Summary
Over the last five years, theMarvel Cinematic Universehas struggled to find its footing, and I’ve determined that the problem boils down to the fact that there hasn’t been an Avengers movie sinceAvengers: Endgamein 2019. While MCU Phase 4 had some high points, Phase 5 has seen some of the franchise’s lowest lows. Kicking off with the critical and financial failure ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Phase 5 has also seen the MCU break records with its lowest rated project ever inSecret Invasion, and its biggest box office bomb inThe Marvels.
Now, there are undoubtedly a number of problems with the current MCU, not the least of which being the pace at which Marvel released its movies and shows, which made it difficult to keep up. However, I believe the biggest problem is the lack ofAvengers movies. Prior to Phase 4, each phase of the MCU was capped by an Avengers movie, a film that assembled the heroes and tied the disparate stories of the universe together. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that interest in the MCU has waned with each year we don’t have anAvengers movie, because they make the franchise worth watching.
Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best
Over 17 years and 35 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have redefined blockbuster cinema. But how do all the films stack up?
The Avengers Movies Made All Other MCU Releases Necessary For Me To Watch
Before The Avengers, I Went Back And Watched All The MCU Movies I’d Missed
Prior to the release ofThe Avengersin 2012, the MCU was simply a series of superhero movies all set in the same world with very little connective tissue. Sure, there was the promise of an Avengers movie, but that didn’t come to fruition until four years after the franchise launched in 2008. So I, like I’m sure many people,didn’t watch every single MCU movie untilThe Avengersmade it necessary. Before I went to seeThe Avengersin theaters, I watched the MCU movies I’d missed up to that point -ThorandCaptain America: The First Avenger.
Iron Man’s death and Captain America’s retirement were so poignant because I’d watched their stories play out for almost 10 years.
Perhaps it wasn’t strictly necessary to watchThorandCaptain Americabefore seeingThe Avengers; I’m sure I still would’ve understood the movie and enjoyed it. But because I watchedThor, I had a better understanding Loki, and I had the important context of his relationship with his brother. Because I watchedCaptain America, I could appreciate Phil Coulson’s admiration for Steve Rogers, and I understood that Steve was a man out of time.My experience of watchingThe Avengerswas deepened and made all the better because I’d watched all the MCU movies leading up to it.
The same was the case forAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame. Both movies were spectacles of superhero action and heart-wrenching stories about the impacts of heroism. Butwhat made those Avengers movies extra special was the decade of storytelling leading up to their release. Iron Man’s death and Captain America’s retirement were so poignant because I’d watched their stories play out for almost 10 years. Similarly toThe Avengers,Infinity WarandEndgamerewarded those who had watched all the MCU movies up to that point, retroactively making them all necessary viewing.
The Multiverse Saga Has Felt Scattered And Struggled To Keep Me Interested
The three phases ofThe Infinity Saga had a specific structure: a collection of solo movies and sequels that culminated in an Avengers movie. When The Multiverse Saga launched in 2021, Marvel Studios threw out this structure in more ways than one. Not only did they add TV shows to the mix - as part of a mandate from parent company Disney to ensure they had content for their streaming service, Diseny+ - but they eschewed the idea that phases needed to be capped off with an Avengers movie.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Thor: Love and Thunder
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Avengers: Secret Wars
June 29, 2025
I think the lack of an Avengers movie at the end of Phase 4, and the plan to not have one at the end of Phase 5, is the biggest problem facing the MCU.Avengers movies were the pillars of the franchise, they were the event movies that drew crowds and encouraged people to catch up on the releases they’d missed. Phase 4 had something akin to an Avengers movie withSpider-Man: No Way Home, but that encouraged watching past Spider-Man movies specifically, not MCU releases.The Avengersis a franchise specific to the MCU, and the movies are the crossover events Marvel needs to make all their releases matter.
Without an Avengers movie, the Multiverse Saga as a whole, including both Phase 4 and 5, has become what Phase 1 was - a series of disconnected releases. However, Marvel’s Multiverse Saga is in a worse position, frankly, because by the time an Avengers movie releases, there will be so much to catch up on. Not only will there be 15 movies beforeAvengers 5releases in 2026, there will be 13 TV series, some with multiple seasons.For those who haven’t been keeping up, it might be too much to go back and watch before a new Avengers movie, especially when not everything is relevant or necessary viewing.
How To Watch the Marvel Movies In Order (By Release Date & In Order Of MCU Timeline Events)
Want to catch up before the next release, or just revisit the universe for a refresher? Here’s the order to watch the entire MCU timeline.
Marvel Needs The Avengers Movies Now More Than Ever To Make Me Care Again
I’ve Watched Every Phase 4 & 5 MCU Release, But Even My Patience Is Running Thin
Even for someone like me, who’s watched every MCU Multiverse Saga movie and TV show,it’s becoming a bit of a chore to watch releases I don’t necessarily enjoy on the off-chance that they have a bigger connection to the franchise. Unlike the Infinity Saga, which rewarded viewers for keeping up with an Avengers movie at the end of each phase, the Multiverse Saga doesn’t have that kind of incentive. Sure, Phases 4 and 5 have had some great movies and TV shows, and they’ve introduced some exciting characters, but too much time is passing before those characters have returned in any significant way.
Marvel’s Avengers movies didn’t just assemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, they brought the entire franchise together and gave viewers like me a reason to stay up to date or catch up on what we’d missed.
There are, of course, outside factors affecting the MCU’s release strategy, including the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 and the slowdown mandated by returning Disney CEO Bob Iger. Butthe plan to throw out the MCU’s original structure and go two whole phases without an Avengers movie releasing was flawed from the jump, and it’s created some of the franchise’s biggest current problems. Marvel needs an Avengers movie - or, really, any movie to make all those that have been released so far worth catching up on - as soon as possible.
Although there might not be much that Marvel can do at this point, since it takes a good deal of time to make an Avengers movie, they should at the very least learn from this mistake. Marvel’s Avengers movies didn’t just assemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, they brought the entire franchise together and gave viewers like me a reason to stay up to date or catch up on what we’d missed. Because of this, it’s a problem that there hasn’t been an Avengers movie sinceAvengers: Endgameand I hope Marvel learns the right lesson from the current state of the MCU.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Cast
Avengers: Age of Ultron, released in 2015, follows Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man and Captain America, as they contend with Ultron, a rogue AI with plans for global annihilation. This Marvel sequel sees The Avengers form uneasy alliances and embark on a perilous global adventure to thwart Ultron’s schemes.
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War brings together the Avengers and their allies to face a new threat from the cosmos, Thanos, who seeks to collect the Infinity Stones. The film, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, unites numerous superhero characters in a battle to prevent Thanos' ambition of altering reality itself.
