Think of any movie sequel or trilogy or saga. The first movie is usually good, second one is maybe good, third one ehh, and if there's a fourth or more, the lore is usually so screwed up or changed as to not even resemble the first movies and absolutely sucks.

Meanwhile, we have the MCU, that the DoD has a huge hand in, that has told a more or less consistent story over 25 or more movies and countless more series.

What other franchise has come even close, ever? Makes me wonder if they aren't a way to start mentally preparing people for super-technologies and enhanced humans as those things are well on their way to becoming reality, if they aren't already behind government secrecy, and maybe even as a sort of soft disclosure about Earth's place in reality and the cosmos/interactions with other races.

Who knows, but it makes me wonder