List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) centers on a series of American superhero films made by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The films have been in production since 2007, and in that time, Marvel Studios has made and released 38 films, with at least nine more in several stages of development. It is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over $34.1 billion at the global box office. This includes Avengers: Endgame, which became the highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release.

Overview§

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) centers on a series of American superhero films made by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The films have been in production since 2007, and in that time, Marvel Studios has made and released 38 films, with at least nine more in several stages of development. It is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over $34.1 billion at the global box office. This includes Avengers: Endgame, which became the highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. The films are written and directed by several individuals and feature sizeable, often ensemble, casts. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has made every film in the franchise, while other Marvel Studios executives have also made some films alongside Feige, including the studio's former CEO Avi Arad for the first two releases and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Other individuals have also made select MCU films, including Gale Anne Hurd for The Incredible Hulk; Amy Pascal for the Spider-Man films; Lauren Shuler Donner, Ryan Reynolds, and Shawn Levy for Deadpool & Wolverine; and Rachel O'Connor for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases". Its first film is Iron Man (2008), which was distributed by Paramount Pictures. Paramount also distributed Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), while Universal Pictures distributed The Incredible Hulk (2008), which was co-made by Hurd's production company Valhalla Motion Pictures. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures started distributing the series with the crossover film The Avengers (2012), which concluded Phase One. Phase Two comprises 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), and Ant-Man (2015). Captain America: Civil War (2016) starts Phase Three, and is followed by 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 Phases are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga". The Spider-Man films are owned, financed, and distributed by Sony Pictures and co-made by Sony's Columbia Pictures and Pascal Pictures. The Phase Four films are 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), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Phase Five comprises 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), and Thunderbolts* (2025). Deadpool & Wolverine was co-made by Reynolds's and Levy's respective companies Maximum Effort and 21 Laps Entertainment. Phase Six includes The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The fourth, fifth, and sixth Phases are collectively known as "The Multiverse Saga", and also include several television series and some television specials for the streaming service Disney+.

Initial development work for the Infinity Saga§

By 2005, Marvel Entertainment had begun planning to make its own films independently and distribute them through Paramount Pictures. Marvel Studios secured funding from a $525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch in June 2007. Marvel planned to release individual films for their main characters and then merge them in a crossover film. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in November 2013 that releases each year would ideally include one film based on an existing character and one featuring a new character, feeling that would be "a nice rhythm", although, this was not always the case as shown by the sequels Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World being released in 2013. Feige elaborated in July 2014 that this model was being followed for 2014 and 2015, and he felt it would be fun to continue. After the reveal that month of multiple release dates for films through 2019, in which some years had three films scheduled, Feige said there was no "number cruncher" telling the studio to increase their film output and the change was based on them "managing [existing] franchises, film to film, and when we have a team ready to go, why tell them to go away for four years just because we don't have a slot? We'd rather find a way to keep that going." After the titles for these films were revealed in October 2014, Feige said the studio was "firing on all cylinders right now" and this made them comfortable with increasing to three films a year in 2017 and 2018 without changing their production approach. Although each film is based on Marvel Comics and feature the "Marvel Studios" logo, he believed each film had unique qualities that differentiated them from the others and from non-Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films, on the potential for so-called "superhero fatigue", Feige stated that. For example, he noted how the studio's 2016 releases, Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, were "completely different movies". The studio hoped to continue to surprise audiences and "not [fall] into things becoming too similar".

In February 2014, Feige said Marvel Studios wanted to mimic the "rhythm" of comic book releases by having characters appear in their own films and then come together for crossover events, with Avengers films acting as "big, giant linchpins" within the shared universe. On expanding the number of characters in the universe and letting individual films breathe and work on their own, as opposed to having Avenger team-ups outside of Avengers films, Feige said they planned to teach general audiences "around the notion of the characters existing separately, coming together for specific events and going away and existing separately in their own worlds again. Just like comic readers have been doing for decades... people sort of are accepting that there's just a time when they should be together and there's a time when they're not." Discussing how much story is developed for future MCU films, Feige said in September 2015 that "broad strokes" and occasionally "super-specific things" are determined far in advance. He said there was enough leeway to "have room to sway and to move and to go and to surprise ourselves in places that we end up" and that each film would feel satisfying on its own, but still interconnected to the larger universe and as if it had been planned years ahead of time. The studio has contingency plans for times when they are unable to secure a certain actor to reprise a role, and can respond to surprises such as the film rights to use Spider-Man becoming available in February 2015. Feige discussed moving the MCU to Phase Four in April 2016, reflecting on the first three phases of films and saying, "I think there will be a finality to moments of Phase Three, along with new beginnings that will mark a different, a very different, a distinctively different chapter in what will someday be a complete first saga made up of three Phases." Frequent MCU director Joe Russo added that Phase Three was the "deconstruction Phase" of the MCU, beginning with Civil War and leading into "the culmination films" of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). A year later, Feige felt after the conclusion of Phase Three, Marvel might abandon grouping the films by Phases, saying, "it might be a new thing". Feige mentioned that Avengers: Endgame would provide "a definitive end" to the films and storylines preceding it, with the franchise having "two distinct periods. Everything before [Endgame] and everything after". Many of the films that were planned to follow Endgame were intentionally different from the films in "The Infinity Saga", which includes Phase One, Phase Two, and Phase Three.

