much interconnected content has begun to muddy the narrative for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel star Mark Ruffalo is getting candid about why the MCU has faltered a bit in recent years, and he believes that the move to streaming and Disney+ killed some of its mystique. While speaking with GQ, the actor, who has starred as Bruce Banner, aka Hulk since 2012’s The Avengers, commented on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its expansion into TV shows, which saw content expand from 12 hours and 24 minutes in Phase 1 to 54 hours and 40 minutes in Phase 4.

Ruffalo believes that the streaming move seemed exciting at first, but it eventually made the wait for the films less special. See what he had to say about the impact of streaming and Disney+ on the success of the MCU below…

“I think the expansions into streaming was really exciting, but the thing about Marvel movies is you had to wait three years and that created a mystique. These corrections could be really positive things. Will it be what it was? I don’t know.”

Part of the correction he’s speaking about is less output and focus on essential characters, something that Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about during one of his last earnings calls. The move for less MCU is already happening this year with the only film being released from the brand being Deadpool & Wolverine, which opens in July. Various delays pushed other Marvel films down the calendar, which could be viewed as a blessing in disguise given the fact that most of their recent releases, save Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, were met with underwhelming box office and mixed critical reviews.

The MCU Only Has One Theatrical Release This Year

With the expansion to streaming, it seemed to indicate that nearly every film and TV show connects to some other part of the MCU, which could make it difficult for casual viewers to keep up with every single moment. For instance, Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel was introduced in her own Disney+ series ahead of her second appearance in the theatrically released The Marvels, which also served as a sequel to Captain Marvel.

Despite a robust 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the show ended up being the least-watched Marvel series on Disney+. If audiences didn’t watch Ms. Marvel, it made it seem like they could be lost while watching The Marvels. Some think this is part of the reason the film achieved the MCU’s worst box office to date.

Related Avengers Star Says Solo Hulk Movie Will Not Happen in the MCU While appearing at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Mark Ruffalo shared a disappointing update on a solo Hulk movie’s potential.

Another example comes from the Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which focused on Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) as they uncover a conspiracy by a group of shapeshifting Skrulls to conquer Earth. If you watched that show, which premiered before The Marvels, it was confusing and off-putting that Jackson’s Nick Fury, who also appeared in the film, seemed like a different character from the series, and he didn’t even mention any of his ordeals from the show. At the end of the day, having too much of a good thing has begun to muddy the narrative.

Here’s hoping then that this year will put the MCU on the right track again, with the franchise only having one theatrical release this year in Deadpool & Wolverine.