- "The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its big spectacles and high-stakes plotlines."
- ―Jennifer Walters to K.E.V.I.N.[src]
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU, is a media franchise created by Marvel Studios and set primarily in a shared universe, with some installments also set in adjacent or branching realities.
Starting with Iron Man, the franchise is comprised mainly of films independently made by Marvel Studios that are primarily set within this same universe, much like Marvel has done with their comics.
The franchise includes a series of short films, called Marvel One-Shots, launched with several films' Blu-ray releases starting with Thor and finishing with Thor: Ragnarok.
Starting with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the franchise expanded into television series, including series premiered on the ABC and Freeform channels, and on the Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ streaming platforms. The franchise also includes the news program WHiH Newsfront and the digital series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.
Other contents include a series of tie-in comics and video games, released as promotional material to the films and series and therefore part of the franchise, even if some of them are set on these branching realities.
Movies[]
The Infinity Saga[]
Phase One[]
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
Phase Two[]
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
Phase Three[]
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
The Multiverse Saga[]
Phase Four[]
- 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 (2022)
Phase Five[]
- 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) (unreleased/post-production)
- Thunderbolts* (2025) (unreleased/post-production)
Phase Six[]
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) (unreleased/filming)
- Blade (2025) (unreleased/pre-production)
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026) (unreleased/development)
- Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) (unreleased/development)
Undetermined Phase[]
- Shang-Chi 2 (TBA) (unreleased/pre-production)
- Spider-Man 4 (TBA) (unreleased/pre-production)
- Armor Wars (TBA) (unreleased/development)
- X-Men (TBA) (unreleased/development)
Undeveloped Movies[]
- Main article: List of Undeveloped Movies
Short Films[]
Marvel One-Shots[]
Phase One[]
- The Consultant (2011)
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011)
- Item 47 (2012)
Phase Two[]
- Agent Carter (2013)
- All Hail the King (2014)
Phase Three[]
- Team Thor: Part 1 (2016)
- Team Thor: Part 2 (2017)
- Team Darryl (2018)
Other[]
- Peter's To-Do List (2019)
Special Presentations[]
Phase Four[]
- Werewolf by Night (2022)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)
TV Series[]
Marvel Television Series[]
Marvel Heroes[]
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Season One (2013-2014)
- Season Two (2014-2015)
- Season Three (2015-2016)
- Season Four (2016-2017)
- Season Five (2017-2018)
- Season Six (2019)
- Season Seven (2020)
- Agent Carter
- Season One (2015)
- Season Two (2016)
- Inhumans
- Season One (2017)
The Defenders Saga[]
- Daredevil
- Season One (2015)
- Season Two (2016)
- Season Three (2018)
- Jessica Jones
- Season One (2015)
- Season Two (2018)
- Season Three (2019)
- Luke Cage
- Season One (2016)
- Season Two (2018)
- Iron Fist
- Season One (2017)
- Season Two (2018)
- The Defenders
- Season One (2017)
- The Punisher
- Season One (2017)
- Season Two (2019)
Young Adult[]
- Runaways
- Season One (2017-2018)
- Season Two (2018)
- Season Three (2019)
- Cloak & Dagger
- Season One (2018)
- Season Two (2019)
Adventure into Fear[]
- Helstrom
- Season One (2020)
Cancelled Series[]
- Main article: List of Undeveloped TV Series
Marvel Studios Series[]
Phase Four[]
- WandaVision
- Season One (2021)
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
- Season One (2021)
- Loki
- Season One (2021)
- What If...?
- Season One (2021)
- Hawkeye
- Season One (2021)
- Moon Knight
- Season One (2022)
- Ms. Marvel
- Season One (2022)
- I Am Groot
- Season One (2022)
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
- Season One (2022)
Phase Five[]
- Secret Invasion
- Season One (2023)
- I Am Groot
- Season Two (2023)
- Loki
- Season Two (2023)
- What If...?
- Season Two (2023)
- Echo
- Season One (2024)
- Agatha All Along
- Season One (2024)
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Season One (2024)
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Season One (2024)
- Marvel Zombies
- Season One (TBA)
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Season One (2025)
- Ironheart
- Season One (2025)
Undetermined Phase[]
- What If...?
