Marvel Cinematic Universe

> "*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**) (also referred as **Earth-199999** in various Marvel storylines) is a major media franchise and shared fictional universe that is the setting of many superhero films independently produced by Marvel Studios, based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The shared universe of the films, much like the Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

The first film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was *Iron Man* (2008), followed by *The Incredible Hulk* (2008), *Iron Man 2* (2010), *Thor* (2011), *Captain America: The First Avenger* (2011), *Marvel's The Avengers* (2012), *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), *Captain America: Civil War* (2016), *Doctor Strange* (2016), *Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2* (2017), *Spider-Man: Homecoming* (2017), *Thor: Ragnarok* (2017), and *Black Panther* (2018). Numerous upcoming films are slated for release in the following years.

The films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have received both critical and commercial success, and the franchise as a whole currently ranks as the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Outside of feature films, the franchise has expanded into comic books, a series of short films called Marvel One-Shots, and the television series *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* and *Agent Carter*.

## Television Series

### **YouTube-only Series**

 *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot* | 6

## Tie-In Comics

### **MCU-Inspired Comics**

Comics that are set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but are not regarded as canon.

### *Marvel's The Avengers*

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In June 2007, Zak Penn, who wrote *The Incredible Hulk*, was hired to write a script for *The Avengers*. In April 2010, Joss Whedon closed a deal to direct the film, and to rework Penn's script. Marvel announced that Edward Norton would not be reprising the role of Bruce Banner aka the Hulk, and in July 2010, Mark Ruffalo was cast in his place. In October 2010, The Walt Disney Company agreed to pay Paramount at least $115 million for the worldwide distribution rights to *Iron Man 3* and *The Avengers*, although the deal allowed Paramount to continue to collect a box office fee and receive credit for distribution. Principal photography began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August, and New York City in September.

Gwyneth Paltrow, who portrayed Pepper Potts in *Iron Man* and *Iron Man 2*, was cast at Robert Downey Jr.'s insistence; prior to this, Whedon had not intended the film to include supporting characters from the heroes' individual films, commenting, "You need to separate the characters from their support systems in order to create the isolation you need for a team." Sony Pictures and Disney discussed incorporating the OsCorp Tower from the *The Amazing Spider-Man* into the climax of *The Avengers*, but the idea was eventually dropped because *The Avengers*'s Manhattan skyline had already been rendered before the OsCorp building design had been completed. The supervillain Thanos appeared in a post-credits scene, portrayed by Damion Poitier.

### *Iron Man 3* (2013)

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In late 2010, Marvel and Disney scheduled *Iron Man 3* for release on May 3, 2013. In February 2011, Marvel hired Shane Black to direct *Iron Man 3*. Black co-wrote the film's script with Drew Pearce. Filming began in May 2012, in North Carolina. Filming also took place in southern Florida, China, and Los Angeles.

In the film Tony Stark experiences PTSD like symptoms following the Battle of New York. Black explained, "that's an anxiety response to feeling inferior to The Avengers, but also to being humbled by sights he cannot possibly begin to understand or reconcile with the realities he's used to... There's a line in the movie about ever since that big guy with the hammer fell out of the sky, the rules have changed. That's what we're dealing with here." Mark Ruffalo also reprised his role as Dr. Bruce Banner in a cameo appearance during a post-credits scene.

### *Thor: The Dark World* (2013)

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A sequel to Thor was first announced in June 2011. Alan Taylor signed on to direct the film in December 2011. The film's title was announced as Thor: The Dark World in July 2012 at San Diego Comic-Con International. Production started in September 2012 in Bourne Wood, Surrey. Filming also took place in Iceland and London. The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on October 22, 2013. It was internationally released on October 30, 2013 and on November 8, 2013 in the United States.

Chris Evans briefly makes a cameo appearance in the film as Captain America when Loki shapeshifts into him while mocking Thor. Tom Hiddleston wore the Captain America costume while standing in for Evans, before Evans came to shoot the scene. Hiddelston said, "I did an impression of Loki in the Captain America costume, and then they showed Chris [Evans] my performance on tape. It's him doing an impression of me doing an impression of him. And it's brilliant." James Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy, directed the mid-credits scene in which Sif and Volstagg encounter The Collector, played by Benicio del Toro. Asked about shooting the scene, Gunn said, "I got the script that morning, and I did it in two hours at the end of a day of second unit shooting [for Guardians of the Galaxy]," he said. "That's how this little bit came together with Benicio."