Expansion to the Multiverse Saga and shifting approach§

In July 2019, Feige announced the Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con, consisting of films and television event series for the streaming service Disney+. At Disney's Investor Day, Marvel provided updates to previously announced films for the Phase in December 2020. In late June 2022, Feige said audiences would start to see where the next saga of the MCU would be heading as Phase Four neared its conclusion, adding that there had been many clues throughout the Phase to what that would be. He said Marvel Studios would be a "little more direct" on their future plans in the after months to provide audiences with "the bigger picture". In July 2022, Feige unveiled the Phase Five and Six slates at San Diego Comic-Con, similarly consisting of films and Disney+ series, and revealed that these three Phases would make up "The Multiverse Saga". Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company planned to release two, or at most three, Marvel films a year moving forward, down from four films being released in some recent years, as part of Disney's larger strategy to reduce its content output and focus on quality in May 2024. At that time, four films were still expected to be released in both 2025 and 2026. Iger said Marvel content would continue to balance sequels with new franchises. Later in 2024, Disney removed the long-in-development film Blade from its 2025 release date and also removed an unspecified Marvel film that was scheduled for July 2026, which was replaced by Sony Pictures's Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Feige said the three films that were still scheduled for 2025 had been in development for a long time and were ready for release. He expected Marvel Studios to start releasing two films a year from 2026, but said there was potential for anywhere between one and three films in some years. Iger called Thunderbolts* the "first and best example" of Marvel Studios' refocusing efforts in May 2025. Further changes to Marvel Studios' release slate resulted in over a year gap between The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) and Brand New Day; this would be the longest gap between MCU film releases since the gap between Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Black Widow (2021), which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feige said the studio was working to reduce its film budgets, which had increased since Endgame in part due to the pandemic in July 2025. He said the budgets for their 2024 and 2025 films were a third lower than those for 2022 and 2023. Marvel Studios executives met with the creative team behind the film The Creator (2023) to understand how that film was made with a relatively low $80 million budget. Also, Feige stated that Marvel Studios had made a deal to film many of their then-upcoming films at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom, where several of their other films had previously been shot. Because of those states' production tax credits, he said Marvel Studios anticipated utilizing studio space in Georgia and New York as well, rather than California. Though, The Wall Street Journal reported that Marvel would largely forego shooting in Georgia because of its rising costs, instead choosing to shoot in the United Kingdom because it had become cheaper to do so. Feige called Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) the true start to Marvel Studios' exploration and use of the Fox characters after Disney's acquisition of assets from 21st Century Fox in 2019, and said every project after it would be part of the MCU's "Mutant era". The next MCU saga after the Multiverse Saga is expected to center on the Fox characters, including the X-Men. Feige reportedly had a 10-year plan for the X-Men in the MCU by May 2025. In July 2025, Feige said Marvel Studios was "already well into development" on the three phases of their next saga after the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga with Secret Wars. He said Phase Seven would be "directly impacted" by the films of Phase Six. A year later, Feige said Secret Wars would "set up a streamlined, simplified, single universe that audiences can keep up with. Some things will be familiar, but many, many things will be entirely new." He said the X-Men would be core to the next era of the MCU, which he called the "Mutant Saga", and noted that those characters have their own universe and "multi-stage saga" in the comics. After several critical and financial failures, the studio started testing its films through test screenings organized by the National Research Group (NRG). The studio previously relied on "friends-and-family" test screenings at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, to help maintain secrecy. Feige said the NRG tests yielded results similar to their own.

Films§

Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases".

The Infinity Saga§

The films from Phase One, Phase Two, and Phase Three are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga".

The Multiverse Saga§

The films from Phase Four, Phase Five, and Phase Six are collectively known as "The Multiverse Saga". The Phases also include multiple television series and some television specials streaming on Disney+.

Future§

At any given time, Marvel Studios has future films planned around five to six years out from what they have announced. Feige said they had a seven-year plan through 2032 with potential films on magnets that could be moved around in July 2025. Marvel Studios was looking to release one to three films a year at that point. A year later, he said potential films were planned through 2042. After the Multiverse Saga, the next MCU saga is expected to center on characters that Marvel Studios inherited during the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, including the X-Men. Feige reportedly had a 10-year plan for the X-Men in the MCU by May 2025. Disney has scheduled release dates for unannounced Marvel Studios films on May 5 and July 28, 2028, and May 4 and July 13, 2029. Producer Nate Moore said work on some projects, such as Armor Wars, had slowed down since the studio started reducing content output and focusing on quality in February 2025. By that May, Marvel Studios was set to gauge the interest of frequent writer Eric Pearson in projects that were planned for after Avengers: Secret Wars. Feige said the studio had dates held for future films past Secret Wars in December 2027 in "many" years in July 2025.

