In Hollywood and the media that analyze the entertainment industry there is a recurring conversation: the supposed decline of the Marvel cinematic universe (UCM). The films’ box office figures and the lack of relevance of television titles, in addition to some bad reviews, lead to the conversation. In fact, this week a renowned screenwriter, Raphael Bob-Waksberg (BoJack Horseman), publicly thanked Marvel for the fact that its fictional universe had become so “convoluted” that following the stories of superheroes had become more of a hard job. than a pleasure, giving you the freedom to spend your hours on other works. And, in the middle of this complicated moment for Marvel Studios and Disney, the second season of Loki, a God, arrives this Friday at Disney to combat accusations of decadence.
The charismatic villain played by Tom Hiddleston, for the record, did not exactly distance himself from the narrative around the unnecessary complexity of the MCU and contributed to laying the foundations of the new stage around the multiverse. After the events of Endgame, Loki awakened in the Temporal Variation Authority, a Soviet-inspired bureaucratic institution that ensures that historical events remain intact and there are no alterations that divert history from its course.
There he had to hunt down Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), a female version of him, who was trying to alter the main timeline. And, after discovering that the Time Variation Authority was a nest of totalitarian corruption and manipulated by Kang (Jonathan Majors), events led to the creation of the multiverse that the villain avoided.
In the new episodes, Thor’s brother has a familiar mission: find Sylvie, this time in the temporal chaos unleashed. And, among the new signings, an actor who has just won an Oscar: Ke Huy Quan (Everything at the same time everywhere), a kind of computer technician for the temporary institution’s equipment.
Behind the scenes, there have been changes. Michael Waldron, who had written Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and who is behind the film Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled for 2027, has left the reins of showrunner to Eric Martin, who had already participated in the first season.
In the direction, Kate Herron abandons her role as sole director to let Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead take the lead, two directors who work together and who had directed Moon Knight or the horror series File 81.
The temporary mess, for the record, will probably not help erase the impressions of Bob-Waksberg’s detractors, who preferred when Marvel had others with essentially independent stories that, except for the titles of The Avengers or Captain America: Civil War, did not obligate to be aware of how some titles affected others, nor did they move around the same theme, as is now the case with the multiverse.
But can he channel the conversation and passion of Marvel fans after a Secret Invasion that is as ambitious as it is sterile? Its only merits were to annoy the difficulties of fitting into the UCM with verisimilitude and some credit titles made with artificial intelligence at such a delicate moment for workers in the entertainment industry.