- Season Three (TBA)
- Wonder Man
- Season One (TBA)
- Vision Quest
- Season One (2026)
- Nova
- Season One (TBA)
Web Series[]
- WHiH Newsfront
- Season One (2015)
- Season Two (2016)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot
- Season One (2016)
- The Untold Tales of the Eternals
- Season One (2022)
Promotional Campaign Series[]
- Stark Expo 2010 (2010)
- Rising Tide (2013)
- TheDailyBugle.net (2019-2022)
Behind-the-Scenes Features[]
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Declassified (2013-2014)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Double Agent (2015)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Academy (2016)
- Forging Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016-2017)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 100th Episode (2018)
Documentaries[]
- Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (2014)
- Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop! (2014)
- Captain America: 75 Heroic Years (2016)
- Marvel Studios: Expanding the Universe (2019)
- Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee (2019)
- Marvel Studios' 2021 Disney+ Day Special (2021)
- A Fan's Guide to Ms. Marvel (2022)
- Director by Night (2022)
- Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda (2022)
- Stan Lee (2023)
Docuseries[]
- Marvel Studios: Legends
- Season One (2021-2022)
- Season Two (2023)
- MPower
- Season One (2023)
Docuspecials[]
- Marvel Studios: Assembled (2021-2024)
Comics[]
- Iron Man: The Price of Doing Business (2008)
- Iron Man: Fast Friends (2008)
- Iron Man: Security Measures (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: The Big Picture (2008)
- Nick Fury: Spies Like Us (2009)
- Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Security Breach (2010)
- Iron Man: Will Online Evils Prevail? (2010)
- Iron Man 2 - Nick Fury: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Public Identity (2010)
- Iron_Man 2 - Phil Coulson: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2010)
- Iron Man: Limited Edition (2010) (no official title)
- Iron Man 2 - Black Widow: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2010)
- Iron Man Royal Purple Custom Comic (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Fist of Iron (2010)
- Captain America: First Vengeance (2011)
- Captain America & Thor: Avengers! (2011)
- Thor, The Mighty Avenger (2011)
- Thor: Rescue (2011)
- Captain America: Evil Lurks Everywhere (2011)
- The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week (2012)
- The Avengers: Iron Man Mark VII (2012)
- The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes (2012)
- The Avengers: The Avengers Initiative (2012)
- Iron Man 2 Adaptation (2012)
- Iron Man 3 Prelude (2013)
- Iron Man: The Coming of the Melter (2013)
- Thor Adaptation (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World Prelude (2013)
- Thor: Crown of Fools (2013)
- Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier Prelude (2014)
- Captain America: Homecoming (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel Infinite Comic (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted (2014)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase (2014)
- The Avengers Adaptation (2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Episode 0 (2015)
- Ant-Man Prelude (2015)
- Ant-Man - Scott Lang: Small Time (2015)
- Avengers: Operation HYDRA (2015)
- Ant-Man: Larger Than Life (2015)
- Jessica Jones (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War Prelude (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War Prelude Infinite Comic (2016)
- Captain America: Road to War (2016)
- Doctor Strange Prelude (2016)
- Doctor Strange Prelude - The Zealot (2016)
- Doctor Strange: Mystic Apprentice (2016)
- Doctor Strange: Episode 0 (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Cloak of Levitation Goes Out (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Prelude (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude (2017)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy: Remix Special 4-Frame (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: Fight or Flight (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: Morning Rush (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: School of Shock (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok Prelude (2017)
- Black Panther Prelude (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War Prelude (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp Prelude (2018)
- Captain Marvel Prelude (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame Prelude (2018)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home Prelude (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home - Got To Hand it To Him (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home - Them's The Brakes (2019)
- Black Widow Prelude (2020)
- Eternals: The 500 Year War (2022)
- Doodlepool (2024)
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2024)
Video Games[]
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man: Aerial Assault (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor: God of Thunder (2011)
- Captain America: Super Soldier (2011)
- Iron Man 3 - The Official Game (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World - The Official Game (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game (2014)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming - Virtual Reality Experience (2017)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home - Virtual Reality Experience (2019)
- Avengers: Damage Control (2019)
- Eternals: AR Story Experience (2021)
Web Browser Games[]
- Iron Man: Mark III Suit Test (2008)
- Iron Man: Last Stand (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: Smash (2008)
- Iron Man: Armor Design Center (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Iron Attack! (2010)