Untitled X-Men film (2028)§

At SDCC in July 2019, Kevin Feige stated that mutants would eventually be introduced to the MCU, which include the X-Men, and said those terms are interchangeable and that the MCU depiction would differ from 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. Marvel Studios was preparing to meet with writers later that year for a X-Men film, and Michael Lesslie entered negotiations to write the film in May 2024; he was confirmed to be writing the film a year later by September 2023. Jake Schreier was announced to direct after positive responses to Thunderbolts* (2025). After bringing back actors from Fox's X-Men films for the Multiverse Saga, Feige said this film would feature a recast X-Men team after the "reset" of the MCU in Secret Wars. He said it would be "a very youth-oriented, focused and cast movie". Schreier revealed in April 2026 that Joanna Calo and Lee Sung Jin were writing a new draft of the film's script after they collaborated with Schreier on Thunderbolts* and the television series Beef (2023–present). Casting started in July 2026, with Samara Weaving being cast as Emma Frost. The film is set for release in 2028.

Ghost Rider (2028)§

The film rights to the character Ghost Rider reverted to Marvel Studios from Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures in May 2013. Those companies made the films Ghost Rider (2007) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), both starring Nicolas Cage as the Johnny Blaze incarnation of the character. After Ryan Gosling publicly expressed interest in portraying Ghost Rider in the MCU in 2022, Feige suggested that he was open to that. At SDCC in July 2026, Gosling was confirmed to be starring in a new Ghost Rider film to be directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jonathan Tropper. Levy previously directed Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) for Marvel Studios, and worked with Gosling and Tropper on the film Star Wars: Starfighter (2027). Gosling was reported to be portraying Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider will be released in 2028.

Black Panther III (2028)§

By November 2022, Ryan Coogler had discussed a potential third Black Panther film with Feige. Former Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore–who left the studio in March 2025–returned to make the film along with Marvel Studios. In November 2025, Coogler confirmed that Black Panther III would be his next film and said development had begun. At SDCC in July 2026, Feige and Coogler announced that David Jonsson had been cast as an adult version of T'Challa II / Toussaint, who was introduced as a child in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and would take on the mantle of Black Panther in Black Panther III. The film was scheduled for release on December 15, 2028.

Armor Wars§

James Rhodes must confront one of Tony Stark's greatest fears when Stark's tech falls into the wrong hands. Marvel Studios announced Armor Wars as a Disney+ series based on the 1987–88 comic book storyline "Armor Wars", with Don Cheadle reprising his role as James Rhodes / War Machine in December 2020. In August 2021, Yassir Lester was hired as the series' head writer. Marvel Studios decided to rework the series into a feature film, with Cheadle and Lester remaining with the project in September 2022. Development had slowed down by February 2025. Armor Wars is set after the events of Secret Invasion (2023). Walton Goggins is set to reprise his role as Sonny Burch from Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).

Blade§

After New Line Cinema's Blade film trilogy (1998–2004), Marvel Studios regained the film rights to the character Blade by July 2011 and was developing a new version by May 2013. Mahershala Ali, who played Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in Marvel Television's Luke Cage (2016–18), approached Marvel Studios in February 2019 around starring in a new Blade film, which Feige announced at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) that July with Ali as Blade; he first had an uncredited voice cameo in Eternals (2021). Multiple filmmakers were attached in the after years—including directors Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, and writers Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Beau DeMayo, Michael Starrbury, Nic Pizzolatto, and Michael Green—while the production experienced several delays. Eric Pearson was rewriting the script by June 2024, when Marvel was searching for a new director, and Blade was removed from the release schedule in October 2024, but the film remained in development. By July 2026, Ali had moved on from the role, citing the delays.

Untitled Nova film§

A television series featuring the character Richard Rider / Nova was revealed to be in development in March 2022, with Sabir Pirzada writing. Development had slowed down by February 2023 amid Disney's larger decision to scale back content output and costs. In July 2024, Feige confirmed the series would feature Rider and anticipated that it would be released three or four years later. That December, Ed Bernero was hired as writer and showrunner, but the series was put on pause in February 2025. Michael Waldron was revealed in July 2026 to be writing a script for a Nova film that was in early development as a reworking of the series. Waldron was also considering directing the film if it were to move forward.

Untitled Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel§

In December 2021, a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) was announced to be in development, with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to write and direct. Simu Liu was expected to return as Shang-Chi by the after month. In September 2024, Cretton was chosen to direct Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), which was a higher priority for Marvel Studios than the Shang-Chi sequel. Cretton said that they were still developing the sequel and attributed its long development to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2026. The after month, Cretton confirmed that Dave Callaham, who was a writer on the first film, was also writing on the sequel.