The MCU Reboot Needs To Get Here And Save Marvel

Now, casual fans reading this may wonder why the MCU needs a reboot…after all, Deadpool & Wolverine is currently killing it in theaters. But this theatrical success follows a rough couple of years where movies like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and especially The Marvels severely unperformed. Marvel seemed like it was collapsing under the weight of so-called “superhero fatigue,” and to make matters worse, they had to fire their next Big Bad, Jonathan Majors, meaning all the setup to make Kang the next Avengers bad guy was a complete waste.

This is why many (including myself) see Marvel bringing back the Russos and Robert Downey Jr. as an indication they are panicking … making the safest possible choices rather than trying to do something new. However, one aspect of this panic that gives me hope is having Downey Jr. play Doctor Doom. As comics readers know, all signs point to us getting a big-screen adaptation of the 2015 Secret Wars series, which means the MCU is almost certainly getting a reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars.

Those comics brought characters from different realities together to battle, and the eventual resolution made lasting changes to the main timeline (like bringing over Miles Morales from the Ultimate universe). After the success of Deadpool & Wolverine, the MCU will almost certainly use the reboot to bring Logan, the X-Men, and even the Fantastic Four into the main film continuity. And if Kevin Feige is feeling really ambitious, this could be a chance to recast some of our favorite heroes that have effectively aged out of being youthful onscreen superheroes. 

Now, why do I think the MCU reboot may be what it takes to truly save Marvel? For one thing, this is the cinematic equivalent of a comic book relaunching with a new first issue; something that is meant to entice readers who want to check it out from the very beginning. Think about the number of people you’ve heard complain that the MCU is confusing and that watching all the Disney+ shows feels like homework … for them, a reboot is a chance to enjoy this cinematic universe without its decade and a half of narrative bloat.

Plus, if Marvel is willing to really kill its darlings, an MCU reboot is a great chance to prune (to borrow a term from the TVA) the shows and films that nobody really likes and streamline this universe.

For example, let’s get rid of nonsense like Eternals and the Quantum Realm, and let’s make Deadpool & Wolverine the swan song for the TVA and this ongoing obsession with the multiverse. While we’re at it, Disney should use this opportunity to create more shows aimed at older fans … nobody cared about Nick Fury’s misadventures with the Skrulls, but countless fans would like more tales of Jessica Jones. 

Finally, an MCU reboot is arguably a chance to finally do this cinematic adaptation of the comics some justice. Younger fans may not remember this, but the real reason the MCU began with characters like Iron Man and Thor (who were considered mostly B-listers at the time) is that Marvel had previously sold the film rights to popular characters like the X-Men and Fantastic Four in order to avoid bankruptcy.

Now that everything but Spider-Man is firmly in Disney’s control, this is the perfect opportunity to rebuild this universe the way it should have been built in the first place.

Now, there’s no guarantee an MCU reboot will save Marvel … the powers that be might very well reboot this cash cow and then screw the pooch a second time. The important thing is that the reboot can save Marvel, and that’s a chance worth taking. I’m no Doctor Strange, but out of all the 14 million plus different possible futures for the MCU, this might be the only one in which it survives.