One of the problems with wanting to finally jump into enjoying a franchise is the homework. You have to know how this guy met that dude, why this fight has more emotional heft over another and on and on. And if the timeline itself jumps around and you’re trapped in different multiverses, it just adds to the complications. This is certainly the case with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has 30+ films and more than a dozen TV series in or planned for Phases Four and Five alone, making it quite the daunting task to try to catch up and understand everything that’s going on. But now Marvel is looking to make that a bit easier for viewers, ensuring they can make the leap into the franchise wherever they want.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming and Animation, said that part of the rebranding will introduce an active initiative to let viewers start on any panel they wish. “We want to make sure that Marvel stays an open door for people to come in and explore. On the heels of Endgame, I think there was, maybe, a little bit of an obligation to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything. As you know, as a comics fan, they’re designed to just pop in, find something that you like, and use that to enter you into the universe, and then you can explore and weave around based on your own preferences. So part of the rebranding of Marvel Studios, Marvel Television, Marvel Animation, even Marvel Spotlight is to, I think, try to tell the audience, ‘You can jump in anywhere. They’re interconnected but they’re not. You don’t have to watch A to enjoy B. You can follow your bliss. You can follow your own preferences and find the thing you want within the tapestry of Marvel.’”
That’s going to be a bit of an adjustment for a lot of Marvel fans, as they’re used to having an idea of how they want to watch the movies and TV shows. And they – like Star Wars fans – have found numerous ways to get through the franchise. So we do wonder just how they’ll take to this sort of freedom.
Marvel has a lot on the calendar on the TV front, with WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along coming in September, Eyes of Wakanda and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man also set for this year, and the return of Daredevil in Born Again slated for 2025.
What do you think of Marvel’s initiative to let viewers jump into the movies and TV shows at any point? Do you think it will work or is continuing backstory necessary for total enjoyment?
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