I have seen some talk that test audiences are not liking Captain America: New World Order.
Avengers: Endgame really was a jumping-off point for a lot of people, and it’s understandable. It wrapped up the huge Thanos arc, and 10 years of movies. I think a lot of people were sticking around to see its conclusion. Once it was over, they felt their commitment was, too.
And for the most part, the majority of Marvel’s recent output has been pretty weak. The buildup of the multiverse and Kang had a lot of eyes rolling. Jonathan Majors’ legal problems also messed up their plans so much, they had to revise them on the spot. The streaming shows have been very hit or miss.
I think Marvel trying to build second- and third-tier heroes as the new majors was just not executed well. They did not have the surrounding support of the Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Guardians of the Galaxy wouldn’t been as successful if it weren’t part of the cluster of Avenger-related movies. Instead, they were tossed out with the hope that the Marvel branding alone would be good enough. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. It also didn’t help that a lot of those projects simply weren’t good.
I think to a certain extent; “superhero fatigue” is real. People pushed through for Endgame and called it a day. They were ready to move on to something new. What Marvel announced was not enough to keep them on board. I do wonder if they had pulled the trigger on Fantastic Four and X-Men a lot sooner, if things wouldn’t be so dire overall.
I did see one person suggest that with the end of Phase Three, Kevin Fiege should have stepped down and let someone else take over the direction of the MCU. I understand why that didn’t happen, but maybe it wouldn’t have been a bad decision.
Hopefully, Fantastic Four and X-Men will be good and reinvigorate the MCU.