- Whiplash: Slash and Burn (2010)
- Iron Man: Assault on A.I.M. (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Upgraded! (2010)
- Thor: Trailer Maker (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger - Wield the Shield (2011)
- The Avengers: Skrull Takedown (2012)
- The Avengers: Repulsor Blast Test (2012)
- The Avengers: Iron Man - Blast! (2012)
- The Avengers: Strong Man - Hulk vs. Thor (2012)
- The Avengers: Captain America - Shield (2012)
- Captain America: The First Avenger - Disc Launching Shield Test (2012)
- Thor: The Mighty Avenger - Lightning Hammer Strike (2012)
- Lego Iron Man (2012)
- Lego Thor (2012)
- Lego Hulk (2012)
- Iron Man 3: Base Jumper (2013)
- Iron Man 3: Assemblers (2013)
- Lego Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron - Global Chaos (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War - Kellogg's VR Experience (2016)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Who Are The Skrulls? (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Lego Avengers: Endgame Rush (2019)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Happy Meal Power Up (2022)
- Secret Invasion: Skrull Werewolf (2023)
- Captain America: Brave New World - Take Flight Today (2024)
Undeveloped Games[]
Artbooks[]
- The Art of Iron Man (2010)
- The Art of Iron Man 2 (2010)
- The Art of Thor (2011)
- The Art of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Art of The Avengers (2012)
- The Art of Iron Man 3 (2013)
- The Art of Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Iron Man Manual (2013)
- The Art of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season One Declassified (2014)
- The Art of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- The Art of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- The Road to Avengers: Age of Ultron - The Art of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2015)
- Agent Carter: Season One Declassified (2015)
- The Art of Ant-Man (2015)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season Two Declassified (2015)
- The Art of Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season Three Declassified (2016)
- Agent Carter: Season Two Declassified (2016)
- The Art of Doctor Strange (2016)
- The Art of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe (2017)
- The Art of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season Four Declassified (2017)
- The Art of Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- The Art of Black Panther (2018)
- The Road to Avengers: Infinity War - The Art of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol. 2 (2018)
- The Art of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- The Art of Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- The Art of Captain Marvel (2019)
- The Road to Avengers: Endgame - The Art of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol. 3 (2019)
- The Art of Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
- The Art of Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- WandaVision: The Art of the Series (2022)
- The Falcon & The Winter Soldier: The Art of the Series (2022)
- Loki: The Art of the Series (2022)
- The Art of Black Widow (2023)
- The Art of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2023)
- The Art of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2023)
- The Art of Eternals (2023)
- The Art of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2023)
- The Art of Thor: Love and Thunder (2023)
- Werewolf by Night: The Art of the Special (2023)
- Hawkeye: The Art of the Series (2023)
- Moon Knight: The Art of the Series (2023)
- The Art of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2024)
- Ms. Marvel: The Art of the Series (2024)
- The Art of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2024)
- What If...?: The Art of the Series (2024)
- The Art of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2024)
- The Art of The Marvels (2024)
- Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding (2024)
- The Art of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: The Art of the Series (2025)
- Loki: Season Two - The Art of the Series (2025)
- Agatha: The Art of the Series (2025)
- The Art of Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
- Secret Invasion: The Art of the Series (TBA)
Canceled Artbooks[]
- The Art of Incredible Hulk
- Daredevil: Defender of Hell's Kitchen: Season One
- Marvel's A.K.A. Jessica Jones: Season One
Guidebooks[]
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Iron Man (2015)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - The Incredible Hulk (2015)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Iron Man 2 (2015)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Thor (2015)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Captain America: The First Avenger (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - The Avengers (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Iron Man 3 (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Thor: The Dark World (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ant-Man (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season One (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Guardians of the Galaxy (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season Two (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Marvel's Agent Carter Season One
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season Three (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Marvel's Agent Carter Season Two (2016)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Captain America: Civil War (2017)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Doctor Strange (2017)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season Four (2018)
Inspired Content[]
- Iron Man: A New Hero (2008)
- Iron Man: Teen Novelization (2008)
