The Peacemaker season finale proves what a mistake Marvel made

by Chris Snelgrove
| Published 7 seconds ago

The final episode of the second season Peacemaker It didn’t just end up being a crazy adventure. According to James Gunn, this episode set up the next major storyline for the DCU as a whole.

This revelation made me realize the mistakes Marvel has made with its TV shows and must fix if it wants to compete with DC. Marvel needs to start using its shows to set up its movies instead of using its movies to set up shows.

Disney creates distance between Marvel movies and shows

Even before the arrival of Disney+, Marvel has always tried to create distance between its movies and TV shows. Netflix shows like reckless and Jessica Jones They would only indirectly refer to events from the films, while the TV characters never (at least, until Charlie Cox showed up). Spider-Man: No way home) appeared on the big screen. This last fact was even more surprising when you think about it Shield agents He had many cameos of movie characters such as Nick FuryBut the TV show had no influence on the films.

Eventually, the shows took on a kind of second-rate status. After all, why would audiences care so much about a series that will never influence blockbuster films?

Disney tried to fix this problem by filling its new streaming service with shows featuring Marvel movie stars, which led to a different complaint from fans: The shows on Disney+ felt like homework necessary to understand the movies. But that was never true, except WandaVision Kind of explains Scarlet Witch’s heel turn Doctor Strange And the multiverse of madness.

New approach, old problem

Despite the new approach, fans eventually started not following new Disney+ shows for mostly the same reason: that the shows never had much of an impact on the movies. Loki It has not affected many films so far, for example, and Secret invasion It was completely unnecessary.

Agatha along I just tried to set up a sequel series of its own, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier He had almost no relationship Captain America: Brave New World. hook, Moon Knightand She-Hulk They were all standalone series, giving casual Marvel movie fans no real reason to watch them.

With the end of the second season of Peacemaker, James Gunn This formula was turned upside down. The show left the Peacemaker in a new location (Sanctuary), which is crucial to future DCU film and television projects. In the “Peace Through Peace” movie afterwards, Gunn declared that the new location “is going to be a very important thing in the future of the CCU.”

Secret Superman 2 Prequel

Gunn later announced that this begins “our larger story in the DCU.” Although he didn’t say exactly what comes next, Gunn has previously announced it Peacemaker The second season served as a prequel to Man of tomorrowComing Superman sequel.

And between this and Lex Luthor In cooperation with the government, it seems clear that Salvation will appear in the upcoming Man of Steel film. Gunn said as much about Bluesky, telling a fan that events PeacemakerEpilogue (including what the government does with Lex and the metahumans and where Peacemaker ended up) “It’s all part of the future, (the Man of Tomorrow), and more.”

In other words, Peacemaker It has become mandatory viewing for DCU fans. This way, Gunn avoids the Marvel TV show problem because no one can afford to skip shows if they want to be up to date on the movies.

It’s a great short-term approach, and one that’s worked Peacemaker Incredibly relevant while still generating collective fan hype for the next Superman movie. Time will tell if this works in the long run or if the DCU will start making Marvel-style complaints about shows feeling like homework. But the homework factor may not matter if the show is able to maintain this level of entertainment momentum.

Marvel’s downfall may take Disney+ with it

now, Peacemaker It’s a show that functions as both a standalone adventure and an adventure with crunchy connections to the DCU. This way, it can be enjoyed by mainstream audiences DC Superfans alike. This combination has given this show more buzz than any Marvel TV project since Loki.

It’s not too late for Marvel to adapt this approach and make its own TV shows integral to future films, but that means using the series to set up the films instead of the other way around. At this point, they don’t have much to lose as Kevin Feige prepares to completely reset the situation MCU. But if they continue to make the shows seem irrelevant compared to the blockbuster movies, it could mean more than the death of Marvel TV; It might just mean the downfall of Disney+ itself.

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