Disney gets a lot of well-deserved criticism for the way it handles its intellectual properties. Every year, they claim more and more of the entertainment industry. Marvel is only one jewel in the company’s crown. While they don’t technically own Doctor Who, they acquired the streaming rights for the show’s somewhat new era. It’s strange to discover that Disney doesn’t have Doctor Who, since they seem so oddly in sync with the show’s recent strategy. Those similarities raise concerns and hope for later Marvel projects.
One of the downsides of becoming a multi-billion-dollar media empire is that no amount of success will ever be enough, but the slightest drop in box-office returns seems like a disaster. A few Marvel movies failed to make back their budgets. Presumably, their losses are immediately and overwhelmingly repaid by Marvel’s frequent successes. However, making money isn’t enough for a success story like the MCU. They have to do better than they did last year, and then they have to do even better next year. It’s a microcosm of modern life and a waking nightmare for the creators on Marvel’s payroll.
Marvel is repeating Doctor Who‘s recent strategy
The beloved and long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who is a titan of the genre. The show’s original run ended in 1989 after 26 seasons. Universal attempted to bring it back with a TV movie in 1996, but it remained quiet at that time. Efforts throughout the late 1990s fizzled, leaving the BBC to pick Doctor Who back up and set to work. During the down period, a writer named Russell T. Davies got involved. He quickly became the showrunner of the proposed relaunch series in 2003. Davies ran the show from 2005 to 2010. Under his rule, the show became a hit. It wasn’t without its critics, but a new universe of fans lined up behind the show during the late 2000s. When he stepped down, Steven Moffat took the reins. Moffat’s tenure was far more controversial. It ended in 2017, handing over control to Chris Chibnall. Chibnall’s relatively brief run was seen as the franchise’s darkest era. His exit left many fans unsure whether they’d tune in to the next season.
David Tennant is probably the most iconic actor to portray the Doctor. A lifelong fan of the show, Tennant’s first appearance as the Tenth Doctor came on Christmas Day in 2005. He stayed in the role for three full seasons and returned several times over the following years. Doctor Who fans will fight to the death over their favorite performers, but Tennant seems to hold the grand prize with a large enough voter base. With Russell T. Davies in his corner, Tennant led several of the best episodes of the show’s modern era. These two icons of the franchise became the names on all the fans’ lips when they perceived the show’s declining quality. When Doctor Who returned for its 60th anniversary, they did so with Russell T. Davies as showrunner and David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor. This return to form seemed like an apology, which smoothed over any negative feelings fans felt after a few rough seasons. After the three-part special, Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa took over full-time. That brief return seemed enough to win over unsure fans, but the immediate move ahead saved the show.
Marvel has very different problems
Marvel will repeat the same basic move that Doctor Who used to guarantee renewed support. Marvel suffered a few poor performances, most notably in last year’s The Marvels, and immediately ran back to their proven talents. They brought Robert Downey Jr. back in a new role, putting him behind a different mask to play Doctor Doom. They also got the Russo brothers back to direct future Avengers films. Just like Doctor Who, they grabbed the most iconic talent from both sides of the camera and used them to beg forgiveness from the fanbase. This worked for Doctor Who, but it’s a much tougher lift in Marvel’s case. Doctor Who had a lot of problems, but very few viewers accused it of being out of ideas. The series wasn’t overly referential to its past or needlessly committed to things that already worked. It tried new things that the fans didn’t like. A brief return to form solves that problem. It doesn’t, however, do much to help the common accusation that Marvel is spinning its wheels creatively.
Marvel is playing into one of its biggest problems. After Endgame, the studio has been far too scared to invest in new projects and far too willing to stick to what they know. Superhero fatigue would be much less of a problem if the creators were allowed to do things differently. Callbacks and crossovers do a lot to inspire applause at packed opening-night screenings, but they don’t create transcendent or timeless art. Marvel has barely given any of its new heroes a meaningful chance to shine without tying them to old favorites. That paints their decision to bring back RDJ and the Russos in a very negative light. It affirms the fears of the most critical members of the audience while pandering to hardcore fans who are starting to lose interest. On top of everything else, there’s no reason to fall back on this gimmick.
Marvel picked a weird time to get desperate
Though Marvel has a few messy projects under its belt, the franchise has hits too. Black Widow gave way to Shang-Chi. Eternals came before Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Marvels had Guardians 3 behind it and Deadpool & Wolverine ahead. At the same SDCC event, Marvel teased their upcoming Fantastic Four movie. That project could be the most promising new frontier for the franchise, and it’s launching alongside Doomsday‘s desperation. They’ve got Blade, Thunderbolts, and several other interesting films and shows in the future. Right at the moment that they can lean into their new ideas and promise something interesting, they back down. This bodes terribly.
With several worthwhile Marvel projects still on the horizon, the studio is sending the wrong message. Doctor Who promised fans that their favorite show was in good hands again. Marvel now promises that their new ideas will always play second fiddle to familiar material. Doctor Who demonstrates the way to solve this problem as well. All Marvel has to do is move past their return to form and onto something new sooner rather than later.
