After a few disappointing years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel is rejuvenating the hype with recent projects such as “Deadpool and Wolverine,” giving fans a new wave of excitement that hasn’t been there since “Spiderman: No Way Home” and “Avengers: Endgame.”

Since Phase Three, which was comprised of films from 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” to 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Marvel has added 10 films to their universe which make up Phases Four and Five. These movies averaged around $800 million in worldwide box office sales. Meanwhile, Phase Three averaged around $1.06 billion per movie.

This difference can be due to the negative reviews that these films received. Metacritic had five movies within Phase Four and Five that scored 60 or lower. They only had two films at a 70 or higher which were “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spiderman: No Way Home,” both released in 2021. In comparison, Phase Three had seven films with a score of 70 or higher. 2018’s massive hit “Black Panther” was the highest with an 88. No movie in this phase scored a 60 or below.

Marvel has also released a plethora of new TV shows following Phase Three which followed the development of the MCU, but these shows were inconsistent in quality and ratings. A few standouts like “Loki” season one and two along with “Wanda Vision” have high marks on sites like IMDb. Yet, they were drowned out by TV shows like “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” “Secret Invasion,” and “Echo,” which all received lukewarm reviews. Each had a score of 6 out of 10 or less on IMDb.

With this decline in consistency and ratings, fans have been looking to enjoy non-MCU Marvel projects. The most recent release for this year, “Deadpool and the Wolverine,” is a gray area when it comes to being in the main MCU timeline, which is where the main cast of heroes reside. Despite this, it is the best-performing film that Marvel has released since “Spiderman No Way Home.” Additionally, “X-Men 97” is a flourishing animated TV show outside the MCU timeline. It has garnered high praise from nearly every review platform with an 8.8/10 on IMDb, 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 82.

While these projects represented needed successes, Marvel had another issue at hand when it came to their future. Following the release of actor Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, Marvel’s direction seemed unclear. Kang the Conqueror was slated to be the next Avenger-level threat following the defeat of Thanos. This was derailed when Majors faced heavy legal action in December of 2023. He was found guilty of assault and harassment against his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Despite Majors’ pivotal role for the future of the MCU and the next Avengers film “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” Marvel decided to let him go.

For the next six months following Majors’ release, Marvel did not have a main villain in the MCU. There was speculation of recasts for Kang the Conqueror, but nothing was confirmed until July of this year.

At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel revealed the return of Robert Downey Jr., but instead of returning as Iron Man he had a new role as Dr. Doom, the new Avengers-level threat to the MCU. This reveal left many divided. Questions about the lack of creativity on Marvel’s end came up, while others were cheering his turning of the heel. This divisiveness had garnered a lot of attention surrounding the MCU. The announcement allowed for many future projects to gain additional traction. “Captain America: Brave New World” is the next film set to release in February of 2025. They also revealed “Thunderbolts” which is set to release three months after in May of 2025. Their roadmap shows a few more films releasing in the near future which includes films like Blade and a Fantastic Four movie. This is Marvel’s chance to stoke the fire and keep fans on their heels until the next big hero team-up in 2026 with Avengers Five.

While the future success of the MCU is still unknown, projects like “Deadpool and the Wolverine” and “X-Men 97” have sparked increased interest in the MCU. The next few years will determine if these projects were a one off or if Marvel is back to their Phase Three success.