Each feature film received tie-in comic books and some were marketed using the in-universe news showsWHIH Newsfront andThe Daily Bugle. Marvel Studios also released theTeam Thormockumentary shorts series which expand on Thor's portrayal inRagnarok. In 2024,a group of television series based on Marvel Comics that were produced byMarvel Television, separately from Marvel Studios, for the streaming serviceNetflix were retroactively added to theMCU timeline, primarily alongside Phase Three content.
The2014 Sony Pictures hack, which saw confidentialSony Pictures data being leaked online, revealed that Sony and Marvel were having conversations about potentially sharing the popularMarvel Comics characterSpider-Man. Marvel wanted to introduce a new version of Spider-Man inCivil War and then have the character continue working with theAvengers in future films, while allowing Sony to keep creative control and use him in their own Spider-Man movies and spin-offs. There was also potential for Sony to use some of Marvel's characters. On February 9, 2015, Marvel officiallyannounced a deal with Sony Pictures to allow Spider-Man to appear in the MCU.[5][6] In June,Tom Holland was revealed to have been cast as Peter Parker / Spider-Man forCivil War and the next Sony Spider-Man film, later announced asSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017).[7][8] The addition ofHomecoming and the sequelAnt-Man and the Wasp (2018) to the Phase Three slate led to date changes forRagnarok (later in 2017),Black Panther (2018), andCaptain Marvel (2019).Inhumans was removed from the release schedule, though it was not outright canceled.[9] In November 2016, Feige said "Inhumans will happen for sure. I don't know when. I think it's happening on television. And I think as we get into Phase Four as I've always said, it could happen as a movie."[10] Shortly after,Marvel Television andIMAX Corporation announced the eight-episode television seriesInhumans (2017), to be produced withABC Studios and air onABC;[11][12] Marvel Studios decided that the characters were better suited to television, rather than trying to fit multiple potentialInhumans franchise films around the studio's existing film slate.[13] TheInhumans series was not intended to be a reworking of the planned film.[11]
In July 2016,Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 was retitledAvengers: Infinity War,[14] whilePart 2 was left untitled until the release of its first teaser trailer in December 2018, when it was revealed to beAvengers: Endgame. After the title was revealed, Feige said withholding it for so long had backfired on the studio due to the high expectations that fans had set for the reveal. Despite this, Feige stood by the decision. He explained that the October 2014Infinity War announcement had taken attention away fromAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and the studio did not want to repeat that mistake by announcingEndgame's title beforeInfinity War was released.[15]Civil War,Infinity War, andEndgame were directed byAnthony and Joe Russo and written byChristopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. There was a large amount of collaboration between them and the other Phase Three directors and writers to make sure "everything line[d] up right" for the MCU's culmination inInfinity War andEndgame.[16]Peyton Reed, director ofAnt-Man (2015) andAnt-Man and the Wasp, felt the relationship and collaboration between the Phase Three directors was "probably the closest thing that this generation will have to a '30s- or '40s-erastudio system where you are all on the lot and you are all working on different things."[17]
TheAvengers become fractured into two opposing teams, one led bySteve Rogers and another byTony Stark, after extensive collateral damage prompts politicians to passan act regulating superhuman activity with government oversight and accountability for the Avengers. They also face a new enemy,Helmut Zemo, who seeks revenge upon the Avengers.[39][40]