- Iron Man: The Junior Novel (2008)
- Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! (2008)
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk Movie Novelization (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: A Hero Called The Hulk (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: Larger Than Life! (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: Movie Sticker Book (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk: My Search for a Cure (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Iron Man 2: The Official Movie Storybook (2010)
- Iron Man 2: The Junior Novel (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Iron Man's Friends and Foes (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Meet the Black Widow (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Iron Man vs. Whiplash (2010)
- Iron Man 2: Iron Man Fights Back (2010)
- Iron Man 2: The Reusable Sticker Book (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Thor: Movie Storybook (2011)
- Thor: Heroes & Villains (2011)
- Thor: From Asgard to Earth (2011)
- Thor: Attack on Asgard (2011)
- Thor: Thor's Revenge (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger: Movie Storybook (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger: America's Secret Weapon (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger: The Hydra Files (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger: Operation: Super-Soldier (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger: The Great Escape (2011)
- Captain America, The First Avenger Sound Book (2011)
- Look and Find: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers: The Avengers Assemble (2012)
- The Avengers: Movie Storybook (2012)
- The Avengers: Battle Against Loki (2012)
- The Avengers: The S.H.I.E.L.D. Files (2012)
- The Avengers: Reusable Sticker Book (2012)
- Iron Man 3: The Movie Storybook (2013)
- Iron Man 3: Suits of Armor (2013)
- Iron Man 3: Sticker Book (2013)
- Iron Man 3: Big Fun Book to Color: It Ends Here! (2013)
- Iron Man 3: Big Fun Book to Color: Repulsor Blast! (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World: Mighty Colouring (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World: Myth & Legend (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Falcon Takes Flight (2014)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Rescue at Sea (2014)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Super-Soldier Activities (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: The Junior Novel (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Battle of Knowhere (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Friends and Foes (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket and Groot Fight Back (2014)
- Phase One: Iron Man (2014)
- Phase One: Captain America: The First Avenger (2014)
- Phase One: The Incredible Hulk (2015)
- Phase One: Marvel's The Avengers (2015)
- Phase One: Thor (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Junior Novel (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Avengers Save the Day (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Battle at Avengers Tower (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Friends and Foes (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Hulk to the Rescue (2015)
- Ant-Man: The Junior Novel (2015)
- Ant-Man: I Am Ant-Man (2015)
- Ant-Man: The Amazing Adventures of Ant-Man (2015)
- Ant-Man: The Incredible Shrinking Suit (2015)
- Phase Two: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2015)
- Phase Two: Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2016)
- Phase Two: Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: The Junior Novel (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: Avengers Declassified (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: Captain America Versus Iron Man (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: Choose A Side! Sticker Book (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: Escape From Black Panther (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: The Rise of Crossbones (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War: We Are The Avengers (2016)
- Phase Two: Marvel's Ant-Man (2016)
- Doctor Strange: The Junior Novel (2016)
- Doctor Strange: I Am Doctor Strange (2016)
- Doctor Strange: Strange Stickers (2016)
- Doctor Strange: Strange Tales and Talismans (2016)
- Doctor Strange: The Path to Enlightenment (2016)
- Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme (2016)
- Phase Three: Marvel's Captain America: Civil War (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Junior Novel (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Guardians Save the Day (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Meet the Team! (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Revenge of the Ravagers (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Best Sticker Book in the Galaxy (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Return of Rocket and Groot (2017)
- Phase Three: Marvel's Doctor Strange (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: The Junior Novel (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: Mayhem at the Monument (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: Meet Spidey (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: The Stick-Like-Spidey Sticker Book (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: The Tangled Web of Super Tech (2017)
- Phase Three: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok: Get in the Ring! (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok: Into the Fire (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok: The Junior Novel (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok: Thor vs. Hulk (2017)
- Black Panther: Meet Black Panther (2018)
- Black Panther: On the Prowl! (2018)
