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Damon Lindelof has been behind many shows and movies from the past 20 years and has seen them through from beginning to end. His projects include Star Trek, Prometheus, The Leftovers, and Watchmen. In 2004, he co-created the show Lost alongside J.J. Abrams and Jeffrey Lieber, which received 10 Emmy wins during its six-season run, and included one of the most divisive series finales audiences have ever seen.
The producer has been a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its inception in 2008 with Iron Man. However, as the MCU nears its entry to Phase 5, well through the current Multiverse Saga, Lindelof feels like Disney needs to focus on quality over quantity. During an interview on Vulture's Into It podcast, the producer shares his thoughts on the ever-expanding franchise.
"From a slightly more cynical standpoint, this is a business. It's an industry. And if you make a couple of great Marvel movies, the instinct is, 'We need to make more Marvel movies, and we need to expand this.' And I have this sort of interior feeling of like, 'Wow, I wish they made less because it would make each one that came out a little bit more special.' But I watch all of them. People don't want things to end. I do.'
Lindelof understands how difficult it would be for the studio to move on from the MCU films, especially with the money and attention they currently receive.
"It's always going to be hard because once you've got someone's attention, you want to keep it. And so the idea of letting it go and not knowing if you're ever going to get it back again is sort of like, it's antithetical to the way that we're wired."
With the Multiverse Saga just beginning, you can expect to see a stacked lineup for the foreseeable future as we head toward the next two Avengers films, slated to arrive in 2025. Whether the MCU can keep a quality standard for the flurry of releases is yet to be seen, but Damon Lindelof certainly hopes so.
What's On the Horizon for Marvel
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already had quite the year in 2022, releasing projects such as Thor: Love and Thunder, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel, and I am Groot. Throughout the rest of the year, fans will see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
That's just the ending of Phase 4, and Phase 5 will bring even more Marvel characters to the connected universe. Secret Invasion, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Blade, Ironheart, Daredevil Born Again, and Captain America New World Order are just a few of the projects slated to release in the next few years.
Following Phase 5, the ultimate conclusion of the Multiverse Saga will arrive when Phase 6 begins in 2024. The Fantastic Four film will come on Nov 8, 2024, with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty on May 2, 2025, and Avengers: Secret Wars on Nov 7, 2025. It doesn't seem like the MCU is slowing down anytime soon, and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige isn't ready for an end like Damon Lindelof.