The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Current Downfall Can Be Traced Back To One Moment

From 2008 to 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the singular blockbuster phenomenon that stood astride Hollywood like a mighty colossus. The property was aggressive and well-moneyed, releasing multiple chapters every year and re-writing traditional cinematic storytelling into a singular broad, interconnected super-narrative. The MCU was essentially a large-scale TV series, with each film serving as a single episode. Thus, after a certain number of “episodes,” the show would feature a “season finale,” wherein multiple characters from the previous chapters would team up to fight a particularly powerful supervillain. The “seasons” were (and still are) referred to as “phases” and — at least from 2008 to 2019 — the phases would carefully drop hints involving an upcoming threat. Thanos is coming, the Infinity Stones are being introduced, etc.Fans ate it up. Audiences flocked to MCU movies with open notepads, writing down every possible avenue of potential crossover events. Finally, after 11 years and 22 feature films,…