- Black Panther: The Junior Novel (2018)
- Black Panther: The Official Movie Special (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War: The Heroes' Journey (2018)
- The Cosmic Quest Volume One: Beginning (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: 1000 Sticker Book (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Activity Book (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Escape from School (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: The Heroes' Journey (2018)
- Ant-Man and The Wasp The Official Movie Special (2018)
- Thanos: Titan Consumed (2018)
- The Cosmic Quest Volume Two: Aftermath (2018)
- Black Panther: 1000 Sticker Book (2018)
- Black Panther: Deluxe Colouring Book (2018)
- Black Panther: Tattoo Activity Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - 100 Stickers (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - 1000 Sticker Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Activity Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Tattoo Activity Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Captain America (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Colouring Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Deluxe Colouring Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Doctor Strange (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Gamora (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Poster Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Superhero Sketch Book (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - The Journals (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Thor (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: 1000 Sticker Book (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Activity Book (2018)
- The Hero's Journey: Guardians of the Galaxy (2018)
- The Hero's Journey: Thor (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War - Tin of Books (2018)
- Captain Marvel: StarForce Mission Log (2019)
- Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster. (2019)
- Captain Marvel: Starforce on the Rise (2019)
- Marvel Studios: Ultimate Sticker Collection (2019)
- Captain Marvel: 1000 Sticker Book (2019)
- Captain Marvel: Mask & Puzzle Fun (2019)
- Captain Marvel: What Makes A Hero (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame: The Pirate Angel, The Talking Tree, and Captain Rabbit
- Avengers: Infinity War - Destiny Arrives (2019)
- Marvel Alphablock: The Marvel Cinematic Universe from A to Z (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame: 1000 Sticker Book (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame - Press-Out Mask Book (2019)
- The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of the Avengers and Beyond (2020)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Who Guards My Sleep (2021)
- William Shakespeare's Avengers: The Complete Works (2021)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: The Courage to Dream (2022)
- Look Out for the Little Guy! (2023)
- The Marvels: The Hero I'm Meant to Be (2023)
- Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline (2023)
Trivia[]
- So far, the released movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have grossed $31,028,128,592 worldwide. It is the first major film franchise to cross the $9, $10, $11, $12, $13, $14, $15, $16, $17, $18, $19, $20, $21, $22, $23, $24, $25, $26, $27, $28, $29, $30 and $31 billion marks. It has also become the first franchise to cross the $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11 and $12 billion marks domestically in North America and is the highest-grossing franchise of all time.
- Due to financial difficulties Marvel faced in the past, they had to sell the film rights to several of their characters. Some of these sales are still in effect today, and thus the characters cannot be used in the MCU.[1] Interestingly, an alternate version of the post-credits scene of Iron Man featured Nick Fury mentioning that there are "gamma accidents", "radioactive bug bites" and "assorted mutants" in the "bigger universe" Tony Stark has become part of. This version ultimately went unused from the finished film likely because at the time, both the film rights of Hulk and Namor were owned by Universal Pictures, Spider-Man was owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment (which still owns them), and the X-Men were owned by 20th Century Fox.[2]
- Due to 20th Century Fox owning the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, the X-Men films and its television series (Legion and The Gifted) and the Fantastic Four films all took place in different universes separate from the MCU.
- Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with Iron Man, Fox considered using the character of Nick Fury in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the second installment of their Fantastic Four original duology. However, as they would have been forced to purchase his rights, Fox desisted from using Fury and General Harper was created in his place.[3]
- In The Wolverine, Viper/Madame Hydra appears as one of the film's villains, but given that the rights of HYDRA were already held by Marvel Studios when the film was released, the character was simply addressed as "Madame Viper" and her connections to the organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. or Captain America weren't referenced nor mentioned.[4]
- Guardians of the Galaxy originally intended to feature the Badoon as Ronan the Accuser's mercenary henchmen, but had to be changed into the Sakaarans due to the Badoon's rights belonging to Fox.[5]
- Quicksilver and Wanda Maximoff fell under both companies' rights, as in the comics they are mutants by origin but are heavily associated with the Avengers. However, both companies had certain limitations:
- Fox couldn't make any reference to the Twins' involvement with the Avengers.
