Marvel previously licensed the film rights for some characters to other studios. They began exploring producing their own feature films by 2005, and Marvel Studios was formed. Following the success ofIron Man they moved forward with a plan to have several individual superhero films culminate in a team-upAvengers film.Paramount Pictures distributed the films except forThe Incredible Hulk, which was released byUniversal Pictures, andThe Avengers, which was released byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
The phase's six films grossed overUS$3.8 billion at the global box office and received generally positive critical and public responses. They are credited with establishing a foundation for the success of later phases. Marvel Studios created three short films for theirMarvel One-Shots program—The Consultant,A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, andItem 47—to expand the MCU, while each feature film received tie-in comic books and video games. Phases One,Two, andThree make up "The Infinity Saga" storyline.
In order to preserve its artistic integrity, Marvel Studios formed a creative committee of six people familiar with its comic book lore: Feige, Marvel Studios co-presidentLouis D'Esposito, Marvel Comics' president of publishingDan Buckley, Marvel's chief creative officerJoe Quesada, writerBrian Michael Bendis, and Marvel Entertainment presidentAlan Fine who oversaw the committee.[4] Feige initially referred to their shared narrative continuity as the "Marvel Cinema Universe",[7] but later used the term "Marvel Cinematic Universe" (MCU).[8] Marvel gained the film rights toIron Man from New Line Cinema in November 2005. In February 2006, the studio gained the film rights toHulk fromUniversal Pictures,[9] in exchange for letting Universal own the distribution rights toThe Incredible Hulk (2008) and the right of first refusal to pick up the distribution rights to any future Marvel Studios-produced Hulk films.[10] In mid-2006,Thor was announced to be a Marvel Studios production,[11] andLionsgate dropped aBlack Widow project it had been working on since 2004, giving the rights back to Marvel.[12] In May, Arad left Marvel Studios to be an independent producer.[13] Because he was on staff when the deals were made forIron Man (2008) andThe Incredible Hulk, he retained producer credit on both films.[14]
Feige was named President of Production at Marvel Studios in March 2007, asIron Man began filming.[15] After the film's successful opening weekend in May 2008, he was promoted to president of Marvel Studios,[16] and the release dates for further films were announced:Iron Man 2 on April 30, 2010;Thor on June 4, 2010;The First Avenger: Captain America on May 6, 2011;[17] and the team-up filmThe Avengers on July 15, 2011.[17][18] The latter would bring togetherIron Man, theHulk,Captain America, andThor.[17] In March 2009, Marvel adjusted their release schedule, movingThor to June 17, 2011, and then to May 20, 2011;[18][19]The First Avenger: Captain America to July 22, 2011; andThe Avengers to May 4, 2012.[18] In January 2010,Thor's release date was moved once again, to May 6, 2011.[20] That April, the title ofThe First Avenger: Captain America was changed toCaptain America: The First Avenger.[21] Feige saidEdgar Wright's pitch forAnt-Man helped shape the early films of the MCU, with some of their plans changing to accommodate Wright's version of the film such as the roster for theAvengers.[22] Marvel Studios started using phrases like "Phase One" because Feige did not want to refer to the films with names like theIron Man trilogy or theThor trilogy. Feige said the idea of "phases" was inspired by the way the comics are grouped together, with individual characters that occasionally come together for a "mega-event limited series". This led to the structure of each phase ending with anAvengers crossover film.[23]
In October 2010,Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures acquired the distribution rights forThe Avengers from Paramount Pictures,[24] though Paramount's logo and credit remain on the film.[25] In July 2013, Disney purchased the distribution rights toIron Man,Iron Man 2,Thor, andThe First Avenger from Paramount.[26][27] In June 2023, the distribution rights toThe Incredible Hulk reverted from Universal back to Marvel and Disney.[28][29]
Avi Arad, the head of Marvel's film division until May 2006, is credited as a producer onIron Man andThe Incredible Hulk.
Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark builds himself asuit of armor after he is taken captive by a terrorist organization. Free from his captors, he decides to upgrade and don his armor in order to hunt down weapons that were sold under the table, becoming a superhero known as "Iron Man".[41]
The film ends with apost-credits scene featuringSamuel L. Jackson asNick Fury, who approaches Stark regarding the "Avenger Initiative". Favreau said he included the scene as "a little tip of the hat for the fans... a way to sort of tee upThe Avengers". Jackson was only on set for a day, with askeleton crew used to prevent the news of hiscameo appearance from being leaked.[53]Captain America's shield is also visible in the background of a scene; it was added by anIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM) artist as a joke, and Favreau decided to leave it in the film.[54]
After being exposed to gamma radiation that causes him to transform into the monstrous Hulk, scientist Bruce Banner goes on the run and isolates himself from his love,Betty Ross. Hunted by the U.S. military, Banner seeks to cure himself and prevent his condition from being weaponized.[55]
After gaining the film rights to Hulk from Universal, except for the distribution rights,[9][10] Marvel chose not to move forward with a sequel to directorAng Lee's 2003 filmHulk. Instead, Marvel hiredLouis Leterrier to direct areboot titledThe Incredible Hulk. Leterrier initially turned down the job out of respect for Lee, but later reconsidered and signed on.[32] The script was written byZak Penn, who drafted a treatment for the 2003 film.[56] In April 2006,Edward Norton entered negotiations to portray Bruce Banner and rewrite Penn's script,[57] although Penn received sole credit for the screenplay.[33] Production began on July 9, 2007, and filming primarily took place inToronto,[58] with additional filming inNew York City andRio de Janeiro.[59]The Incredible Hulk premiered at theGibson Amphitheatre on June 8, 2008, and was released theatrically on June 13.[60][61]
The film takes place simultaneously with the events ofIron Man 2 andThor,[62] the former of which is set six months after the events ofIron Man.[63] Downey briefly reprised his role fromIron Man as Tony Stark in a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Downey said the filmmakers "were just cross-pollinating our superheroes. It happens to be a scene where I basically approach [actorWilliam Hurt's characterGeneral Ross], and we may be considering going into some sort of limited partnership together."[64] In addition, Captain America is briefly seen frozen in ice in an alternate opening of the film that was included in the DVD release.[65]
Jon Favreau, director ofIron Man andIron Man 2, helped establish the MCU.
After the events ofIron Man, during which Tony Stark publicly reveals himself to be the superhero Iron Man, the U.S. government demands Stark hand over his technology. Rival industrialistJustin Hammer and Russian scientistIvan Vanko conspire to use Stark's own technology against him.[66]
Development on a sequel toIron Man began in May 2008 after the success of the first film.[67] Favreau returned as director,[34] andJustin Theroux was hired to write the screenplay based on a story by Favreau and Downey.[35] In October 2008, Downey signed a new four-picture deal—retroactively including the first film—to reprise his role.Don Cheadle was hired to replaceTerrence Howard as Stark's friendJames Rhodes.[68][69] Jackson signed on to reprise his role as Nick Fury from the first film's post-credits scene in up to nine films,[70] andScarlett Johansson was cast asNatasha Romanoff / Black Widow in a multi-film commitment.[71] Principal photography began on April 6, 2009,[72] at the Pasadena Masonic Temple inPasadena, California.[73] The majority of filming took place at Raleigh Studios inManhattan Beach, California.[74] Other locations included Edwards Air Force Base,[75]Monaco,[76] and theSepulveda Dam.[74]Iron Man 2 premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre inLos Angeles, California, on April 26, 2010.[77] It was released internationally from April 28, and in the U.S. on May 7.[78]
The film is set six months after the events ofIron Man,[63] and takes place simultaneously with the events ofThe Incredible Hulk andThor.[62] The filmmakers continued to refer to 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 to figure out how to deal with the reality that the shield was in his workshop."[54] A scene toward the end ofIron Man 2 in aS.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse contains severalEaster eggs, ranging fromThe Incredible Hulk footage displayed on a monitor to a map that indicates several locales related to other Marvel films, including one pointing toward a region of Africa in reference to theBlack Panther.[79] A child wearing an Iron Man mask whom Stark saves from a drone was retroactively determined to be a youngPeter Parker / Spider-Man, as confirmed in June 2017 by Feige, Spider-Man actorTom Holland, andSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017) directorJon Watts.[80][81]Iron Man 2's post-credits scene shows the discovery ofThor's hammer in a crater.[82]
Thor, crown prince ofAsgard, is banished to Earth and stripped of his powers after he reignites a dormant war. As his brother,Loki, plots to take the throne, Thor must prove himself worthy and reclaim his hammer Mjolnir.[83]
Mark Protosevich was hired to develop a script forThor in April 2006, after the rights were acquired fromSony Pictures.[11] In August 2007, Marvel hiredMatthew Vaughn to direct the film,[84] but he exited the project in May 2008.[85] In September,Kenneth Branagh entered into negotiations to replace Vaughn.[36]Chris Hemsworth was in negotiations to portray the title character in May 2009,[86] andTom Hiddleston was set to play his brother, Loki.[87] Both actors were contracted for several films.[88] Marvel hired the writing team ofAshley Edward Miller andZack Stentz to write a new script for the film, which was then rewritten byDon Payne.[37] Production began on January 11, 2010, in Los Angeles, California,[89] before moving toGalisteo, New Mexico, in March.[90]Thor had its world premiere on April 17, 2011, at the Event Cinemas theater in George Street, Sydney,[91] and a U.S. premiere on May 2 at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California.[92] The film was released internationally from April 21, and in the U.S. on May 6.[93]
