The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a media franchise and shared fictional universe that is the setting of 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) and Thor: The Dark World (2013). Four additional films are in various stages of development as of October 2013^[update]: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) are in post-production, and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Ant-Man (2015) are in pre-production. Two untitled films are slated for release in 2016 as well as one in 2017.

The films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have received both critical and commercial success, and the franchise as a whole ranks as the third 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., with additional television series in development.

In 2005, Variety reported that Marvel Studios would start independently producing its own films and distribute them through Paramount Pictures. Previously, the studio had co-produced several superhero films with Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema and others, including a seven-year development deal with 20th Century Fox.^[2] Marvel Studios made relatively little profit from its licensing deals with other studios and wanted to get more money out of its films while maintaining artistic control of the projects and distribution.^[3] Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige realized that unlike Spider-Man and the X-Men, who were licensed to Sony and Fox respectively, Marvel still owned the rights to the core members of The Avengers. Feige, a self-professed fanboy, envisioned creating a shared universe just as creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s.^[4] To raise capital, the studio secured funding from a seven-year, $525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch.^[3] Marvel's plan was to release individual films for their main characters and then merge them together in a crossover film.^[5] Feige initially referred to the shared narrative continuity of these films as the "Marvel Cinema Universe",^[6] but later used the term "Marvel Cinematic Universe".^[7]

Marvel Studios developed business practices uniquely suited to create their shared universe. For example; when Fiege and his team hired Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston to direct Thor and Captain America, respectively, they made sure both directors were open to the idea of a shared universe, and that they would have to include Avengers setup scenes in their films.^[4] In order to find directors willing to take on the challenge, the studio chose filmmakers that were considered "out-of-left-field", given their previous work. Feige remarked, "You don't have to have directed a big, giant visual-effects movie to do a big, giant visual-effects movie for us. You just have to have done something singularly sort of awesome."^[8] Marvel also began contracting their actors for multiple films, including signing actor Samuel L. Jackson to an "unprecedented" nine-picture deal.^[9]

Over time, the distribution rights to Marvel Studios' films changed hands on multiple occasions. In November 2006, it was announced that The Incredible Hulk would be distributed by Universal Pictures, separate from the deal with Paramount in 2005.^[10] In September 2008, after the international success of Iron Man, Paramount signed a deal to have worldwide distribution rights for Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.^[11] In late December 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Both Marvel and Disney stated that Disney would distribute future Marvel projects with their own studios once the current distribution deals with Paramount expire after The Avengers.^[12] In October 2010, Disney bought the distribution rights for Marvel's The Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount Pictures^[13] with Paramount's logo remaining on the films, as well as for promotional material and merchandise.^[14][15] (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is the only studio credited at the end of these films.)^[16] In July 2013, Disney purchased the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger from Paramount.^[17] The Incredible Hulk was not part of the deal, due to an agreement between Marvel and Universal, where Marvel owns the film rights and Universal owns the distribution rights, for this and any future Hulk film.^[18]

Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped by a terrorist organization in order to build them a weapon of mass destruction. However, Stark builds himself an armored suit to escape. Back at home, after he learns of a plot with global implications, Stark decides to update his prototype armor in order to protect the world as Iron Man.^[43]

In April 2006, Marvel hired Jon Favreau to direct Iron Man,^[19] with Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway, and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby writing competing scripts.^[19][44] Favreau consolidated the scripts, which was then polished by John August.^[20] Robert Downey, Jr. was cast in the title role in September 2006, after growing out a goatee and working out to convince the filmmakers he was right for the part.^[45] Principal photography began on March 12, 2007,^[46] with the first few weeks spent on Stark's captivity in Afghanistan,^[47] which was filmed in Inyo County, California.^[48] Production also occurred on the former Hughes Company soundstages in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California,^[49] with additional filming at Edwards Air Force Base^[50] and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[51] Iron Man premiered at the Greater Union theater in George Street, Sydney, on April 14, 2008,^[52] and was released internationally on April 30, 2008 and in the United States on May 2, 2008.^[53][54]

The film ended with a post-credits scene featuring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who approaches Stark regarding the "Avenger Initiative". Favreau said that he included the scene as "a little tip of the hat for the fans [...] a way to sort of tee up The Avengers." Jackson was only on set for a day, with a skeletal crew to avoid the news of his cameo leaking.^[55] Captain America's shield was also visible in the background of a scene; it had initially been inserted by an ILM artist as a joke, but Favreau decided to leave it in the film.^[56]

