Winter Solider and Age of Ultron are not dark and gritty films.

As for why not, because they are applying their trade mark Disney money making magic to Star Wars and that means they will want a movie that the entire family can love and enjoy. You pitch a dark and gritty Star Wars movie and you get nervous parents who think their kids can't watch it.

mmmhhh

well, Daredevil and Jessica Jones serial are way darker and grittier than Agents of Shield, and both are labeled Marvel (thus Disney). So long i don't think it's impossibile for Rogue Ones to be gritty and dark

This is a veeeeeery long shot, you know, and i don't think any Episode # movie would be different than light/dark distinction, but of course noone forbid explicitily a more mature content on other correlated media...

IMHO

Why not? they made Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron...

Winter Solider and Age of Ultron are not dark and gritty films.

In a relative sense, in light of graphic cable fare, perhaps not. But they aren't optimistic black and white morality Golden or Silver Age comic book genre movies, either. They aren't even really Bronze Age comics, which while focusing more on characters and issues and a few shades of grey, are still fairly "light of day" and "everything works out okay in the end." I'd call these movies tarnished bronze age comics with a dollop of contemporary political cynicism thrown in. That may not be "dark and gritty" down to anti-hero laden Iron Age comics, but in terms of superhero comics throughout the ages, they are reasonably dark and gritty.