The Marvel Cinematic Universe should have ended after Avengers: Endgame.

It created the perfect frustrating 3-hour finale for the MCU, full of heartbreak, joy, and disaster, with seemingly just enough questions left unanswered that fans could theorize over for the next couple of months before the next Star Wars premiered. 

After Thanos, the notoriously rude purple marshmallow from space wiped out half the universe at the end of Avengers Infinity War, the remaining heroes set out on a mission to bring back their beloved friends and family. 

Unsurprisingly, in Endgame, the remaining heroes are able to reverse the snap, after a grueling and heartbreaking journey back through time, and bring their friends back to life. They then proceed to battle past Thanos and his hoard of creepy metallic space alien friends, which ends in Tony Stark stealing the gauntlet and restoring the balance of the universe. 

This ending provided closure for some of the main characters of the MCU and easily could have left the remaining characters to resume normal lives. 

Despite this tragic ‘happily ever after’, Marvel launched into “Phase Four”, which so far includes WandaVision, Loki, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Along with Shang Chi, Eternals, and an ever-growing handful of other franchises, there seems to be no end in sight for the MCU.

The telling of these stories and diving deeper into the world of the Multiverse, a topic first introduced during the Endgame/Infinity War era, creates more confusion and extra, unnecessary side plots and characters. 

In the past, just enough background information has been provided whenever a new main character or movie premiered. For example, a brief history of Wakanda is provided during Black Panther, giving enough context for the movie, and its surrounding plot to make sense, but not enough that viewers get lost in the extra details. 

Marvel is moving away from the basic Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, and Spiderman groupings, and into more vast and expansive side (main?) heroes. Although this allows for more diversity, inclusion, and representation storywise, it adds more complexity to the already confusing Marvel universe. 

A prime example of this is Eternals, the 30th installment in the MCU, released Nov. 5, 2021. It follows the story of ancient aliens who have been living in secret on earth for thousands of years. Leading directly off of Avengers: Endgame, they emerge to fight off the Deviants, a species designed to wipe out apex predators. 

Adding a new species of non-human beings, especially ones with a past that is deeply ingrained within the entirety of the MCU history adds too much complexity to a storyline that is already set in stone. 

Even with all the new upcoming installments of the MCU, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hawkeye, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it seems as if the MCU already has no more room for side stories and replacement Avengers.