Avengers: Endgame

1 year, 9 months - In 2024, it’s probably safe to say that the MCU is in a very different place than it was in 2019. It can sometimes be a sobering experience to think back on the Infinity Saga, before every entertainment site made a cottage industry of wondering what went wrong with the MCU since. That’s not to say there wasn’t some enjoyment to be found in the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Guardians Vol. 3, Loki, or other titles, but the quality of Marvel’s output and their overall reputation have suffered drastic shifts over the past five years. What was once the most impervious franchise in blockbuster filmmaking has now found itself embattled with too many mediocre projects, all the setup for Kang the Conqueror possibly being derailed, and long overdue conversations about the poor working conditions for VFX artists.But at least for today, we’re looking back on Avengers: Endgame itself, which was released five years ago on April 26, 2019. Specifically, we’re talking about how the film’s five-year time jump has had a bizarrely complex effect on the MCU, simultaneously adding weight and gravitas to Endgame while also being detrimental to the world-building and narrative integrity of the projects that followed.