- Marvel could not make any reference to the Twins being mutants (resulting in them being referred to as "the enhanced" in Avengers: Age of Ultron), the children of Magneto, or their association with the X-Men.
- The inclusion of the Maximoff twins aside, presumably because of Fox's rights over most of the elements related to the X-Men, Avengers: Age of Ultron had to have Ultron built with vibranium rather than adamantium, as the latter is the metal alloy used for Wolverine's claws.
- Similar to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, the Skrulls' film rights have been confirmed by James Gunn to fall under Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox as they are associated with the Fantastic Four, but are an important part of the Marvel Universe and play prominent roles in the Kree-Skrull War and Secret Invasion events. As such, the Skrull race can be used in the MCU, while some specific Skrulls could not be used due to of Fox's sole ownership over them (such as Kl'rt the Super-Skrull).
- In 2017, Marvel announced that the Skrulls would be the main antagonists of Captain Marvel, although when the film was released, the announcement was proven false, as the Kree were the main antagonists of the film.
- While writing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, James Gunn was unaware that the film rights of Ego the Living Planet belonged to Fox. With no backup plan, Gunn and Marvel Studios made a deal with Fox, who gave them back the film rights of Ego in exchange for those of Negasonic Teenage Warhead, whom they wanted to use in Deadpool.[6]
- On a related note towards Deadpool, the character of Bob, Agent of Hydra was featured in the film, but similarly to Madame Hydra, his connection to HYDRA wasn't mentioned and he was simply referred as "Bob", because the rights of HYDRA were already held by Marvel Studios when the film was released (2016).
- Although they debuted in a Fantastic Four comic, the Watchers appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, implying that both Marvel and Fox share the film rights to those characters.
- X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner has expressed interest in having the X-Men join the MCU. Kevin Feige admitted that whenever he talks about it, it would result in "15 headlines" and that there hasn't been any movement on a deal, claiming it was the "same thing, same status". Feige has said "Yeah, of course" when asked if he wanted to see the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- On December 14, 2017, Disney announced plans to acquire the film and television divisions of 20th Century Fox, which includes the rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool. This would mean that Marvel Studios would be able to use those characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the deal.[7]
- On March 20, 2019, Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox was completed. This meant that the rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool had been given to Marvel Studios, and these characters could now be used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[8]
- Similarly, Spider-Man's film rights are owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and both the Sam Raimi series and The Amazing Spider-Man series were set separate from the MCU; although after the last movie in the latter franchise, a deal was made between the two companies, resulting in another reboot of the series, this time set in the MCU.[9]
- The initial indication of an element of cooperation between Sony and Disney was when Sony gave permission for Disney to use the Oscorp Tower from The Amazing Spider-Man in a background cameo in The Avengers; however, due to budget and time constraints, aside the fact that New York City's skyline was already finished, the idea was abandoned.[10]
- On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Sony and Disney had struck a deal for setting Spider-Man in the MCU. The character, portrayed by Tom Holland, made his first appearance in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War followed by the second reboot of the franchise, a solo film titled Spider-Man: Homecoming, which was released on July 7, 2017. Additionally, it was announced that Sony had full creative control over the character and the franchise whilst setting it in the MCU, allowing characters from other MCU properties to appear in it and vice-versa. Additionally, the planned spin-offs to the franchise by Sony were also reportedly in development,[11] but have since abandoned after the cancellation of The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
- Sony movies such as Venom, and Morbius were developed separately from Marvel Studios and take place in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, though Amy Pascal said that although you won't see those characters appear in the MCU, these films take place "in the same reality."[12]