In The Incredible Hulk, scientist Bruce Banner searches for a cure to the gamma radiation exposure that causes him to transform into the monstrous Hulk. Isolated and cut off from the love of his life, Betty Ross, Banner struggles to evade the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross. When the three are confronted by a frightening new adversary known as the Abomination, whose strength rivals the Hulk's, Banner must either accept a solitary life as a scientist or face his inner demons and become a hero.^[57]

In January 2006,^[58] Marvel reclaimed the film rights for the Hulk character from Universal Pictures after Universal failed to meet a deadline to develop a sequel to 2003's Hulk (Universal retained distribution rights for the film).^[59] Marvel hired Louis Leterrier, who expressed interest in directing Iron Man, to direct The Incredible Hulk.^[21] The script was written by Zak Penn, who drafted a treatment for the 2003 film.^[60] In April 2006, Edward Norton entered negotiations to portray Bruce Banner and rewrite Penn's script,^[61] although Penn received sole credit for the screenplay.^[22] Production began on July 9, 2007 and filming primarily took place in Toronto,^[62] with additional filming in New York City and Rio de Janeiro.^[63] The film premiered at the Gibson Amphitheatre on June 8, 2008, with a release on June 13, 2008.^[64][65]

Robert Downey, Jr. briefly reprised his role from Iron Man as Tony Stark in a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Downey described it as, "We were just cross-pollinating our superheroes. It happens to be a scene where I basically approach [actor William Hurt's character General Ross], and we may be considering going into some sort of limited partnership together. The great thing is he—and I don't want to give too much away—but he's in disrepair at the time I find him. It was really fun seeing him play this really powerful character who's half in the bag."^[66] In addition, Captain America is briefly seen frozen in ice in an alternate opening of the film, included in the DVD release.^[67]

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark comes under pressure from the U.S. government to hand over his technology to the military, after he reveals himself to be the armored adventurer, Iron Man. Tony, however, is unwilling to surrender the Iron Man armor, afraid that the technology will fall into the wrong hands. At the same time, Tony must confront a dangerous new enemy with the help of Pepper Potts and Col. James Rhodes.^[68]

Immediately following the successful release of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel Studios announced it was developing a sequel, Iron Man 2.^[69] In July 2008, Jon Favreau, the director of the first film, signed on to direct once again.^[23] That same month, Justin Theroux was hired to write the screenplay, which would be based on an original story by Favreau and Downey.^[24] In October 2008, Downey signed a new four-picture deal, that retroactively included the first film, to reprise his role and Don Cheadle was hired to replace Terrance Howard as James Rhodes.^[70][71] Samuel L. Jackson signed on to reprise his role as Nick Fury from the Iron Man post-credits sequence in up to nine films,^[72] and Scarlett Johansson was cast as the Black Widow, as part of a multi-film commitment.^[73] Principal photography began April 6, 2009,^[74] at the Pasadena Masonic Temple in Pasadena, California.^[75] The majority of filming took place at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, California.^[76] Other locations included Edwards Air Force Base,^[77] Monaco,^[78] and the Sepulveda Dam.^[76] Iron Man 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 26, 2010,^[79] and was released internationally between April 28 and May 7 before releasing in the United States on May 7, 2010.^[80]

The film continued to reference other Marvel films by again including Captain America's shield. Favreau explained, "We introduced Captain America's shield briefly in one shot in the last film. So now it really was in his room, so we had figure out how to deal with the reality that the shield was in his workshop."^[56] A scene toward the end of Iron Man 2 in a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse also contains several Easter eggs, ranging from footage from The Incredible Hulk displayed on a monitor to pointers on a map indicating several locales related to other Marvel films, including one pointing toward a region of Africa in reference to the Black Panther.^[81] The film's post-credits scene showed the discovery of Thor's hammer in a crater.^[82]

Thor tells the story of the titular character, a mighty yet arrogant prince of Asgard whose rash actions reignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is exiled to Midgard and forced to live among mortals. Once here, Thor learns the lesson of humility when Loki, Thor's adoptive brother, sends the Destroyer to attack Earth.^[83]

