Originally Posted by
Albert1981
Yeah, I can appreciate that distinction. My issue is that I'm not even sure Wanda "loved" those boys. She acted like a crazy stalker who was more interesting in "possessing" the twins as opposed to wanting to raise them. I think there are some similarities to the psychological thriller Fatal Attraction. Glenn Close didn't think Alex Forrest was a "villain" either. But the creators of the film made her into a "psychopath" against her wishes. Instead of being obsessed over babies, Forrest was obsessed with a dude she had a brief fling with. But that movie was VERY entertaining and fun. Close is a great actress. One of my brother's favorites. So maybe this is Disney's "version" of that film.
I think a lot of people liked WandaVision because it didn't FEEL like a superhero property for overwhelming majority of the series. Like in eight out of the nine episodes, hardly any comic book silliness took place at all. At the time of its release, I admit to being a bit impatient about this radical change in direction for Marvel Studios, but in retrospect I think it was really brave for Feige and his team to maintain WandaVision's sitcom premise for so long (knowing that they might lose a substantial number of viewers more interested in traditional superhero fare, while gaining a whole bunch of new fans because of the themes of the series). I also think a lot of WOMEN who are not into comic book movies and shows got interested in WandaVision because it was a mystery, drama and ROMANCE in particular. I feel it's a shame that Marvel Studios sort of threw that originality away to make a cheesy horror film. Folks have criticized Waldron's and Raimi's portrayal of women in the MoM, but I don't think Loki (which Waldron worked on) or Xena: Warrior Princess (which Raimi worked on) were particularly problematic in that aspect.
As I mentioned on the Strange thread, I think putting Waldron (who has never written for a film before, not just a major MCU tentpole) and Raimi (who hasn't directed a movie in a decade) so late into the project was ASKING for trouble. That's just too much pressure on them. I think they should have delayed it. I don't think anybody would be talking about "Marvel fatigue" if Disney just released WandaVision, Shang-Chi and NWH last year. They were pretty well-liked. As a HUGE fan of the MCU, I do feel that the MoM sort of hurt the franchise. I think anticipation for future MCU projects has definitely gone down in my opinion. It certainly has for me. And it's not just because of Wanda's portrayal. I don't think the MoM did a good job of setting up interest for the Young Avengers. America Chavez pretty much came out of nowhere and all of sudden audiences had to care about her, and the origins of Billy and Tommy are still a mystery. Clea was inserted very awkwardly in Strange 2. And the rules of the MCU's multiverse(s) keep changing with every new Marvel project. Strange moving on from Christine felt weird to me because the Christine he interacted most with in the MoM wasn't even HIS Christine! And the cameos were totally wasted in my opinion. They were just basically "celebrity" redshirts. Gimmicky. And as others have mentioned elsewhere, magic only works SOMETIMES in the MoM while it doesn't at other times.
I actually think it's possible that the next Mission Impossible movie (which will be released next year) might perform better than any MCU thing in 2023 (it's got momentum from TGM). It seems pretty likely that the world will be undergoing a major recession next year (something the MCU has not had to deal with in its fourteen year existence) and that might drive down ticket sales. That's why I'm okay with more delays. The next Mission Impossible movies are being released respectively in 2023 and 2024. And the next Avatar films are being released respectively in 2022, 2024, 2026 and 2028. They are spread out pretty nicely in my opinion. I don't understand why Disney wants to release the MoM and Thor 4 so close together. And streaming Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk before, during and after releasing those two movies makes no sense to me. It's too much! What I do find fascinating is that it seems the people who read comic books and watch the MCU seem to be liking the MCU more because it IS getting more comic book-y. I have noticed, on the other hand, casual fans who are not really into science fiction, fantasy, or comic books are losing a bit of interest in the MCU. That's purely based on anecdotal evidence on my part though.