- In the mid-credits scene of the Venom sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man appear on television after Venom and Eddie Brock seemingly shift into another universe, officially connecting the Venom series to the MCU.[13] Venom and Eddie subsequently appear in and are sent back to their home universe in the mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Michael Keaton appears in Morbius as the Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of Adrian Toomes/Vulture.[14]
- Similar to the Watchers, Kingpin was featured in the Sony Pictures Animation production Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, implying that Marvel and Sony share the rights for Kingpin. According to Vincent D'Onofrio, however, this issue is what prevents Kingpin from appearing in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.[15]
- On August 20, 2019, however, it was reported that due to Disney's inability to reach a new deal with Sony, as the former demanded all further Spider-Man films to be financed on a 50/50 basis with Kevin Feige in a consulting capacity but the latter preferred to keep the arrangement under the current terms, Tom Holland's Spider-Man would be consequently removed from the MCU unless a new deal is reached. There were no talks for it at that moment.[16] Fortunately, on September 27, 2019, it was announced by Sony and Disney that a new deal was reached and that Spider-Man: No Way Home was going to be produced again by Marvel Studios and be a part of the MCU, being scheduled for release in 2021.[17]
- The initial indication of an element of cooperation between Sony and Disney was when Sony gave permission for Disney to use the Oscorp Tower from The Amazing Spider-Man in a background cameo in The Avengers; however, due to budget and time constraints, aside the fact that New York City's skyline was already finished, the idea was abandoned.[10]
- The cinematic rights to Namor currently lie with Marvel Studios, but due to "older contracts with other parties" it seems they couldn't use them yet.[18]
- As of June 2016, the film rights to Namor now lie with Marvel Studios and can be used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they are not allowed to make a solo Namor film due to the older contracts.[19]
- The film rights to Man-Thing lie with Marvel Studios, while they originally used to lie with Lionsgate, and thus he couldn't be used in the MCU at that time.
- Due to 20th Century Fox owning the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, the X-Men films and its television series (Legion and The Gifted) and the Fantastic Four films all took place in different universes separate from the MCU.
- After the release of Iron Man, Marvel Studios made a deal to produce five further films with Paramount Pictures, being Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3.[20] In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel and gained the distribution rights to The Avengers and Iron Man 3.[21] In 2013, Disney gained the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger to close the acquisition of Marvel.[22] The Incredible Hulk was the only MCU film not currently owned by Disney due to a separate agreement between Marvel and Universal Pictures.[23]
- On June 13, 2023, 15 years after the release of The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Studios regained the distribution rights to the film due to an old contract they signed with Universal Pictures.[24]
- A recurring theme in the solo films and television series is that the main protagonist often isn't the one who defeats the main antagonist or needs help from an ally to do so.
- Iron Monger and Aldrich Killian were killed by Pepper Potts and War Machine helped Iron Man defeat Whiplash, who ends up committing suicide.
- Thor's fight with Loki was interrupted by Odin, Malekith was killed by Erik Selvig, Hela was killed by Surtur as he brought Ragnarök over Asgard and Gorr the God Butcher passed away from the All-Black the Necrosword's malignant influence after giving up his genocidal hatred for all gods.
- Red Skull was transported by the Tesseract to Vormir for nearly 75 years, Nick Fury shot Alexander Pierce, Captain America's fight with Winter Soldier ended in a stalemate, Black Panther stopped Helmut Zemo from killing himself, and Sharon Carter shot Karli Morgenthau.
- Dormammu took with him Kaecilius to the Dark Dimension as he left Earth and Wanda Maximoff redeemed herself by destroying the Darkhold for corrupting her on Mount Wundagore, killing herself in the process.
- Doctor Strange did force Dormammu to leave Earth with the Zealots after trapping him in a time loop, though.
- Vulture's flying suit explodes upon being overloaded and leaves him powerless against Spider-Man, Mysterio accidentally caused his own Stark Industries Combat Drones to gun him down while trying to take down Spider-Man, and Spider-Man gets aided by alternate versions of himself in defeating and curing Green Goblin.
- Ghost was not defeated and instead stabilized by Janet van Dyne.
- Sylvie Laufeydottir killed He Who Remains despite Loki's attempts to convince her to not kill him.
- Dreykov was killed by Yelena Belova.
- Xu Wenwu sacrificed himself for Shang-Chi and allowed himself to be killed by the Dweller-in-Darkness.
- Kingpin was shot by Maya Lopez after escaping from Kate Bishop and Hawkeye, but he survived.
