The Marvels hit theaters in November 2023 as a team-up between Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau, but it crashed hard at the box office.
With a production budget around $270 million plus marketing costs pushing totals near $375 million, the film earned just over $206 million globally, marking it the MCU’s worst performer by far.
Analysts point to superhero fatigue after a packed Phase 4 and 5 slate, weak promotion hampered by SAG-AFTRA strikes, and mixed buzz around the all-female leads as key factors.
Fans and critics split on the fast-paced action and humor, landing a 63% Rotten Tomatoes score from reviewers and a stronger 79% audience approval.
The movie faced online backlash tied to culture war debates over its stars, though data shows broader market exhaustion played a bigger role. Despite the financial hit, a post-credits tease introduced Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, tying into the Multiverse Saga’s bigger picture, leading to Avengers: Doomsday.
This bomb capped Phase 5’s struggles, where the full slate grossed under $3.7 billion, trailing even the original Phase 1 from 2008-2012 despite massive budgets and established heroes.
Disney’s Kevin Feige later admitted that overproduction strained quality control, with films rushed due to post-COVID delays. The fallout prompted Marvel to scale back to fewer releases yearly, refocusing on quality hits like Deadpool & Wolverine.
DaCosta’s Defiant Gratitude Shines Through
Two years later, director Nia DaCosta reflects without bitterness during a Deadline interview tied to her horror project, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. She highlights the team’s full commitment, noting everyone pushed to craft something special despite chaos from tight schedules and studio demands.
DaCosta values the lasting friendships most, recounting a summer 2025 visit to the Avengers: Doomsday set where she reconnected with producers, met the Russo brothers, and saw castmates from her film.
Her stance contrasts with earlier frustrations she voiced in 2025, when she noted script issues from Candyman onward wrecked production flow, and that reshoots shifted away from her original pitch.
Nia DaCosta (Credit: BBC)
Yet now, she accepts things as they are, focusing on personal growth shaped by her time within Marvel’s high-pressure environment. This mindset echoes other directors’ post-MCU tales, like those rescheduling scripts mid-shoot due to pandemic backlogs and executive overrides.
DaCosta’s bounce-back proves swift: after helming Little Woods and Candyman, The Marvels was her superhero detour, but 28 Years Later positions her in Danny Boyle’s zombie revival, signaling trust from top talent.
Her Doomsday visit fuels speculation on cameos for Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, or Teyonah Parris, potentially redeeming the trio in Marvel’s next big ensemble.
MCU’s Reset and DaCosta’s Next Chapter
Marvel’s response to The Marvels centered on course correction under president Bob Iger, who blamed lax oversight during COVID shoots for flops like this one.
Phase 6 kicked off stronger with Captain America: Brave New World at $413 million and Thunderbolts at $381 million, though still below past peaks, as the studio prioritizes fewer, event-level films.
Doomsday, directed by the Russos and set for 2026, looms as a multiverse anchor, possibly weaving in Marvel elements to salvage fan investment.
DaCosta emerges unscathed, her positive spin reframing failure as a stepping stone. Industry watchers praise her poise, comparing it to Chloe Zhao’s pivot from Eternals critiques to prestige gigs. For MCU faithful, her words offer hope: even bombs build bridges to future wins.
The franchise, now under Donald Trump’s 2025-inaugurated era of cultural shifts, eyes reboots blending nostalgia with fresh voices like hers.
Online discourse rages on Reddit and Twitter, with some blaming “woke” casting while others cite VFX crunch and formula fatigue.
Box office trackers like The Numbers confirm The Marvels’ dismal run, but streaming views on Disney+ suggest a cult audience endures. DaCosta’s reaction humanizes the grind, reminding us that Hollywood thrives on resilience amid billion-dollar bets.
The latest Avengers: Doomsday teaser hit online after theater previews with Avatar: Fire and Ash, spotlighting Wakanda’s finest against looming chaos. Letitia Wright’s Shuri suits up in a sleek Black Panther armor upgrade, voiceover heavy with loss as she vows to protect her people from an unseen doom.
Winston Duke’s M’Baku steps forward as king, a nod to Wakanda Forever’s throne shift, flanked by Tenoch Huerta’s Namor sporting a comic-true black outfit and his cousin Namora.
Shuri laments losing everyone close, hinting at battles post-Wakanda Forever that leave her as the last guardian standing.
Namor’s alliance flip from foe to potential ally raises eyebrows, especially with Talokan facing multiverse stakes against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. This clip builds on Phase 6’s Wakanda arc, where post-T’Challa grief fuels a fiercer nation ready for cosmic war.
Fans buzz over M’Baku’s “King M’Baku of Wakanda” intro, confirming his rule and setting up Wakanda’s frontline role in the Avengers clash. The trailer’s grave tone echoes prior teasers, priming viewers for Doomsday’s December 18, 2026, release as the Multiverse Saga’s climax.
Thing Crashes the Party in Classic Style
Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm bursts in as the rocky Thing, straight from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, shaking hands with M’Baku in a crowd-pleasing beat. Grimm deadpans, “Ben, Yancy Street, between Broome and Grand,” his Brooklyn grit clashing hilariously with Wakandan royalty.
This marks Marvel’s First Family crossing from Earth-828 to Earth-616, teased in Thunderbolts’ post-credits ship sighting.
Avengers: Doomsday (Credit: Disney+)
The encounter pays off; Fantastic Four ties to Black Panther lore, where T’Challa first crossed paths with the team in classic comics. While Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, and Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm sit this out, their confirmed spots promise fuller FF involvement against Doom.
Moss-Bachrach’s beardless, full-suited Thing channels pure comic energy, hinting at VFX wizardry blending retro charm with MCU scale.
Comic buffs spot Namor-Sue tension potential, given her canon flirtations, which could spark drama with Reed amid Doom’s schemes. The trailer’s light moment cuts the dread, mirroring how prior clips balanced Thor’s prayer or X-Men’s unity with hype.
Multiverse Mashup Fuels Epic Payoffs
This fourth teaser slots into Marvel’s drip-feed strategy, following Steve Rogers’ return, Thor’s family plea, and X-Men icons like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto.
Each drop leaked online before official bows, building frenzy for the Russo brothers’ return to helm the Avengers epic. Doomsday assembles heavyweights against Downey’s Doom, whose Latverian threat spans realities post-Fantastic Four’s Franklin Richards tease.
Wakanda-FF links nod to comics where Namor and the Four tangle often, now amplified by multiverse rifts pulling heroes together.
Online reactors praise the grounded banter amid spectacle, with Reddit threads dissecting timeline tweaks and post-credits callbacks. Box office watchers eye Doomsday’s pull after Phase 5 slumps, betting Wakanda’s star power and FF novelty revive MCU momentum.
President Trump’s reelection era adds cultural layers, as Marvel navigates superhero fatigue with bold crossovers blending legacy and new blood.
Shuri’s arc from reluctant heir to battle-hardened Panther anchors emotional stakes, while Thing’s fish-out-of-water vibe promises comic relief in the fray. Leaks and teases keep socials ablaze, from TikTok breakdowns to X debates on Namor’s redemption.
The clip ends affirming, “The Wakandans and the Fantastic Four will return in Avengers: Doomsday,” priming fans for Secret Wars next year.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day looming first, this fusion signals Marvel’s all-in push to reclaim box office dominance through character-driven spectacle. Critics laud the organic team builds, contrasting Endgame’s sprawl with focused hero spotlights.