### *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* (2014)

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A sequel to 2011's *Captain America: The First Avenger* was announced in April 2012. Joe and Anthony Russo were hired to direct in June 2012, and in July 2012 it was officially titled *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*. Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson are set to reprise their respective roles as Captain America and Nick Fury, and Scarlett Johansson will again play the Black Widow. Production started in April 2013 in Manhattan Beach. The film was released on April 4, 2014 in 2D and 3D.

### *Guardians of the Galaxy* (2014)

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Marvel Studios announced it was developing a *Guardians of the Galaxy* film in July 2012, with a release date of August 1, 2014. The film is to be directed by James Gunn, based on a screenplay written by Nicole Perlman, Chris McCoy, and Gunn. In February 2013, Chris Pratt was cast in the lead role, as Star-Lord. The film iwas released on August 1, 2014 in 3D and IMAX 3D.

### *Ant-Man* (2015)

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*Ant-Man* is to be script written by Wright and Joe Cornish, who plan to include Henry Pym and Scott Lang as major characters. Test footage for the film was screened at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International during the Marvel Studios panel. It is set for release on November 6, 2015, and Feige confirmed that it will be the first film in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Edgar Wright was originally to direct the film but left due to creative differences.

### *Captain America: Civil War* (2016)

Following the events of *Avengers: Age of Ultron*, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.

### *Doctor Strange* (2016)

Marvel's *Doctor Strange* follows the story of the talented neurosurgeon Doctor Strange Stephen Strange who, after a tragic car accident, travels to a hidden world mysticism to use his hands again.

## Recurring cast and characters

**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.
* A Y indicates the actor portrayed the role in a flashback scene when the character was younger.
* An A indicates the actor or actress appears via archived footage.

## Home media

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.

## Other media

### 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.

### Television

#### *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*

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In July 2012 it was reported that Marvel's TV division had again entered into discussions with ABC to do a show set in the MCU, and in August ABC ordered a pilot for a show called *S.H.I.E.L.D.*, to be written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, and directed by Joss Whedon. Clark Gregg is cast to reprise his role from the films as Phil Coulson in the series. On April 6, 2013 ABC announced that the show would be titled, *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* The series premiered on ABC in fall 2013. The premiere garnered 12 million viewers, becoming the highest viewed television premiere on the network in over a decade. In May 2014, ABC renewed the series for a second season, set to premiere in fall 2014.

#### *Agent Carter*

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After the success of Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, *Captain America* screenwriters Christopher Marcus and Steve McFeely penned a pilot episode in January 2014. In May 2014, the show was picked up straight-to-series without the pilot episode being filmed. The first season will premiere in January 2015, and will run for eight episodes while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on hiatus. The show will star Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark.

#### *Daredevil*

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In 2013, Marvel announced that it has agreed to a multi-show deal with Netflix, where they will provide exclusive programming of four original shows, which will culminate in a mini-series event after each show has completed their first season. The first show in the lineup was announced to be Daredevil with a 13 episode first season. The show will be produced and managed by Steven DeKnight, and written by Drew Goddard. Charlie Cox will star in the title role as the series premieres on Netflix in 2015.

#### *Jessica Jones*

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In December 2010, it was reported that *Twilight* screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg was developing a series originally for ABC titled *AKA Jessica Jones*, based on the comic book series *Alias* created by Brian Michael Bendis. In November 2011, Rosenberg stated that the TV show would center on Jessica Jones and would have principal parts for Luke Cage and Carol Danvers. She also confirmed that the TV series would absolutely take place in the larger "cinematic" Marvel Universe and Tony Stark and Stark Industries were in the pilot script but admitted, "As we go along things will alter in terms of what is made available to us, but we're definitely in that universe. In May 2012, ABC president Paul Lee stated the network has passed on the series.

