Deadpool 2’s huge box office showing is a sign that it’s time for Disney to diversify from their current superhero trajectory. The mega hit broke numerous records with its expected irreverent tone and supercharged irony introduced to audiences during its freshman release in February 2016.

The second sign was the buzz generated by those hating the Avengers 4 film’s cliffhanger ending that forces the audience to wait a year for the next installment. The on-screen Marvel Universe is starting to show wear, but it did get a temporary shot in the arm from The Black Panther.

History suggests that the Marvel film franchises might soon follow the same pattern Marvel experienced with the collapse of the comic universe after they merged all the characters into one set of stories—The Avengers.

It turned out that those reading Captain America wanted him to stay dominant against the uber bad guys, but the superhero’s enemies got so big it took numerous Avengers to stop them. Even Thanos, who seems to be the ultimate villain is nothing compared to Captain Marvel who will be introduced next year to help save the day, making Captain America look like an ordinary guy.

Steve Rogers, who became Captain America, attracted a lot of people to the Marvel universe because he was a conservative that believed in doing what was right regardless of the odds. He was also fully human, just like everyone in the audience, but thanks to a unique science that greatly increased his strength, became an icon for individuals standing up to all that detracted from a wholesome lifestyle.

But Rogers has since become insignificant to the extraordinary powers soon to be displayed by Captain Marvel who can easily wipe out Thanos, once she shows up. No longer does the universe relate to the typical man and woman on the street, as the stories now take place in space, rather than in our own backyards.

Deadpool 2 makes fun of these superhero counterparts as the story breaks the fourth wall numerous times to give a wink to the audience. Tongue-in-cheek humor allows Deadpool to even make fun of Ryan Reynolds, the actor who portrays him. The film systematically lets go of all superhero conventions. An example includes blowing up the main character in the beginning of the film, tossing his bloody body parts out into the audience in the 3D version.

For Deadpool 1 & 2 to work at the box office, audiences had to be getting tired of the superhero formula, which is a sign to Disney and the lagging Warner Brothers DC Universe to start diversifying the types of films being released.

Book Club was one counter-programming film that wasn’t given enough screens to satisfy the audience’s demand. The film was allocated to smaller screens, stopping many fans from finding seats due to sold out theaters. While the $12.5MM box office take might normally seem small to a studio executive, he or she must look past the dollars and realize that the falsely constrained opening was caused by the film being relegated to smaller theaters—another sign that audiences want to watch a lot more than superhero films.

Counter programming is a must to balance the coming superhero releases this summer. There are so many weaker franchise films releasing that this tiring trend will become more obvious with sliding turnouts. Diversifying before the coming slump is key to keeping audiences happy, but studios tend to milk every dollar from their shining stars and CGI worlds.

Studios have never been able to turn on a dime, opening the doors for independent filmmakers ready to release alternative programming. The best part of the process for independents is that the audience votes with their ticket purchases. The market is ready for a new trend to develop, and it is likely to be the type of films that will swing the pendulum back to the conservative side of telling wholesome and moral stories.

In other words, it’s time for the maverick, disruptive films to be conservative, wholesome and moral. Keep your eyes open over the next three years and see how the coming trend plays out.

© 2018 by CJ Powers

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