Mark Protosevich was hired to develop a script of Thor in April 2006, after the rights were acquired from Sony Pictures.^[19] In August 2007, Marvel Studios signed Matthew Vaughn to direct the film.^[84] Vaughn was released when his holding deal expired in May 2008, at which point Marvel set Protosevich to work on a new draft of the script.^[85] In September 2008, Kenneth Branagh entered into negotiations to replace Vaughn.^[25] In May 2009, Chris Hemsworth was in negotiations to portray the titular character,^[86] and Tom Hiddleston was set to play his brother, Loki.^[87] Both actors were contracted to star in several films.^[88] Thor featured a screenplay by Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz and Don Payne.^[26] Production began on January 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California,^[89] before moving to Galisteo, New Mexico on March 15, 2010.^[90] Thor had its world premiere on April 17, 2011 at the Event Cinemas theatre in George Street, Sydney,^[91] a U.S. premiere on May 2, 2011 at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California.^[92] It released internationally from April 21 to April 30, 2011, and on May 6, 2011 in the United States.^[93]

Clark Gregg, who appeared in Iron Man and Iron Man 2 as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, reprised the role in Thor. About his role in Thor he stated, "Agent Coulson was one of the guys who wasn't really in the comic books, and he [had] a very kind of small role in Iron Man. And I was just very lucky that they chose to expand that character and [chose] to put him more into the universe of it."^[94] After signing on to appear as Hawkeye in The Avengers, Jeremy Renner made a cameo appearance as the character during a scene in Thor.^[95] Branagh said that they "were always going to have a guy in a basket above the action where Thor breaks in the S.H.I.E.L.D. camp", and that he was thrilled when the producers told him they wanted to use Renner's Hawkeye for that role.^[96] The film ends with a post-credits scene featuring Loki, watching as Erik Selvig and Nick Fury discuss a cosmic cube.^[97] The scene was directed by Joss Whedon, who directed The Avengers.^[98] Stellan Skarsgård, who played Selvig, said the scene was not included when he first read the screenplay for Thor, and that he was sent pages for the scene after agreeing to appear in The Avengers.^[99]

Captain America: The First Avenger follows Steve Rogers, who in 1942 is deemed physically unfit to enlist in the U.S. Army and fight the Nazis in World War II. Volunteering instead for Project: Rebirth, a secret military operation, he is physically transformed into a super-soldier dubbed Captain America. With Bucky Barnes, he fights the Red Skull, Hitler's treacherous head of advanced weaponry, whose own plan for world domination involves a seemingly magical object known as the Tesseract.^[100]

In April 2006, Marvel hired David Self to write the script for Captain America: The First Avenger.^[19] Joe Johnston signed on to direct in November 2008,^[27] and hired Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to rewrite the script.^[28] In March 2010, Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and Hugo Weaving was cast as the Red Skull.^[101] Production began on June 28, 2010 in the United Kingdom,^[102] with locations in London,^[103] Caerwent,^[104] Manchester and Liverpool.^[105] The film premiered on July 19, 2011, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California.^[106] The film was released in the United States on July 22, 2011, and in international markets starting July 27, 2011.^[107]

The cosmic cube from the Thor post-credits scene (now referred to as the "Tesseract") appears as a macguffin in Captain America: The First Avenger.^[108] In the film, Dominic Cooper portrayed a young Howard Stark, the father of Tony Stark,^[109] who hosts an early version of the Stark Expo, the fair Tony hosts in Iron Man 2.^[110] The final scene of the film includes a brief appearance by Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury followed by a teaser trailer for Marvel's The Avengers after the credits.^[111]

In Marvel's The Avengers, Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., assembles a group of superheroes that includes Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, to fight a new enemy that is threatening the safety of the world.^[112]

Zak Penn, who wrote The Incredible Hulk, was hired to write a script for The Avengers in June 2007.^[113] In April 2010, Joss Whedon closed a deal to direct the film, and to rework Penn's script.^[29] Marvel announced that Edward Norton would not be reprising the role of Bruce Banner / The Hulk,^[114] and in July 2010, Mark Ruffalo was cast in his place.^[115] 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,^[13] although the deal allowed Paramount to continue to collect a box office fee and receive credit for distribution.^[116] Principal photography began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico,^[112] before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August,^[117] and New York City in September.^[118] The premiere was held on April 11, 2012 at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California.^[119] The Avengers was released in the United States on May 4, 2012.^[120]

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."^[121] 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.^[122] Kevin Feige said, however, that "the deal was never close to happening."^[123] The supervillain Thanos appeared in a post-credits scene, portrayed by Damion Poitier.^[124]

Six months after the events that occurred in The Avengers,^[125] Tony Stark faces a powerful enemy, the Mandarin. Left only to rely on his instincts, he must embark on a harrowing quest to find those responsible for destroying his personal life. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?^[126]

