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Oct 21, 2021 · Disney, which also acquired Marvel back in 2009, now owns the film rights to all three of those franchises and plans to incorporate them all into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some...
Marvel Studios began producing their own television series for streaming on Disney+, starting with WandaVision in 2021 as the beginning of Phase Four. That phase also saw the studio expand to television specials, known as Marvel Studios Special Presentations, starting with Werewolf by Night (2022).
- Overview
- Films
- Television Series
- Tie-In Comics
- Recurring cast and characters
- Home media
- Other media
- Reception
“You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe; you just don't know it yet.”
―Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) (designated as Earth-199999 in the Marvel Multiverse and Earth-616 in MCU media); also known as Marvel Studios Cinematic Universe; is a major multimedia franchise and shared fictional universe centered on a series of superhero films and series, independently produced by Marvel Studios and based on characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The franchise includes comic books, short films, television series, and digital series. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. The MCU is currently one of the four main branches of the Walt Disney Studios, the other three being the main Disney Animated Canon, Pixar, and Star Wars.
The first film to be released in the MCU was Iron Man (2008), followed by thirty-two more films. Numerous future films are slated for release in the following years. The first three phases has been collectively known as The Infinity Saga, while Phases Four, Five, and Six are known as The Multiverse Saga.
The films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have received both critical and financial success, and the franchise as a whole currently ranks as the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Beyond feature films, the franchise has expanded into new comic books, a series of short films called Marvel One-Shots, and the television series.
Several non-MCU Marvel franchises, such as Sony Pictures' Spider-Man universes and Fox's X-Men universe, have had characters and their storylines cross over into the MCU. They include alternate versions of Spider-Man, as well as Professor X, Deadpool, and Wolverine.
The first three "Phases" has been collectively known as The Infinity Saga, while phases four through six are best known as The Multiverse Saga.
Film Release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s) Status
Phase One (Avengers Assembled)
Iron Man May 2, 2008 Jon Favreau Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway Avi Arad and Kevin Feige Released
The Incredible Hulk June 13, 2008 Louis Leterrier Zak Penn Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd, and Kevin Feige
Iron Man 2 May 7, 2010 Jon Favreau Justin Theroux Kevin Feige
ABCNetflixFreeformYouTube-only SeriesHuluDisney+MCU-Inspired Comics
Comics that are set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but are not regarded as canon.
List indicator(s)
•This table only includes characters which have appeared in multiple franchises within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
•A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in that medium, or that the character's presence in that medium has not yet been announced.
•A V indicates a voice-only role.
•A C indicates an uncredited cameo role.
•A P indicates the actor or actress appears via pictures only.
In June 2012, Marvel announced the release of a 10-disc Blu-ray box set titled Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled, for September 25, 2012. The box set includes the first six films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers—in a replica of Nick Fury's briefcase from The Avengers.
In August 2012, luggage company Rimowa GmbH, who developed the briefcase for The Avengers, filed suit against Marvel Studios and Buena Vista Home Entertainment in U.S. federal court, complaining that "Marvel did not obtain any license or authorization from Rimowa to make replica copies of the cases for any purpose". The set was delayed and the packaging was redesigned for 2013. The box set, with a redesigned case, was released on April 2, 2013. In addition, the box set included a featurette on the upcoming Phase Two movies, showing footage, and concept art, as well as previously unreleased deleted scenes from all of the Phase One films.
Comic books
In November 2010, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada outlined his plan to expand the MCU into comic books. He explained, "For the uninitiated, the MCU comics are going to be stories set within movie continuity. They are not necessarily direct adaptations of the movies, but maybe something that happened off screen and was mentioned in the movie, and we'll tell that story. ... The folks that are involved in the movies on the West Coast will be involved in these stories. It won't be like one of our comic book writers saw the movie and has an idea for a story. No, these stories are originating at the very top. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is involved with these and in some cases maybe the writers of the movies would be involved in ... generating these ideas and then either just giving them to some of our writers or maybe some of these guys writing them themselves."
Short films
In August 2011, Marvel announced a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots. The first short film, The Consultant, is included with the Thor Blu-ray release, which was released on September 13, 2011. A second, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, was released on the Captain America: The First Avenger Blu-ray on October 25, 2011. Both films star Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, offering up two self-contained stories about the day in the life of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. A third film titled Item 47 was released with The Avengers Blu-ray on September 25, 2012.
Box office performanceCritical reactionJul 28, 2022 · Disney bought Marvel in 2009, securing rights to Marvel Entertainment’s plentiful realm of superheroes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has since been a cash cow for Disney, raking in box office...
- Anna Kaufman
- Search & Optimization Editor
Jun 12, 2021 · Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, made a new deal with Sony, and now the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man will all be part of the same Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Jamie Burton
Walt Disney Studios is a film studio and a division of Disney Entertainment in Burbank, California that owns the film rights to and distributes almost all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. It is the parent company of Marvel Studios.
Feb 20, 2024 · In 2009, Disney swooped in and bought the nascent Marvel Cinematic Universe for $4B. Who won and who lost in the aftermath of the historic deal?
