Recently, Marvel Studios has been releasing new content at a lightning pace. Just last year, they released nine different forms of content, including “three feature films, two TV movies, and four TV series,” (Game Rant). The company has also come under fire for this as fans have noticed a drop in quality as a result, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania appears to be no exception.

Ramapo Sophomore Kaitlyn Amato says, “It wasn’t the best MCU movie I’ve seen, but I did have a good time watching it. Unfortunately, the movies they’ve put out lately do not hold up to their earlier phases.” This seems to be a popular opinion amongst fans, as many have expressed disdain towards Marvel’s new projects, especially in comparison to their earlier ones. This has even begun to show up in their box office sales, as one article from Digital Spy says that its grossing of $447.4 million, although impressive for the franchise as a whole, still “has yet to overtake the final hauls of Ant-Man ($518.9 million) and Ant-Man and the Wasp ($623.1 million).” Daniel Frenkel, another student at Ramapo and long-time Marvel fan, states that he “really liked the new movie” and “thought the scene where there were multiple versions of Ant-Man was cool.”

With intricate connections across films and movies like The Avengers that tie it all in and make catching every new release worth it, the MCU’s fan base has become vehemently loyal. But are the days of dramatic fan theories and searching for hidden easter eggs over? It leaves us with a lasting question: Will Marvel’s dedicated fanatics be enough to keep the cinematic universe going, or will the company need to step up to save it?