Perspective | The MCU isn’t dead, but it’s hurting. Help is on the way.

“The Marvels,” a superheroine team-up and sequel to the billion-dollar 2019 film “Captain Marvel,” debuted to a sub-$50 million opening weekend, a new low for Marvel Studios that raised questions about the end of everything.

But don’t put the MCU on your ofrenda just yet.

The MCU’s box office success has always been a combination of the comic book die-hards and the casual movie fan. You can’t reach a billion at the box office without one or the other. You need both. The thrill of being a part of a 10-year connective journey, and the march toward the battle with Thanos over two Avengers movies, had the geeks hyped and the non-comic-heads intrigued. It was a moment and a movement.

That first decade united these audiences with smart plotting and sheer star power: Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Chris Evans’s Captain America. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. The late Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther. These are once-in-a-generation, lightning-in-a-bottle castings that might just be impossible to duplicate no matter how hard you try.

The only movie goers likely to ponder whether to let the MCU go for good now are Mr. and Mrs. Joe B. General Public. If you know what the ultimate nullifier is; can identity whether a 1990s Spider-Man image is drawn by Todd McFarlane, Mark Bagley or Erik Larsen just by looking at it; and read Wizard Magazine religiously in your youth, you’ll be in line to see the next thing Marvel Studios does, whatever it is. Just like I will. Even if it’s a Darkhawk movie (please let it be a Darkhawk movie). Doesn’t mean you’ll like everything. But you’ll be there. Because comic culture is a part of your DNA. You grew up always wanting these movies and never had them as a kid. The MCU is marching toward its second decade, and you’ll be there when it’s old enough to drink.

Losing that first casual crowd is the difference between an apparent flop and box office domination. And in many ways, Disney and Marvel have done it to themselves.

What seems to really be ailing the MCU right now is an overabundance of content that started when Disney decided to get into the streaming game with Disney Plus. Disney wasn’t satisfied with their streamer just being the landing spot for its MCU films when their theatrical runs were over. Disney wanted new MCU content exclusively on Disney Plus. That ambition stretched Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and his lieutenants thin when it came to quality control: A movie universe now had to act like a television studio, as well.

If Disney just would have been happy with revitalizing Star Wars on Disney Plus with the Mandalorian universe, letting the MCU breathe in theaters only, maybe we wouldn’t be having this conversation. That’s not to say the MCU on Disney Plus hasn’t been a success. “WandaVision” was a game changer that proved Marvel Studios could work in the world of streaming. “Loki,” which just wrapped its second and likely final season, is one of the best things Marvel Studios has ever done. And “What If…?,” set to return in December, has proved Marvel Studios has a place in the world of animation. But has that streaming glory been worth it when it comes to all the other MCU content on Disney Plus? There’s been so much Marvel Studios stuff lately that the gap between chapters is shrinking. Part of the excitement of the MCU — the wait — is disappearing.

“The Marvels” isn’t a singular failure. An MCU moment like this (box office and overall reception) has been brewing for a while. A film that features three charismatic female superheroes also wasn’t helped by an actors strike that prevented stars from doing extensive promotion, plus a continually shrinking window from theatrical release to streaming that probably had many fans shrugging and saying they would just catch “The Marvels” on Disney Plus in a little over a month. And unlike the original “Captain Marvel,” “The Marvels” also didn’t arrive during an epic “Endgame” event.

But the MCU is not dead. Hurting? Yes. In trouble? Potentially. But there’s still a pulse in the future. There will only be one MCU movie next year, “Deadpool 3,” the MCU vehicle for Ryan Reynolds in the titular role and Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine. That right there is enough to break the internet. And yes, it is quite ironic that two 20th Century Fox-era X-Men are coming to save Marvel Studios after so many years outside it, but it’ll make for great theater.

The hype of “Deadpool 3” will give Marvel Studios time to ponder what’s next. Avengers movies are coming. But who’s the big bad guy? Is Kang no longer an option because of everything currently going on with Jonathan Majors? If so, who steps up? Doctor Doom? Magneto? Galactus? All of these connected heroes have to be up against a common enemy. Who that villain is could determine the box office appeal of future Avengers get-togethers.

And one of the hottest rumors in Hollywood right now is that the Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal — no stranger to vitalizing universes that need a jolt — is in the running to lead the Fantastic Four as Reed Richards.

New lifelines don’t guarantee continued dominance, however. Fifteen years is a long time to be No. 1 and the undisputed champion of superhero cinema. It is well within the realm of possibility that a shift is coming. There are few things hotter than Sony’s animated “Spider-Verse” right now. And James Gunn has declared 2025 the year his Superman movie arrives and his connected DC movie universe begins. Don’t be shocked if DC is running things in two years, with Gunn’s access to some of the most popular superhero brands of all time.

Can superhero cinema survive in a world where Marvel Studios isn’t the top draw? Yes, it can. Some might even say that type of parity could be healthy for the genre. Should potentially no longer being No. 1 motivate Marvel Studios to get back to basics and the things that made them the best?

That certainly wouldn’t hurt.