By January 2014,Anthony and Joe Russo had signed on to return to direct a thirdCaptain America installment, which they confirmed in March 2014, withChris Evans returning as Captain America, Kevin Feige returning to produce, andChristopher Markus & Stephen McFeely writing the screenplay.[19][41] In October 2014, the title was officially announced asCaptain America: Civil War along with the reveal thatRobert Downey Jr. would appear in the film as Tony Stark / Iron Man.[42][43] The film is an adaptation from the "Civil War" storyline in the comics.[44] It is also the first film of Phase Three.[4][45][46] Filming began in April 2015 atPinewood Atlanta Studios,[47][48] and concluded in August 2015.[49]Captain America: Civil War had its premiere in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on April 12, 2016,[50] was released internationally beginning April 27,[51] and was released on May 6 in the United States.[52]
When a car accident ruins the career of Dr.Stephen Strange, the world's topneurosurgeon, he sets out on a journey of healing and encounters theAncient One, who teaches Strange how to use the Mystic Arts and to defend the Earth from mystical threats.[57][58]
In June 2010,Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were hired to write the screenplay for a film starring the character Doctor Strange in June 2010.[59] Feige confirmed that Strange would be part of Phase Three in January 2013.[60]Scott Derrickson was hired to direct in June 2014,[20] andBenedict Cumberbatch was cast in the title role that December whenJon Spaihts was rewriting the script.[61][62]C. Robert Cargill revealed he was co-writing the film a year later,[63] alongside Derrickson.[64] Pre-production began in June 2014,[65] and filming beginning in November 2015 inNepal, before moving toLongcross Studios in the United Kingdom.[66][67] Filming concluded in New York City in April 2016.[68][69]Doctor Strange had its premiere inHong Kong on October 13, 2016,[70] and was released in the UK on October 25,[71] and in the U.S. on November 4.[43]
Derrickson said the events ofDoctor Strange take "roughly" a year, ending "up to date with the rest of the MCU",[72] with Cargill stating that it begins in February 2016 and ends later that year.[73]Doctor Strange introduces theEye of Agamotto, a mystical relic that can manipulate time and is revealed to be anInfinity Stone at the end of the film,[72] specifically the Time Stone.[74] The film's mid-credits scene features acameo appearance byChris Hemsworth in his MCU role ofThor, showing the character meeting with Strange. This is footage fromThor: Ragnarok directed byTaika Waititi.[74]
TheGuardians of the Galaxy travel throughout the cosmos and struggle to keep their newfound family together while facing new enemies and helpingPeter Quill learn more about his true parentage.[75]
In July 2014,Guardians of the Galaxy co-writerNicole Perlman confirmed thatJames Gunn would return to write and direct the sequel.[22][76]Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill / Star-Lord,[77][78] along with the other Guardians from the first film as well as additional cast members.[78] They are joined byPom Klementieff asMantis,[78][79] andKurt Russell asEgo.[78][80] In June 2015, the film's title was revealed asGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[81] Filming began in February 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios,[82][83] and concluded in June 2016.[84]Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 premiered in Tokyo on April 10, 2017,[85] and was released theatrically on May 5.[43]
The film is set two-to-three months after the events ofGuardians of the Galaxy,[86][87] in 2014.[88] One of the film's post-credit sequences hints at the introduction ofAdam Warlock,[89] after Gunn originally intended for Warlock to make a full appearance inVol. 2. He said the character was considered to be "a pretty important part" of the cosmic side of the MCU;[90] the character is introduced fully in the sequel,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), portrayed byWill Poulter.[91] TheGrandmaster, played byJeff Goldblum, is seen dancing duringVol. 2's end credits ahead of his role inThor: Ragnarok.[92]
Peter Parker tries to balance being the hero Spider-Man with his high school life, under the guidance of Tony Stark, as he deals with the threat of theVulture.[93][94]
