Marvel movies are everywhere. In total, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a 20 billion dollar budget spanning 22 movies and 11 years of filmmaking. If you were crazy enough to try to watch all the films in a row it would take you one day, 23 hours and 48 minutes. Almost two days!
However, while the sheer number of movies produced and the money put into them is remarkable, it is not the most impressive part of Marvel’s MCU.
The most impressive part of the MCU is the interconnected universe that they have managed to create through a series of consistently good films.
I will be the first to admit that not every MCU film has been fantastic. Films such as Ant-Man and the Wasp and Iron Man 2 have lots of shortcomings from my perspective.While they may not be quite up to the standards of other films within the MCU, they are still good movies and can hold their own.
But the strength of the MCU comes not from the brilliance of any one film, but of the story arcs and connection between the various films. Being able to watch Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man change and grow as a person and a superhero over an 11 year period provides character development unseen in any other movie franchise.
Marvel perfected the formula of connecting their movies together and gave fans callbacks that they can recognize without shoving it down their throat. Seeing Captain America stand back up after being beaten down by Iron Man and say his classic line of “I can do this all day” is a movie moment that we simply cannot experience without knowing the long and complicated history of both of those characters.
To give perspective to just how unique and special the MCU is, all one must do is take a look at other attempts to make a shared movie universe. By most accounts, DC’s extended universe was a colossal failure. By all accounts, DC has just as much if not more famous content to draw from as Marvel.
Never before has the world seen a collection of movies as consistently good and connected as the MCU.
It is this uniqueness of the MCU’s interconnected world that is it’s greatest strength and makes it the most impressive cinematic achievement in history. No other franchise has created such an incredible universe, and it’s possible they never will.