It’s Time to Get off the Marvel Merry-Go-Round

And yet, even with the disparity in quality, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is not a bad movie, at least, not in the way the new The Little Mermaid remake or the latest Indiana Jones is bad. Even at his worst, James Gunn offers some reasonably coherent ideas. The same cannot be said for anything else Disney—Marvel’s parent company—has produced as of late. However, Gunn’s final Guardians of the Galaxy film shares many of the mal symptoms of the narratively incoherent and increasingly unprofitable Disney. Star-Lord’s absent mask is merely symbolic of this trend in the current age.

With James Gunn leaving Marvel for greener pastures (or, at least, more macabre-colored pastures) in the form of DC Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stands as the last Marvel movie conceivably worth investing money and time in. Considering the hyper-political agenda governing all Disney companies little now remains for fans seeking genuine storytelling.

The solution to such an impasse is evident enough: Stop watching Disney-produced movies. The problem with such a solution, however, is that the fans cannot seem to let go of these movies.

One odd phenomenon that has arisen from modern entertainment is that of hate-watching—watching a show or movie merely to enjoy the act of criticizing it. This is especially the case for fans who grew up with many of the IPs that Disney now owns. We—the fans who once were so inspired by these franchises—now seem to revel in their defeat.

Zoe Saldana as Gamora in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

“…we are willfully staying on a ride we know will do nothing but make us sick in the end.”

But while hate-watching is an understandable response to the betrayal many of us have felt at the hands of Disney, it is also a completely unsustainable method for dealing with Disney’s desecration of these franchises. While it stings to see Ariel needlessly race-swapped or to see Indiana Jones reduced to a beleaguered buffoon, fans know that these characters are not their true selves. The creative forces that gave Ariel and Indy life in the 80s are not the necromantic forces that have resurrected them in the 2020s. The same goes for any other Disney property. And yet, as if on some malevolently hastening carnival ride, we hold on ever-tighter because we are scared of what happens if we let go.

In other words, hate-watching is simply a medium by which fans can stay connected to the franchises we love, even if we hate what they have become. And while many of us have long-suffered and deeply nostalgic connections to these franchises, the realization must be made that these IPs are not going to improve under the current Disney regime. No amount of holding on is going to change that. Any desire on Disney’s part to produce artistically faithful stories died a long time ago. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is just the funeral.

Thus, it is time to let go of Disney as a company. Still, even more to the point, it is time to let go of Marvel as a sacrosanct cinematic ideal and get off its dizzying merry-go-round—for it is Marvel that acts as the masthead for all that Disney has become. What Disney can never disfigure, can never take away, are the originals—the original The Little Mermaid, the original Indiana Jones, and the original Guardians of the Galaxy. We will always have them. And if we can let go and give these characters a chance to rest, they will, in time, return with integrity. Otherwise, we are willfully staying on a ride we know will do nothing but make us sick in the end. That is no way to honor the characters that we love.