Marvel Studios is not totally in dire straits, and that’s mostly thanks to last year’s mega-successful “Deadpool & Wolverine.” However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a different story.
Ever since “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel head Kevin Feige has not been successful in navigating the next phase of stories, with a handful of panned movies, and two big ‘Avengers’ instalments set for release in 2026 and 2027.
After some delays in choosing a director for “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” and original helmer Daniel Destin Cretton having to drop out, Feige finally decided to go back and rehire Joe and Anthony Russo. Smart decision? That remains to be seen. However, red flags are starting to show up.
The Russos are coming off three critically panned non-MCU movies: “Cherry,” “The Gray Man,” and most concerning of all, this year’s $330M disaster “The Electric State.” These are the guys that Feige is resting his faith on to steer the MCU ship in the right direction.
While I’d advise to take this rumor with a grain of salt, in the grand scheme of things, it does make sense. Scooper MTTSH is reporting, "I hear Feige and Marvel are getting worried after seeing how bad “The Electric State” is and are starting to reconsider whether rehiring the Russos was a mistake."
Now, anyone can come up with this conclusion. There’s zero chance Feige hasn’t noticed the total and utter failure of “The Electric State” and not had some form of doubt about his decision to rehire them. And it should be mentioned that an MCU director isn’t a “director” as much as a person who ends up following Feige’s stringent guidelines.
The Russos start production on “Avengers: Doomsday” next month, and “Avengers: Secret Wars” is set to begin production not too long after that. These will be films that’ll cost $200M+ each and it’s too late to replace the Russos with anybody else.
The good news is that, in the past, the Russos delivered the goods for Feige with four hot movies: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” That was then, this is now. Marvel fatigue is very present in 2025, and the Russos’ stock has crumbled these last six years.
“The Electric State” —which has a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes — should have everyone concerned over at Marvel. It’s the worst movie I’ve seen so far this year, whether on Netflix or in theatres — an automatic Razzie contender. An unwatchable slog. The fact that these guys have been again handed the keys to the MCU is a risk.
This looks so bad it might actually be good? Cage's fat suit and makeup couldn't be more unsubtle or distracting, and the same goes for his accent, which doesn't match Madden's. I’m sold.