Avengers Disassembled: The Marvel Cinematic Universe Post-Endgame
deadline for submissions:
April 1, 2025
full name / name of organization:
Dr Terence McSweeney, Dr Stuart Joy, Dr Adam Vaughan, Southampton Solent University
contact email:
terence.mcsweeney@solent.ac.uk
source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/01/03/avengers-disassembled-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-post-endgame.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the most financially successful franchise in film history. Between 2008 and 2019 not only did it become a commercial behemoth, redefining the landscape of blockbuster cinema, but also a cultural phenomenon, delighting fans all around the globe. Yet post-Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the conclusion of “The Infinity Saga,” the MCU has struggled to maintain the same level of success and no longer resonates with audiences the way it once did. The MCU, and the wider superhero genre, has faced mounting criticism from fans, critics and even notable industry professionals on a wide range of issues. This decline has sparked critical debate across the industry: has the MCU suffered from franchise burn out? Has the MCU become overly reliant on nostalgia and fan service? Has Martin Scorsese’s criticism of the MCU as “theme park” cinema been proven true? Has the MCU “gone woke” and what impact has this had on the films and TV shows produced?
This edited collection will explore the coordinates of this shifting landscape by charting film and television productions of the MCU post-Avengers: Endgame. Accordingly, the editors seek dynamic and vibrant essays on the MCU phenomenon for publication in a book currently entitled Avengers Disassembled: The Marvel Cinematic Universe Post-Endgame and invite proposals for essays of approximately 7000 words.
We welcome proposals on
individual films and televisions shows
films and TV shows grouped together by a particular theme (representation, industrial, cultural etc.)
characters that span multiple films and television shows
issues that the MCU has faced (narrative, technological, critical, cultural)
Films and Television Shows to be included in the collection
Films: Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2023), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), The Marvels (2023), Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
TV Shows: WandaVision (2021), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), Loki (2021-23), Hawkeye (2021), Moon Knight (2022), Ms. Marvel (2022), She Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), Secret Invasion (2023), What If… (2022-4), Echo (2024), Agatha All Along (2024), Daredevil: Born Again (2025), Ironheart (2025).
About Us
The volume is edited by
Terence McSweeney, the author of Avengers Assemble! Critical Perspectives on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Wallflower, 2018) and the award-winning Black Panther: Interrogating a Cultural Phenomenon (Mississippi University Press, 2021). Terence’s new book will be published by Bloomsbury in 2025 and is entitled Battleground: Culture Wars in Trump Era American Film.
Stuart Joy, the author of The Traumatic Screen: The Films of Christopher Nolan (Intellect, 2020) and co-editor of The Cinema of Christopher Nolan: Imagining the Impossible (Wallflower, 2015).
Adam Vaughan, the author of Doing Documentary, Becoming Subjects: Performance and Performativity in Contemporary Nonfiction (Edinburgh University Press, 2025) and has published chapters and articles on subjects such as LGBTQIA+ representation in contemporary American film, migration in European documentary, and the sex scene in nonfiction film.
Terence and Stuart have previously edited three collections together: James Bond Will Return Critical Perspectives on the 007 Film Franchise (Wallflower Press, 2024: with Claire Hines), Contemporary American Cinema: The Science Fiction Film (Routledge, 2022) and Through the Black Mirror: Reflections on ‘the Side Effects’ of the Digital Age (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
Deadlines
The deadline for proposals will be 1st April 2025
Draft chapters of 7,000 - 8,000 words are due on or before 1st September 2025
Final versions in early 2026
Please send 500-word proposals (including a provisional title), along with a CV, to Terence McSweeney (terence.mcsweeney@solent.ac.uk), Stuart Joy (stuart.joy@solent.ac.uk) and Adam Vaughan (adam.vaughan@solent.ac.uk) by 1stApril 2025. Queries are welcome should there be questions about appropriate submission topics, perspectives and dates. Please note that invitation to submit a full essay does not guarantee inclusion in the volume.
Last updated January 6, 2025
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