The MCU’s Latest Awards Victory Is A Damning Assessment Of Marvel’s 2023 TV Releases

The Marvel Cinematic Universe just won a few exciting awards; however, that brings along some questions about what Marvel Studios achieved with its recent TV releases, and it does not look too good for them. Ever since the end of the MCU’s Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios has failed to maintain the constant high bar for projects that it had become known for. A huge part of that is due to the studio’s decision to expand beyond just movies. Disney+ allowed Marvel Studios TV series, shorts, animation, and Special Presentations to be made.

While its TV expansion allowed Marvel to focus on characters that had not been given the spotlight in the MCU, such as Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, and introduce new heroes like She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, the studio’s TV efforts have been mostly hit-or-miss. That became abundantly clear when Daredevil: Born Again was reported to receive a major creative overhaul, as well as Marvel Studios’ TV series getting reworked to have showrunners at the forefront, longer production pipelines, and shows being delayed. The MCU’s new awards wins serve as evidence of how a major change was needed for Marvel’s TV series.

Werewolf By Night’s Saturn Awards Win Confirms The Problem With Recent MCU TV Releases

Werewolf By Night In Color Came Out In 2023

Marvel Studios took home a couple of trophies at the 2024 Saturn Awards, which is an annual ceremony that awards the best in genre fiction. Among those projects who won was Werewolf by Night. The Special Presentation allowed the MCU to begin the expansion of its supernatural corner while also being a cool experiment that diverged from the MCU’s usual content output. While the black and white ode to Universal’s classic monster pictures winning was great, Werewolf by Night being the only Marvel Studios TV release to do so is telling of the studio’s bigger picture.

Among the MCU projects that could be nominated in the period of eligibility for the 2024 Saturn Awards, which spanned from July 2022 through July 2023 for series and up to September 2023 for films — thus excluding well-received MCU TV projects like Loki season 2 and What If…? season 2 — were She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Secret Invasion. Both should have been major contenders due to their huge budgets and characters involved; however, they failed to win an award. Marvel’s 2023 TV production issues also resulted in fewer releases, leading to a 2022 project being the only MCU TV win.

Every Marvel & DC Saturn Award Win

Superman And The Guardians Of The Galaxy Took Home Awards

Five superhero projects from Marvel Studios, Sony, and DC won at the 2024 Saturn Awards. The MCU saw Werewolf by Night win the Best Television Presentation category, with James Gunn’s final Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, taking home the coveted Best Superhero Film award. Sony’s animated masterpiece Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was named the Best Animated Film. As for DC, Superman & Lois was crowned the Best Superhero Television Series, with Blue Beetle‘s Xolo Maridueña also taking home the Best Younger Actor in a Film. Hopefully, the MCU‘s TV releases will get better results next year.

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