In late 2010, Marvel and Disney scheduled Iron Man 3 for release on May 3, 2013.^[127] In February 2011, Marvel hired Shane Black to direct Iron Man 3.^[128] Black co-wrote the film's script with Drew Pearce.^[30][31] Downey, Jr., Paltrow, and Cheadle reprised their roles from Iron Man 2, while Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley joined the cast as Aldrich Killian and Trevor Slattery, respectively.^[129] Filming began in May 2012, in North Carolina.^[130] Filming also took place in southern Florida,^[131] China,^[132] and Los Angeles.^[133] Iron Man 3 premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris, France on April 14, 2013 and, for the U.S., at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 24, 2013.^[134][135] The film released internationally on April 25, 2013.^[136]

In the film Tony Stark experiences PTSD-like symptoms following the Battle of New York in The Avengers. 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."^[137] Mark Ruffalo also reprised his role as Dr. Bruce Banner in a post-credits scene. About the scene, Ruffalo said "They were about to wrap the movie and I saw Robert [Downey Jr.] at the Academy Awards... and he said, 'What do you think about coming and doing a day?' I said, 'Are you kidding me? Bang, lets do it!' We sort of spitballed that scene, then I came in and we shot for a couple of hours and laughed."^[138]

One year after the events of The Avengers,^[139] Thor battles to save the Nine Realms from a mysterious enemy older than the universe itself. A primeval race led by Malekith, who is out for revenge, intends to plunge the universe into darkness. Confronted by an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot overcome, Thor must reunite with Jane Foster and join forces with the now imprisoned Loki to set out on a dangerous journey that will force him to make the ultimate sacrifice.^[33]

A sequel to Thor was first announced in June 2011, with Hemsworth reprising his role as Thor.^[140] Alan Taylor signed on to direct the film in December 2011,^[32] while Hiddleston confirmed he would return as Loki in September 2011.^[141] The film's title was announced as Thor: The Dark World in July 2012 at the San Diego Comic-Con International.^[37] In August 2012, Christopher Eccleston was cast as Malekith.^[142] Production started in September 2012 in Bourne Wood, Surrey.^[143] Filming also took place in Iceland and London.^[144][145] The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on October 22, 2013.^[146] It was internationally released on October 30, 2013 and on November 8, 2013 in the United States.^[147]

Chris Evans briefly makes a cameo appearance in the film as Captain America when Loki shapeshifts into him while mocking Thor.^[148] 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."^[149] 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."^[150]

List indicator(s)

• This table only includes characters which have appeared in multiple film franchises within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (see FAQ)
• A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
• A ^V indicates a voice-only role
• A ^C indicates an uncredited cameo role

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 Marvel's The Avengers—in a replica of Nick Fury's briefcase from The Avengers.^[178] 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".^[179] The set was delayed and the packaging was redesigned for 2013.^[180] 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.^[181]

In November 2010, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada outlined his plan to expand the MCU into comic books. He explained, "[F]or 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. ... [T]he 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."^[182]

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.^[183] A third film, Item 47, was released with Marvel's The Avengers Blu-ray on September 25, 2012.^[184] A fourth film, Agent Carter starring Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, was released with the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray release on September 24, 2013.^[185] A fifth film, All Hail the King starring Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery,^[186] was released on February 4, 2014, with the digital version of Thor: The Dark World and is to be included on the Blu-ray release on February 25, 2014.^[187]

In July 2012, it was reported that Marvel Television had again entered into discussions with ABC to do a show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,^[188] 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.^[189] Clark Gregg reprises his role from the films as Phil Coulson in the series.^[190] On April 6, 2013 ABC announced that the show would be titled Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[191] and was officially ordered to series on May 10, 2013.^[192] The series premiered on September 24, 2013.^[193]

In September 2013, Deadline reported that Marvel was developing a series inspired by the Agent Carter One-Shot, featuring Peggy Carter. The report stated that the series was looking for a writer, and was one of several series in development at Marvel.^[194] Actress Hayley Atwell, who portrayed Carter in the two Captain America films and the Agent Carter short film, expressed interest in returning as the character.^[195] In January 2014, ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee confirmed that the show was in development, as well as confirming Atwell's involvement. He added that Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas would act as the series' showrunners, while the script for a potential pilot was written by Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.^[196]

