Since the advent of cisplatin-based combination therapy in the management of muscle-invasive and advanced bladder cancer, there has been little progress in improving outcomes for patients. Novel therapies beyond cytotoxic chemotherapy are needed. The neoadjuvant paradigm lends to acquiring ample pretreatment and posttreatment tumor tissue as a standard of care, which enables comprehensive biomarker analyses to better understand mechanisms of both response and resistance, which will aid drug development. This article discusses the evolution of neoadjuvant therapy as standard treatment and the role it may serve toward the development of novel therapies.