The film takes place simultaneously with the events ofThe Incredible Hulk andIron Man 2,[62] the latter of which is set six months after the events ofIron Man.[63]Clark Gregg, who appeared inIron Man andIron Man 2 as S.H.I.E.L.D. agentPhil Coulson, reprised the role inThor. About his role inThor 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 inIron 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 asClint Barton / Hawkeye inThe Avengers,Jeremy Renner made a cameo appearance as the character during a scene inThor.[95] Branagh said they "were always going to have a guy in a basket above the action where Thor breaks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. camp", and 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 asErik Selvig and Nick Fury discuss theTesseract.[97][98] The scene was directed byJoss Whedon, director ofThe Avengers.[99] Selvig actorStellan Skarsgård said the scene was not included when he first read the screenplay forThor, and he was sent pages for the scene after agreeing to appear inThe Avengers.[100]
In 1943, Steve Rogers is deemed physically unfit to enlist in theU.S. Army and fight theGerman Reich inWorld War II. Recruited for a secret military operation, he is physically transformed into a super-soldier dubbed "Captain America" and must battle theRed Skull, head of aNazi science division known asHydra.[101]
The Tesseract from theThor post-credits scene appears as aMacGuffin inThe First Avenger.[110] In the film,Dominic Cooper portrays a youngHoward Stark, the father of Tony Stark,[111] who hosts an early version of the Stark Expo, the fair Tony hosts inIron Man 2.[112] The final scene of the film includes a brief appearance by Jackson's Nick Fury. Ateaser trailer forThe Avengers is included after the credits.[113]
Joss Whedon wrote and directed the crossover filmThe Avengers.
S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury gathers the superheroes Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye to stop Thor's brother Loki from subjugating the Earth.[114]
The Incredible Hulk writer Zak Penn was hired to writeThe Avengers in June 2007.[115] Joss Whedon closed a deal in April 2010 to direct the film and rework Penn's script.[40] Marvel announced that Edward Norton would not be reprising the role of Bruce Banner / Hulk,[116] andMark Ruffalo was cast in his place in July.[117] Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, Johansson, Renner, Hiddleston, and Jackson reprised their respective roles from previous films.[118] Principal photography began in April 2011 inAlbuquerque, New Mexico,[114] before moving toCleveland, Ohio, in August,[119] and New York City in September.[120]The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California,[121] and was released in the U.S. on May 4.[122]
Gwyneth Paltrow, who portrayedPepper Potts inIron Man andIron Man 2, was included in the film at Downey's insistence. Prior to this, Whedon did not intend to include supporting characters from the heroes' individual films, saying, "You need to separate the characters from their support systems in order to create the isolation you need for a team."[123] Gregg also returns as Phil Coulson,[118] along withMaximiliano Hernández asJasper Sitwell fromThor.[124] The supervillainThanos is introduced in a mid-credits scene, portrayed byDamion Poitier.[125]
Marvel One-Shots are a series ofdirect-to-videoshort films that are included as special features in the MCU films'Blu-ray anddigital distribution releases. They are designed to be self-contained stories that provide more backstory for characters or events introduced in the films.
During Phase One, Marvel Studios lined up some of their films' stories with references to one another, though they had no long-term plan for the shared universe's timeline at that point.[62]Iron Man 2 is set six months after the events ofIron Man,[63] and around the same time asThor according to comments made by Nick Fury.[62] The official tie-in comicFury's Big Week confirmed thatThe Incredible Hulk,Iron Man 2, andThor all take place within a week, a year before the crossover filmThe Avengers. Writers Chris Yost and Eric Pearson tried to follow the logic of the films' timeline when plotting the comic, and received "the seal of approval" from Feige and Marvel Studios on the final timeline.[132] As part of promotion ahead of the release ofThe Avengers, Marvel released an officialinfographic detailing this timeline in May 2012.[129]
The One-ShotThe Consultant is set after the events ofIron Man 2 andThe Incredible Hulk,[129][130]A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer is set before the events ofThor, andItem 47 is set afterThe Avengers.[129][130][127]
September 25, 2012 (2012-09-25) (also released digitally)
A 10-discbox set titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled" was announced for release on September 25, 2012. It includes all six films onBlu-ray and Blu-ray 3D, in a replica of Nick Fury's briefcase fromThe Avengers.[143] In August, luggage company Rimowa GmbH, which developed the briefcase forThe Avengers, filed a lawsuit against Marvel Studios andBuena Vista Home Entertainment in U.S. federal court, complaining that Marvel did not obtain a license or authorization from Rimowa to replicate the case.[144] The set was delayed to early 2013 for the packaging to be redesigned.[145] The redesigned box set was released on April 2, 2013. It includes a featurette on the then-upcomingPhase Two films, showing footage and concept art, as well as previously unreleased deleted scenes from all of the Phase One films.[146]