In October 2013, Deadline reported that Marvel was preparing four drama series and a miniseries, totaling 60 episodes, to present to video on demand services and cable providers, with Netflix, Amazon and WGN America expressing interest.^[197] In November 2013, it was announced that Disney will provide Netflix with live action series based on Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders.^[198] Shortly after, Rosenberg was announced to write and executive produce the Jessica Jones series, and that each series leading to the Defenders would be 13 episodes, with the Defenders 8 episodes.^[199] In December 2013, Marvel confirmed that Drew Goddard will be the executive producer and showrunner for the Daredevil series, and will write and direct the first episode.^[200] In a February 2014 interview for the One-Shot All Hail the King, writer/director Drew Pearce confirmed the upcoming Netflix series would exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^[201]

Jim Vorel of Herald & Review called the Marvel Cinematic Universe "complicated" and "impressive" but said, "As more and more heroes get their own film adaptations, the overall universe becomes increasingly confusing."^[219] Kofi Outlaw of Screen Rant, stated that while The Avengers was a success, "Marvel Studios still has room to improve their approach to building a shared movie universe".^[220]

After the release of The Avengers and the conclusion of the first phase of films in May 2012, Tom Russo of Boston.com noted that aside from the occasional "novelty" such as Aliens vs. Predator (2004), the idea of a shared universe was virtually unheard of in Hollywood.^[4] The shared universe model that made the MCU so successful began to be replicated by other studios that held rights to other comic book characters.

In October 2012, following its legal victory over Joe Shuster's estate for the rights to Superman, Warner Bros. announced that it planned to move ahead with its long-awaited Justice League film, uniting such DC Comics superheroes as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. was expected to take the opposite approach of Marvel Studios by releasing individual films for the characters after they have appeared in team-up film.^[221] However, the release of Man of Steel in 2013 was intended to be the start of a new cinematic universe for DC, with that film "laying the groundwork for the future slate of films based on DC Comics."^[222]

In November 2012, 20th Century Fox announced plans to create their own shared universe, consisting of Marvel properties that it holds the rights to including the Fantastic Four and X-Men, with the hiring of Mark Millar as supervising producer. Millar said, "Fox are thinking, 'We're sitting on some really awesome things here. There is another side of the Marvel Universe. Let’s try and get some cohesiveness going.' So they brought me in to oversee that really. To meet with the writers and directors to suggest new ways we could take this stuff and new properties that could spin out of it."^[223] X-Men: Days of Future Past, set for release in 2014, may be Fox's first step towards expanding their stable of Marvel mutant properties.^[224]

In November 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal announced that the studio intends to expand their universe created within the Marc Webb Amazing Spider-Man series, with spin-off adventures for supporting character in the "Spider-Man" franchise, in an attempt to replicate Marvel and Disney's model. She stated, "We are going to access Marvel’s full world of Spider-Man characters."^[224] Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Michael Lynton added, "We do very much have the ambition about creating a bigger universe around Spider-Man."^[225] Director Marc Webb has stated that the announced fourth film "may not just be a Spider-Man movie," and "there are so many ancillary characters, that have enormous, cinematic potential," echoing Pascal and Lynton's statements for expanding the Spider-Man universe.^[226]

In December 2013, Sony announced Venom and Sinister Six films, both set in the Amazing Spider-Man universe. With the announcement, IGN stated that the spinoffs are "the latest example of what we can refer to as “the Avengers effect” in Hollywood, as studios work to build interlocking movie universes."^[227]

Two years after the events of The Avengers,^[125] Steve Rogers resides peacefully in Washington, D.C., struggling to adapt to contemporary society. However, after a S.H.I.E.L.D. compatriot is assailed, Rogers becomes entangled in a mystery that may endanger the globe. Together with Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Captain America attempts to uncover the growing machination while fending off hired hitmen. When the entire scheme is discovered, Captain America and Black Widow must recruit the aid of the Falcon and soon encounter an unanticipated and powerful adversary—the Winter Soldier.^[228]

A sequel to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger was announced in April 2012, with a release date of April 4, 2014.^[34] Joe and Anthony Russo were hired to direct in June 2012,^[35] and in July 2012 it was officially titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier.^[37] Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson are set to reprise their respective roles as Captain America and Nick Fury,^[35] and Scarlett Johansson will again play the Black Widow.^[165] Production started in April 2013 in Manhattan Beach, California, and filming took place in Washington, D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio.^[229][230]

In February 2014, The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger stated that the storyline in the film will "set critical events in motion" for Avengers: Age of Ultron, as well as see repercussions in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[231]

In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill finds himself the object of a manhunt after stealing an orb coveted by the villainous Ronan. In order to evade Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a group of misfits including Gamora, Rocket, Drax the Destroyer and Groot. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand — with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.^{[232][233][234]}

