The truth is bitter. It’s scathing. And it hurts. But accepting it is the first step towards rectifying the situation. And that’s exactly what a post-Endgame Marvel needs: the truth about how it is faring. So then, why is Jamie Lee Curtis apologizing for being right about Marvel movies?
I mean, even Ryan Reynolds said it, as Wade Wilson.
What did Jamie Lee Curtis do to Marvel that she had to apologize?
Oh, no biggie, just a scathing little three-letter word that hit right where it hurts. In July, The Bear actor was attending San Diego Comic-Con to promote her newest film, Borderlands, where MTV was doing a rapid fire with the celeb attendees. When asked by the interviewer which phase of the MCU we’re currently in, Curtis replied, “Bad.” Ouch, the shade!
A couple of other actors were asked the same question, but Curtis’ response was perhaps the most savage. This isn’t the first time that Jamie Lee Curtis has been cheeky about dissing the MCU, either. Back when the Russo brothers-produced Everything Everywhere All at Once was released alongside Marvel’s Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the Freaky Friday actor made a bunch of social media posts trying to position her film as the superior multiverse outing.
Which means this was clearly Strike Two.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ apology to Marvel is all about doing better
Oh yes, barely a week after the jab, Curtis has already issued a social media apology for our benefit, while revealing that she has reached to Marvel boss Kevin Feige already. She doesn’t exactly say the word “apology” here, but it is evident that feathers were ruffled, and that has prompted her to tweet this statement, where she called her comments about Marvel “stupid” and declared that she “will no longer play in that mud slinging sandbox of competition we call the internet.”
But wait, why is Jamie Lee Curtis apologizing for being right?
While the sentiment to not be catty or badmouth anyone’s work is appreciated, we may not like what she has to say, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a harsh truth we’ve been living with for quite some time now—precisely post-Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel was running a tight ship while it churned out titles under The Infinity Saga. Its crown jewels, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, were movie phenomena hitherto unseen, and are not likely to ever be dethroned. But after Phase Three ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home, the MCU has seen a stark departure from its glory days.
Some of its Phase Four and Phase Five experiments with different filmmakers and styles, and streaming series formats have been successes—Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, Loki, WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Moonknight, and The Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 have received a great response from fans. And yet, some of its marquee Avenger-led films and series like Thor: Love and Thunder, Secret Invasion, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, and more haven’t been able to up the ante on the previous phases.
After the domestic violence conviction of Kang actor Jonathan Majors, the main antagonist of Marvel’s Phase 5, the MCU was getting ready for a pivot.
And now, it is literally bringing back its fallen heroes from the dead to resurrect their past glory. Mere days before SDCC 2024, it was announced that the Russo brothers would return to direct Avengers 4, which was supposed to be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers 5, Secret Wars. Later, during their Hall H panel, the Russo brothers took to the stage to reveal that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU, and would be playing Doctor Doom, a casting choice that has received equal parts of enthusiasm and flak.
Clearly, these desperate attempts indicate that Marvel is indeed in the “bad” phase right now, as Jamie Lee Curtis so rightly put. So why even apologize? We’re all grown-ups here. We can take some blunt criticism, especially when everyone from critics to fans have been asking Marvel to reexamine the way it is churning out films like a factory, instead of letting them get made properly, with adequate time spent on visual effects and developing a good story, instead of gimmicks and hurried completed CGI.
Even Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds seem to cheekily agree
Those who’ve watched Deadpool & Wolverine know that the fourth-wall breaking Merc with a Mouth makes plenty of digs at Fox and post-Endgame Marvel in the film, because he always tells it like it is. Remember when he says to Logan, “You joined at a low point”? And Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds is rarely out of character. After Curtis tweeted her apology, Reynolds quote tweeted it and said something that made me spit out my coffee!
The answer ought to be “No!” Nobody should apologize for calling things what they are, especially if it prompts Marvel to course-correct. If Wade can do it, so can Jamie Lee Curtis, and anyone whose voice would carry weight in this discourse.
Published: Aug 1, 2024 04:29 pm