The chairs haven’t been cleared away yet in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, but it’s fair to say Marvel Studios’ return to the nerdiest place on the planet was a fantastic triumph.
Honestly, my head is still spinning from the night’s big reveal (also, I’m quite sleep-deprived) that Robert Downey Jr is set to return to the MCU, not as Iron Man but as the villainous Doctor Doom.
It’s an incredible bit of casting that’s either genius or ridiculously stupid. I honestly haven’t made up my mind, but at this moment, it feels like a coup for Marvel. It’s a risk and one that’ll open them up to a fair amount of criticism, but if they can make it work, then it’s a masterstroke.
To be frank, though, as mind-blowing as learning who the man in the iron mask will be, it wasn’t what impressed me most about this SDCC panel. Nor was it the news that the Russos are definitely returning, despite Kevin Feige claiming they weren’t (if you listen carefully, you’ll hear our Deputy Editor softly weeping), or the reveal of the Avengers 5 title.
Doooooom!
“New mask, same task.”
Robert Downey Jr. surprises Hall H to announce his return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. pic.twitter.com/j1SEjzse3p
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024
No, what impressed me about this panel was its restraint. Yes, I know that sounds silly, considering Marvel just announced that its biggest star is returning as a supervillain, but what I thought was so fascinating is that Marvel appears to have learned a valuable lesson over the last few years.
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There’s been plenty of digital ink spilled about why superhero fatigue set in and why general audiences started to turn against this once unassailable pop culture juggernaut, but honestly, you don’t need to have a brain like Reed Richards to solve the puzzle. The last few Marvel movies just weren’t that great.
Now, there were a few gems, of course, but films like Quantumania, Love and Thunder, and even Black Widow just didn’t seem to impress audiences in the same way earlier films did. Why? Well, a lot of that has to do with the sheer number of projects Marvel Studios was working on; it’s clear to me that the studio was just moving in too many directions at once, and quality suffered as a result.
So then I thought it was brilliant that Marvel’s panel at SDCC was simply focused on the next three movies it’s making. It feels like the attention isn’t on some project 15 films and four TV shows away but on ensuring that the next few movies are as good as they can possibly be.
Yes, I know we’ve got D23 in a few months, and it’s likely we’ll learn more about Kevin Feige’s further Phase 6 plans and other upcoming Marvel movies then. Yet for now, at least it seems like Marvel’s got it on the prize, and the prize isn’t the grand multiverse-spanning story; it’s making good films, and if they can keep that in mind, they’re not doomed yet.
For even more Marvel, keep up to date on Spider-Man 4 and Venom 3, while taking a look at our Marvel movie ranking. You can also find new movies streaming this month.