The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films are a chain of American superhero movies produced through Marvel Studios based totally on characters that seem in courses through Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe wherein all the movies are set. The films had been in manufacturing considering 2007, and in that point Marvel Studios has produced and released 28 movies, with at the least 12 greater in numerous degrees of improvement. It is the very best-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over $26.6 billion at the global field office. This consists of Avengers: Endgame, which have become the highest-grossing movie of all time at the time of its launch.
Kevin Feige has produced every movie in the series, alongside Avi Arad for the primary two releases, Gale Anne Hurd for The Incredible Hulk, Amy Pascal for the Spider-Man films, Stephen Broussard for Ant-Man and the Wasp, Jonathan Schwartz for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Nate Moore for Eternals, and Brad Winderbaum for Thor: Love and Thunder. The films are written and directed by means of quite a few individuals and characteristic big, frequently ensemble, casts. Many of the actors, which include Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner signed contracts to superstar in numerous movies.
Marvel Studios releases its films in corporations called “Phases”.[1][2] Its first movie is Iron Man (2008), which became dispensed by way of Paramount Pictures. Paramount additionally dispensed Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), even as Universal Pictures disbursed The Incredible Hulk (2008). Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures started out distributing the series with the crossover film The Avengers (2012), which concluded Phase One. Phase Two contains Iron Man three (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Ant-Man (2015).
Captain America: Civil War (2016) is the primary movie of Phase Three, and is observed via 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), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The first three stages are collectively called “The Infinity Saga”. The Spider-Man films are owned, financed, and disbursed by means of Sony Pictures.
Phase Four’s institution of films commenced with Black Widow (2021), followed through Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and will include Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. three (2023), The Marvels (2023), and Fantastic Four. The section will function these movies, as well as twelve announced television event series and specials for the streaming carrier Disney+.[three][4] One unannounced movie has been set for launch in 2023, even as 4 unannounced movies have been set for release in 2024.Development
Kevin Feige helped conceive of a shared media universe of Marvel properties.
By 2005, Marvel Entertainment had started making plans to supply its own movies independently and distribute them via Paramount Pictures.[five] In June 2007, Marvel Studios raised secured investment from a seven-yr, $525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch.[6] Marvel’s plan become to launch man or woman films for their important characters after which merge them in a crossover film.[7]
In November 2013, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige stated that “in an excellent world” releases every year might include one film based totally on an existing individual and one providing a new individual, pronouncing it is “a pleasing rhythm” in that format. While not usually the case, as obvious by means of the 2013 releases of Iron Man three and Thor: The Dark World, he said it’s far “in reality some thing to purpose for”.[eight] Feige multiplied in this in July 2014, saying, “I do not know that we are going to maintain to [that version] every 12 months, however we’re doing that during 2014 and 2015, so I suppose it’d be amusing to retain that type of factor”.[nine] After the reveal of a couple of launch dates for movies via 2019 in July 2014,[10] in which a few had three films scheduled, Feige said there has been no longer “a number of cruncher” telling the studio to increase their film output, however as a substitute it became about “dealing with [current] franchises, film to film, and when we’ve got a group equipped to move, why inform them to go away for four years just because we do not have a slot? We’d rather discover a manner to preserve that going.”[11] After the titles were found out in October 2014,[12] Feige stated, “The studio’s firing on all cylinders right now … which made us cushty for the primary time … to growth to three movies a yr [in 2017 and 2018] as opposed to simply two, with out converting our strategies.”[thirteen] On the capacity for “superhero fatigue”, Feige stated, though each of the movies are primarily based at the Marvel Comics and characteristic the “Marvel Studios” brand, he believed each film had their personal distinctions to assist differentiate them from different MCU and superhero movies. For example, he referred to how the 2016 releases of the studio, Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, have been ” completely exceptional films”. The studio was hoping to maintain to marvel audience and make sure the studio was “now not falling into matters becoming too similar”.[14]
In February 2014, Feige stated that Marvel Studios wants to mimic the “rhythm” that the comedian books have developed, by way of having the characters appear of their very own films, after which come together, just like “a huge event or crossover collection,”[15] with Avengers films acting as “massive, large linchpins”.[sixteen] On expanding the characters within the universe and letting man or woman films breathe and work on their personal, rather than having Avenger crew-united statesout of doors of Avengers movies, Feige said, it is approximately “teaching the overall movie-going audience approximately the perception of the characters current one by one, coming collectively for particular occasions and going away and existing one by one in their own worlds again. Just like comedian readers were doing for decades and a long time … people form of are accepting that there may be only a time after they should be collectively and there is a time when they may be no longer.”[17]
In April 2016, on transferring the universe to Phase Four and reflecting on the primary three, Feige stated, “I think there might be a finality to moments of Phase Three, in addition to new beginnings that will mark a different, a very distinctive, a distinctively one of a kind bankruptcy in what’s going to someday be a complete first saga made from three levels.” Frequent director Joe Russo delivered Phase Three became the “deconstruction segment” of the MCU, beginning with Captain America: Civil War (2016) main into “the culmination movies” of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).[18] A 12 months later, Feige felt after the belief of Phase Three, Marvel may abandon grouping the movies by using levels, pronouncing, “it might be a brand new component”.[19] Feige referred to that Avengers: Endgame could offer “a definitive cease” to the movies and storylines previous it, with the franchise having ” wonderful periods. Everything before [Endgame] and the whole lot after”. Many of the planned movies following Endgame have been intentionally “absolutely specific” from the films in The Infinity Saga.[20]
In July 2019, Feige announced the Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con, which includes movies and television event collection on Disney+.[21] In December 2020, at Disney’s Investor Day, Marvel Studios provided updates to formerly introduced films for the segment.[22][23]
On how a great deal tale is evolved for future films of the universe, Feige stated in September 2015 there are “vast strokes” although sometime “tremendous-precise things”. He persevered that there has been sufficient leeway to “have room to sway and to move and to head and to surprise ourselves in places that we grow to be” and that each movie could feel satisfying on its personal, however nonetheless interconnected to the bigger universe and as if it had been planned years in advance of time. The studio additionally has diverse contingency plans for the direction of all in their films, in the event they’re not able to secure a positive actor to reprise a role, or re-accumulate the film rights to a person, along with became accomplished in February 2015 with Spider-Man.[24]FilmsThe Infinity Saga
The films from Phase One thru Phase Three are collectively called “The Infinity Saga”.[25][26]Phase Four