Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige had the bright idea of creating a shared movie continuity of superheroes, an ambitious and difficult strategy that had never been attempted before. But once the Marvel Cinematic Universe was officially born with 2008's "Iron Man," Feige's plan proved successful beyond measure.
Three films in the MCU have broken the $1 billion mark at the box office and the series as a whole has become the No. 1 trend in Hollywood. Though Marvel has branched out in recent years with new characters and franchises, the contracts for the primary players (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, etc.) are coming to a close after the upcoming two-part "Avengers: Infinity War" series. This begs the question: how much longer will Disney continue making Marvel movies?
Given the enormous success of the MCU, the answer is surprisingly never.
"Marvel, you're dealing with thousands and thousands of characters - that will go one forever," Disney Chariman Bob Iger told the BBC.
While several existing Marvel franchises will come to a close in the coming years (Thor, Captain America, Avengers, etc.), the studio has already put plans in motion for the introduction of new characters. Fans will meet Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel in the next four years alone. The Inhumans will receive a big-screen adaptation as well and fans are already excited for the "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Ant-Man" sequels. "Forever" may not be 100 percent realistic, but there's no reason why Marvel can't continue churning out content for a very, very long time.
From a business perspective, Disney has no reason to pull the plug on such a hugely successful endeavor such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From a creative standpoint, Marvel has already built a dominating empire with secondary characters (Spidey and the X-Men are Marvel Comics' biggest sellers historically), meaning lesser known properties can still serve as blockbusters.
Don't expect the flood of superhero movies to lessen anytime soon.