- Verussa Bloodstone was burned to death by Man-Thing.
- Najma was destroyed by Noor's Veil.
- Super Skrull Gravik was killed by G'iah in an explosive duel.
- Hulk, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, Wanda Maximoff, Jake Lockley, She-Hulk are currently the only exceptions, as they defeated Abomination, Yellowjacket and Kang the Conqueror, Yon-Rogg, Agatha Harkness, Arthur Harrow, and HulkKing, respectively, by themselves.
- Ant-Man and Black Panther are the only protagonists who intentionally killed the antagonist.
- Black Panther wanted to save Erik Killmonger's life, but Killmonger refused as he preferred to die rather than be locked up in prison.
- Although Yellowjacket was presumed dead due to Ant-Man's actions, he would later turn out to be alive, having shrunken down into the Quantum Realm and subsequently transformed by Kang into M.O.D.O.K.
- However, Ant-Man did end up causing Kang's demise when he punched the latter into his Engine Core as it shrank into oblivion.
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe was visited off-panel by the Young Avengers of Earth-616 from the comics when they traveled throughout the Multiverse looking for Speed.[25]
- All of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are shot in the widescreen 2.39:1 aspect ratio except for The Avengers and Ant-Man, which were shot in the taller 1.85:1 aspect ratio, due to vertical subject matter including Hulk in the former and the shrinking scenes in the latter. However, all entries in Phase Three are presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with select sequences opened up in the IMAX expanded aspect ratio of 1.90:1, except for Spider-Man: Homecoming which was presented in 2.39:1 throughout. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were filmed with IMAX cameras and were presented in the 1.90:1 expanded aspect ratio throughout both films only in IMAX theaters.
- The official designation for this universe is Earth-199999; however, it's called Earth-616 in-universe, which is the official designation for the mainstream comics universe.
- Iman Vellani and Kevin Feige have discussed this with Vellani insisting on it being Earth-199999 while Feige insists on it being Earth-616. Feige even had it called such explicitly for the first time in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.[26]
References[]
- ↑ Which Studios Own Which Marvel Characters
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1172782239173636097
- ↑ Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - Audio Commentary
- ↑ 'Wolverine' Set Images Show The Viper
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy: From the Set of the Marvel Studios Adaptation
- ↑ Ryan Reynolds And Paul Wernick Talk ‘Deadpool’ Sequel And The Surprising Link To ‘Guardians 2’
- ↑ Disney-Fox Deal: Bob Iger Discusses Digital Future, James Murdoch, Hulu and $2B Cost Savings
- ↑ Disney Officially Owns 21st Century Fox
- ↑ Spider-Man is finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- ↑ How Spider-Man Was Almost In 'The Avengers'
- ↑ Sony Pictures Entertainment Brings Marvel Studios Into The Amazing World Of Spider-Man
- ↑ EXCLUSIVE: Sony’s Spider-Man Movies Happen in the “Same Reality” as the MCU
- ↑ As depicted in the film Venom: Let There Be Carnage
- ↑ As depicted in the film Morbius
- ↑ Daredevil's Vincent D'Onofrio: Kingpin Rights Are "Caught in Between" Marvel and Sony
- ↑ Spider-Man Could Leave MCU if Disney, Sony Can’t Reach Financing Deal
- ↑ Spider-Man Will Stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- ↑ Kevin Feige Talks Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers & The Sub-Mariner
- ↑ Why ‘Wakanda Forever’ Villain Namor Won’t Get His Own Standalone Marvel Movie
- ↑ PARAMOUNT-MARVEL DEAL: Paramount To Distribute Next Five Marvel Films
- ↑ Disney to Distribute Marvel's Avengers,' 'Iron Man 3'
- ↑ Disney Completes Purchase Of Marvel Home Entertainment Distribution Rights
- ↑ THE INCREDIBLE HULK: Disney Won't Get Distribution Rights Back From Universal For Hulk Solo Films For a While
- ↑ ‘Incredible Hulk’ Is Finally Coming to Disney+
- ↑ Young Avengers Vol 2 #8
- ↑ The Dawn Of Iman Vellani