A year later, the series (with the same creative team) was announced to be in production as part of Netflix's multi-series deal. The series premiered in November 2015 and ran for 13 episodes.

## Future

### Other projects

Marvel has hired screenwriters for a number of other properties: in April 2006, Andrew W. Marlowe was hired to write a script for *Nick Fury*, Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were hired to write a screenplay for *Doctor Strange* in June 2010, and in January 2011, Marvel hired documentary filmmaker Mark Bailey to write a script for *Black Panther*. Marvel has also attempted to hire a team of writers to help come up with creative ways to produce film adaptations of some of its lesser-known properties, including Black Panther, Cable, Iron Fist, Nighthawk, and Vision, and in April 2010, Marvel began meeting with filmmakers to discuss small-scale, $20–40 million movies based on these lesser-known characters and others.

Properties including Doctor Strange, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Dazzler, and Power Pack are among those being considered for development. In March 2012, Kevin Feige mentioned the *Inhumans* as being a property he was confident a movie would be made out of, along with *Doctor Strange* and *Guardians of the Galaxy*. A sequel to 2008's *The Incredible Hulk* has also been discussed, with Marvel Studios having suggested a possible release after 2015's *The Avengers 2* due to the positive audience reception towards Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Bruce Banner in *The Avengers*. Ruffalo is set to reprise his role in any future adaptation of the character.

In January 2013, Kevin Feige confirmed that *Doctor Strange* would be a part of their Phase Three slate of movies and in May 2013, Feige confirmed that Marvel Studios is planning to release a *Doctor Strange* feature film. At Entertainment Weekly's CapeTown Film Fest in 2013, Feige stated that Marvel was planning to release a female superhero film. In May 2013, the *Hollywood Reporter* reported that, in addition to the planned *Doctor Strange* film, *Iron Fist*, *Black Panther*, and *The Runaways* are "on the horizon", and Marvel has working scripts for *Blade* and *Ms. Marvel*.

In February 2015, Marvel Studios confirmed that they settled their rights dispute with Columbia Pictures and will produce a Spider-Man movie reboot set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Columbia, which will be released on July 28, 2017.

## Note

* In July 2013, theatrical and home media distribution rights for *Iron Man*, *Iron Man 2*, *Thor*, and *Captain America: The First Avenger* were transferred to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, respectively.
* Fox's *X-Men* and *Fantastic Four* films, Sony's previous *Spider-Man* films, and *Big Hero 6* are considered to not take place in the MCU as a result of 3 of the 4 films under different ownership while *Big Hero 6* is a Disney-branded film.
	+ On December 14, 2017, Disney purchased the movie and TV divisions of 21th Century Fox, which includes the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool. Which means that Marvel Studios will have access to those characters and they can now be used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

## Gallery

Marvel Cinematic Universe logo.pngThe official logo as seen in the TV Special, "Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe".
### *Phase One*

Marvel-Cinematic-Universe Phase One Avengers Assemble.pngIron Man Official Poster.jpgThe Incredible Hulk.jpgIron Man 2 Official Poster.jpgThor Official Poster.jpgCaptainAmericaTheFirstAvengerComicConPoster.jpgThe Avengers poster2.jpgMarvel Cinematic Universe - Phase One.jpg
### *Phase Two*

Marvel-Cinematic-Universe-Phase-Two-Logo.jpgIron Man 3 theatrical poster 2.jpgThor The Dark World Poster.jpgCaptain-america-2-poster-us-full.jpgGuardiansoftheGalaxyTheatricalPoster.jpgAvengers AOU Poster.jpgMarvel's Ant-Man poster.jpgMCU Phase 2 Blu-ray 3D Collection.jpgPhase Two Collection 01.jpgPhase Two Collection 02.jpg
### *Phase Three*

Phase 3.pngCW Final Iron Man Masked Poster.jpgDoctor Strange 4th poster.jpgGOTG2 Payoff 1 Sheet Online lg.jpgSMH Official Poster.jpgThor Ragnarok SDCC 2017 Poster.jpgBlack Panther Theatrical Poster.jpgAnt-Man and the Wasp real logo.jpgUpdated Captain Marvel Logo.jpg
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