There was a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ruled the geek culture. But is that time over already?
It wasn’t long ago when every Marvel movie release felt like a major event. Every screening sold out within hours, including midnight ones, and people dedicated entire weekends to theorizing what came next.
But today? Something has definitely changed.
While Marvel still pulls audiences, a growing part of the so-called ‘geek culture’ has slowly been drifting elsewhere. Whether it is YouTube dramas, TikTok mini-series, or even independent creators who are building their own fandoms outside traditional Hollywood.
So, is Marvel really dying? Or it’s all just rumors and the whole Hollywood blockbuster-style can co-exist with independent creators?
Marvel’s Fatigue Problem
The term ‘franchise fatigue’ has been making headlines when talking about Marvel recently, and for a good reason. Since 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel has released more than 30 films and dozens of series – that’s more than the number of roulette tables by Pragmatic Play in the same timeframe.
And that was never the problem, really. Every new release would build excitement and complement the storyline. However, the problem is in the quality of recent releases, and the fact that many believe they feel more like homework than entertainment.
Keeping up with the entire MCU now requires watching not just the movies, but also every show across multiple streaming platforms, like Disney+, Hulu, and other platforms. The emotional (and financial) investment has become overwhelming for many, so they have just decided to check out.
The Variety claims that viewership for newer Marvel shows like Echo and Secret Invasion was significantly lower than expected, but even major film releases like The Marvels struggled at the box office. This is especially true when compared to the ‘golden era’, like the Avengers: Endgame.
But it’s not like fans are abandoning superheroes altogether, it’s just that they’re tired of oversaturated and interconnected storytelling that demands a lot of attention, and doesn’t necessarily offer a good payoff.
How Short-Form Content Is Winning
If you were to tell anyone just a few years ago that Marvel’s films would be ‘losing’ to independent short-form content, they would have laughed you off. And yet, while Marvel’s hold weakens, short-form storytelling has exploded.
YouTube and TikTok are booming, and so are various independent sci-fi series, original dramas, and more. And what’s most important is that the audience gets to decide which creator is worth their time, and the creators respect the audience’s time.
Creators like Digitam Human Productions on YouTube or the viral TikTok series like The Grey Room Saga have already built huge fanbases, counting in the million,s with minimal budgets.
Some of the reasons why geeks love this new form of content are:
- Quick storytelling: Most people now prefer 3 to 15-minute episodes rather than movie marathons.
- Creative freedom: This is probably the most important reason. Independent creators take risks – something that Marvel hasn’t done in decades.
- Accessibility: Most of the content from independent creators is completely free, whether it is on YouTube, TikTok, or other platforms.
Ultimately, short-form content offers something that Marvels seems to have forgotten: fans want to feel they’re part of the journey, and not just consumers of a product.
YouTube Dramas Lead the Charge
If you haven’t watched any YouTube series, you are missing out! Long gone are the days when YouTube was just for funny cat videos. It has become a legitimate storytelling platform, and we’ll now share some standout YouTube series that have millions of subscribers and have undoubtedly pulled away at least some fans from traditional franchises:
- Dungeons and Daddies: A hilarious, character-driven podcast turned animated series about suburban dads trapped in a fantasy world.
- Epithet Erased: A quirky, colorful animated series blending action and humor.
- Critical Role’s animated adventures: It uploads fan-funded shows that prove there’s still a huge appetite for original geek storytelling beyond Marvel and DC.
Is TikTok The New King of Short Geek Stories?
TikTok has quietly become the king of short dramas. There are thousands of creators who share their own, original serialized fantasy stories and tales, mysteries, and even character-based series across hundreds of short videos.
The format includes micro-episodes that rarely last longer than a few minutes, so the idea is to hook the audience quickly, but with a hook so powerful that they’ll keep coming for more. They typically build loyal fans much faster than traditional shows, and they’re exactly the raw and risk-taking content that Marvel has been lacking lately.
Is Marvel Dead?
So, is Marvel dead? Are superheroes over?
The answer is: no. Marvel and superheroes aren’t going anywhere for quite some time, but the way fans engage with superheroes is changing. They aren’t willing to wait for two years for a major film to ‘move the story’ forward.
Marvel is well aware of this change, too, so we believe we’re to see a major shift in their storytelling and how they distribute their content.