Discussing Phase One and the success that the MCU went on to have, Germain Lussier atGizmodo said it was "easy to forget this was never a sure thing". He highlighted the perceived risks of making films based on less popular characters such as Iron Man and Thor, which were not guaranteed to succeed. A crossover with six different characters had also not been attempted before, and Marvel began production onThe Avengers before some of the individual films had even been released. Feige expressed similar thoughts when asked which films he was the most nervous to release, adding that he is proud of all the studio's films but he felt the whole franchise would not have worked if Phase One was not successful.[177] Writing forThe Daily Dot, Michelle Jaworski also said the greater MCU would not have been possible without the groundwork established in Phase One. She saidThe Avengers "changed the game" and "makes the impossible work" in bringing the different heroes together, but believed this only worked because the five films leading up to it had established "each superhero as someone worth rooting for" and turned the group of relatively unknown characters into household names. Jaworski praised Loki as "one of Marvel's great movie villains", but was critical of the other villains in the phase.[178]
Darren Gigool atMovieWeb described Phase One as a "huge success" and attributed this to several factors, including: a strong foundation withIron Man's critical and commercial response, which gave Marvel Studios the confidence to take risks with the franchise; efforts to have an interconnected shared universe from the beginning, through character crossovers and post-credits teasers, which built a "cohesive universe that fans could invest in and follow across multiple films" in contrast with the more standalone nature of some previous franchises; fan engagement through Easter eggs and references, rewarding loyal fans who came to anticipate each new release; and effective character development for the phase's main characters, such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk who Gigool believed had all become iconic cinematic characters.[179] Discussing and analyzing the phase for theWales Arts Review, Isobel Roach said much of Marvel's success was owed to the casting of Downey inIron Man. She also noted that the MCU's use of humor and self-awareness differentiated it from other superhero films of the time, such as directorChristopher Nolan'sDark Knight film trilogy. Roach believedIron Man 2 was underrated and said it had "an indisputable mark of quality", whileThor showed the first signs of "something less than serious" that would be further explored in future films, andThe First Avenger provided "a founding myth for the concept of the cinematic superhero" with a strong emotional ending. Regarding the success ofThe Avengers, Roach said it was the smaller character moments of bonding and contemplation that won over audiences, believing that the main actors worked better as anensemble than in their individual films.[180]
Several commentators have used ranked lists when revisiting the MCU phases. AfterPhase Four was released, Rich Knight atCinemaBlend listed Phase One second-best behindPhase Three,[181] while Jeff Ames ofComingSoon.net placed it third after Phases Three and Two.[182] Knight thoughtThe Incredible Hulk andIron Man 2 were "kind of bad", but he said each film in the phase "felt important and like they were building toward something great". He added thatThe Avengers "still holds up".[181] Ames said the individual films afterIron Man were not as successful as that film, but they each "introduced likable characters, provided mild entertainment, and left audiences pining for more". He said it wasThe Avengers which "truly gave the MCU its legs".[182] AfterPhase Five was released,The Mary Sue's Rachel Ulatowski listed Phase One second after Phase Three. She said it had the most cohesive overarching storyline of all the phases—introducing each member of the Avengers ahead of the crossover film—despite the franchise still finding its footing. Ulatowski found the quality of the films to be strong, except forThe Incredible Hulk andIron Man 2, and praised the plots, acting, directing, and visuals of the other films. She saidThe Avengers "left audiences invigorated and excited for the future of the MCU".[183]
In September 2015, Marvel announced theGuidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, named as a nod to theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe for the comics. The guidebooks were compiled by Mike O'Sullivan and theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe team, with cover art byMike del Mundo and Pascal Campion. They feature facts about the MCU films, film-to-comic comparisons, and production stills.Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Iron Man,Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Incredible Hulk / Marvel's Iron Man 2,Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Thor, andGuidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger were respectively released each month from October 2015 to January 2016.[204][205][206]
^Robinson, Johanna; Gonzales, Dave;Edwards, Gavin (October 10, 2023).MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. New York City:Liveright. p. 59.ISBN978-1-63149-751-3.Because he [Arad] was still on staff when the deals were made forIron Man andThe Incredible Hulk, he received a producer credit on each movie
^Boucher, Geoff (May 7, 2011).'Thor': Kenneth Branagh on the 'crazy Marvel universe'.Los Angeles Times (video). Event occurs at 1:05. Archived fromthe original on December 5, 2013. RetrievedMarch 29, 2013.Frankly we 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 when they told me maybe it could be Hawkeye and maybe Hawkeye was going to be Jeremy Renner, 'Are you kidding!', I said. I was jumping up and down. I was thrilled. I get somebody like that to come and do something as cool as that!
The Phase One Timeline infographic released by Marvel in May 2012[129]
