Finally, Marvel is exciting again – but not because of RDJ’s return

It’s no secret that Marvel has been struggling to get its more skeptical fans invested in the franchise’s recent movies, but they might just be turning things around with one upcoming project.

There’s a wonderful scene in Arrested Development that’s since become one of the show’s most beloved memes. It’s the one where Lucille Bluth feigns loyalty to her children by insisting, “I love all my children equally,” only to immediately be undermined with a cut to her earlier in the day declaring, “I don’t care for Gob.”

It’s one of the greatest editing gags of all time, but it’s also exactly how I feel about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I love all movies, but I don’t really care for the MCU. I think I used to at one point. It feels like a different lifetime – I lived a life in which I loved Marvel, just like I probably lived a life in which I ran through the wheat fields after a long day of churning butter. 

But it’s been years since I felt enthusiasm for any kind of superhero movie. That is, of course, until now. There’s one upcoming Marvel project that’s tempting me to return after my interest was snapped out of existence for so long. And no, it has nothing to do with Robert Downey Jr. coming back.

First (and fantastic) loves

Falling in love with a superhero movie is a little like falling in love for real. You can’t really pick who steals your heart, and you’ll never forget who it was. It’s a curse as well as a blessing, for everyone’s first superhero cinematic crush is the monster of comparison – every other movie of its kind needs to live up to it, and they almost always fail.

Unfortunately, my first and favorite superhero movie is absolute trash. It was 2005’s Fantastic Four. But I was 10 – young enough to enjoy “bad” things, and not old enough to understand that some things could be “bad”. And yes, Fantastic Four is bad. (Still not as awful as the 2015 iteration, mind you, so there’s that.)

I adored the rubbery mess they dared call CGI. I laughed at the over-the-top and obvious slapstick jokes. I even loved Jessica Alba’s nonsensical bright blonde dye job. 

Without Fantastic Four igniting the flame (flame on!) of my enjoyment for superhero flicks, I really wouldn’t have found reason to care about what would go on to become Hollywood’s most dominating force. I kept watching those movies over the years all because I liked one decidedly mid movie in 2005.

The breakup 

Unfortunately, that enthusiasm couldn’t last forever. I was hooked during the Infinity Saga and went to early showings of Infinity War and Endgame. 

I’ve been to one of those Megachurch services so easily found in the States where worshipers cry out and preach to the skies, and trust me, watching Infinity War in a packed theater pretty much matched that experience in terms of crowd enthusiasm. (Read someone both a Bible story and the Infinity War plot summary from Wikipedia, then ask them which makes them feel like they’ve come within God’s reach.)

But once Endgame came and went, I switched off. It was an ending, at least for me. And with every Marvel movie I’ve seen in the years since, there’s been an unshakable feeling of cynicism coming from each. Everything seemed algorithmic and faithless. It doesn’t help me enjoy them, and it certainly doesn’t leave me gunning for more. 

Robert Downey Jr’s return to Marvel inspires the same feeling. It’s not exciting, no matter how loud the cheers from Hall H might have been. I don’t like feeling cheated, and this feels like a cheat over $80 million dollars in value.

Are we (dare I say it) back together?

So, the Downey-Doom reveal isn’t enough to hook me once again. But you know what is? The new Fantastic Four movie. (The likelihood that the new Doom might appear in FF is, for me, inconsequential at best and a complete hindrance at worst.)

When I quite literally Doom-scrolled through X the morning after the RDJ announcement, I read the words without reaction, pausing only to rub the sleep from my eyes. 

On the other hand, when I saw that Michael Giacchino had been brought on as The Fantastic Four: First Step’s composer, I got up and went into the next room to tell my roommates about the news. 

Better still, there were videos of the secretive SDCC test footage floating around social media. I was already pretty sold on the new Fantastic Four movie (I love them, remember?), but seeing glimpses of the retro-futuristic style and playful aesthetic did something Marvel hasn’t done since 2019 – it made me excited. 

2005’s Fantastic Four wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was damn entertaining for a ten-year-old. If Marvel wants to keep me (and likely many others) in their grip, then it needs to make me feel the same way I felt when I first saw Chris Evans rip off his overlayer to reveal that awful little spandex suit. After almost setting himself on fire… while riding a motorcycle.

Joyous, a little overwhelmed, and feeling like something spectacular is still to come.

For more, check out our breakdown of all the SDCC announcements. Plus, check out our guides to Marvel’s Phase 6, Captain America 4, and Spider-Man 4.