Marvel Studios announced it was developing a Guardians of the Galaxy film in July 2012, with a release date of August 1, 2014.^[37] The film is to be directed by James Gunn, based on his screenplay, and story written by Nicole Perlman and Gunn.^[38] In August 2012, Chris McCoy was hired to rewrite the screenplay.^[235] However, he did not receive production credit in the initial press release released in July 2013.^[38] In February 2013, Chris Pratt was cast in the lead role, as Peter Quill.^[236] The film was shot at Shepperton Studios and in London from July to October 2013.^[237]

A sequel to The Avengers was announced by Disney in May 2012, shortly after the first film's release.^[238] It is set for release on May 1, 2015.^[39] In August 2012, Joss Whedon was signed to return as writer and director.^[40] In June 2013, Robert Downey, Jr. signed a deal to reprise the role of Iron Man for the second and third films.^[174] On July 20, 2013, at San Diego Comic-Con International, Whedon announced that the subtitle of the film would be Age of Ultron.^[239] In August 2013, James Spader was announced as portraying Ultron.^[240] The film is scheduled to begin principal photography in March 2014 at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England, with additional footage scheduled to be filmed in the United States, at Fort Bard and various other locations in the Aosta Valley region of Italy, Seoul and Incheon, South Korea, and Johannesburg, South Africa.^{[174][241][242][243][244][245]}

Ant-Man is to be directed by Edgar Wright with a script written by Wright and Joe Cornish, who plan to include both Scott Lang and Hank Pym.^[42] It is set for release on July 17, 2015,^[41] and Feige confirmed that it will be the first film in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^[246] Pre-production started in October 2013,^[247] and Feige stated that filming would begin in mid-2014.^[248] Filming will occur in Fayette County, Georgia at Pinewood Atlanta.^[249] In December 2013, Paul Rudd was cast as Ant-Man,^[250] followed in January 2014 with the casting of Michael Douglas as Pym and the confirmation of Rudd as Lang.^[251]

Marvel has hired screenwriters for a number of other properties: Andrew W. Marlowe was hired to write a script for Nick Fury in April 2006,^[19] Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were hired to write a screenplay for Doctor Strange in June 2010,^[252] and documentary filmmaker Mark Bailey was hired to write a script for Black Panther in January 2011.^[253] Marvel has also worked to hire a team of writers to 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.^[254] In April 2010, Marvel began meeting with writers and directors to discuss small-scale, $20–40 million movies based on properties such as Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Dazzler, and Power Pack.^[255] Marvel had working scripts for Blade and Ms. Marvel as of May 2013.^[256]

In March 2012, Kevin Feige mentioned the Inhumans as being a property out of which he was confident a movie would be made, along with Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy.^[257] A sequel to 2008's The Incredible Hulk has also been discussed, with Marvel Studios having suggested a possible release after 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron due to the positive audience reception towards Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Bruce Banner in The Avengers.^[258] Ruffalo is set to reprise his role in any future adaptation of the character.^[115] In January 2013, Kevin Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange would be a part of their Phase Three slate of movies^[259] and in May 2013, Feige again stated that Marvel Studios is planning to release a Doctor Strange feature film.^[260] At Entertainment Weekly's CapeTown Film Fest in May 2013, Feige stated that Marvel was planning to release a female superhero film.^[261] Also in May 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Iron Fist, Black Panther and The Runaways are "on the horizon."^[256]

In June 2013, Disney and Marvel Studios set three untitled Marvel films for May 6, 2016, July 8, 2016 and May 5, 2017 release dates.^[262][263] In July 2013, Kevin Feige stated that any official announcements regarding future projects would not be made until mid-2014 at the earliest.^[264] In an October 2013 interview, Feige said that a Black Panther movie was "absolutely in development...we have plans to bring it to life someday."^[265] In November 2013, Feige said that "in an ideal world" releases each year would include one film based on an existing character and one featuring a new character, saying it's "a nice rhythm" in that format. While not always the case, as evident by the 2013 releases of Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, he said it is "certainly something to aim for." As such, he added that there are "additional stories of the existing characters in development and the new ones" that have been mentioned previously.^[266]

In January 2014, Variety reported that Anthony and Joe Russo would return to direct a third Captain America installment with Chris Evans returning as Captain America and Feige returning to produce.^[267] Also in January, The Wrap reported that a third Thor film is in the works, with Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost writing the screenplay.^[268] Variety added that both third films for Captain America and Thor would appear in Phase Three.^[269]