On February 9, 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel announced that Sony would be releasing a Spider-Man film co-produced by Feige andAmy Pascal, with Sony Pictures continuing to own, finance, distribute, and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.[5] Feige said Marvel had been working to add Spider-Man to the MCU since at least the October 2014 announcement, saying, "Marvel doesn't announce anything officially until it's set in stone. So we went forward with that Plan A in October, with the Plan B being, if [the deal] were to happen with Sony, how it would all shift. We've been thinking about [the Spider-Man film] as long as we've been thinking about Phase Three."[95] In June 2015, Tom Holland was cast in the role of Spider-Man andJon Watts was hired to direct the film.[23]John Francis Daley andJonathan Goldstein were hired to write the screenplay the next month.[96] Additional screenwriters included Watts andChristopher Ford, andChris McKenna andErik Sommers.[24] In April 2016, the title was revealed to beSpider-Man: Homecoming.[97] Production began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios,[98][99] and concluded in October 2016.[100]Spider-Man: Homecoming premiered on June 28, 2017, in Hollywood, Los Angeles,[101] and was released in the UK on July 5,[102] and the U.S. on July 7.[103]
The film is set several months after the events ofCivil War,[104] which is four years after the events ofThe Avengers (2012).[105] In April 2016, Feige confirmed that characters from previous MCU films would appear in the film,[106] with Robert Downey Jr. confirmed to reprise his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man shortly thereafter.[107]Jon Favreau,Gwyneth Paltrow, and Chris Evans also reprise their respective roles asHappy Hogan,[108]Pepper Potts,[109] and Steve Rogers / Captain America.[110] The cleanup crewDamage Control appear in the film, after previously being referenced inIron Man (2008) and the MCU television seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), ahead ofa then-planned television series about them.[111][112][113] Various weapons and artifacts from previous MCU films are seen or referenced throughoutHomecoming as part of Toomes and his crew repurposing technology for their weapons. At Parker's high school, one of his classes has a lesson about the Sokovia Accords fromCivil War,[114] and portraits of well-known MCU scientistsBruce Banner,Howard Stark, andAbraham Erskine are seen within the school.[115]
Thor, trapped on another world withoutMjolnir, must survive a gladiatorial duel against the Hulk and return toAsgard in time to stop the villainousHela and the impendingRagnarök.[116]
Marvel announced that a thirdThor film was in development in January 2014, withCraig Kyle andChristopher L. Yost writing the screenplay.[117] It was titledThor: Ragnarok in October 2014.[43] By a year later, Taika Waititi entered negotiations to direct the film.[25][118]Stephany Folsom was hired to rewrite the script in December 2015.[119] The screenplay was ultimately credited toEric Pearson, Kyle, and Yost.[26][27] Hemsworth,Tom Hiddleston,Idris Elba, andAnthony Hopkins reprise their respective roles as Thor,Loki,Heimdall, andOdin, and are joined byCate Blanchett as Hela.[120] Production began in July 2016 in Australia atVillage Roadshow Studios,[121][122] and wrapped in late October.[123]Thor: Ragnarok premiered in Los Angeles on October 10, 2017,[124] began its international release on October 24 in the UK,[125] and was released on November 3 in the U.S.[126]
The film is set four years after the events ofThor: The Dark World (2013), two years afterAge of Ultron,[127][128] and around the same time period asCivil War andHomecoming. Producer Brad Winderbaum stated, "Things happen on top of each other now in Phase Three. They're not as interlocked as they were in Phase One."[129]Mark Ruffalo reprises his MCU role of Bruce Banner / Hulk, with Benedict Cumberbatch also returning as Dr. Stephen Strange fromDoctor Strange.[74][120] The film reveals that theInfinity Gauntlet first seen in Odin's vault inThor (2011) is a fake,[130] and introducesThanos's shipSanctuary II in a post-credits scene.[131]
T'Challa returns home as sovereign of the nation of Wakanda only to find his dual role of king and protector challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict that has global consequences.[132]
Documentary filmmakerMark Bailey was hired to write a script forBlack Panther in January 2011.[133] In October 2014, the film was announced andChadwick Boseman was revealed to be portraying T'Challa / Black Panther.[43][54] In January 2016, Ryan Coogler was announced as director,[28] and the following month,Joe Robert Cole was confirmed as the film's screenwriter.[29] In April 2016, Feige confirmed that Coogler was a co-screenwriter.[30] Filming began in January 2017 atEUE/Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta,[134][135] and concluded in April.[136]Black Panther premiered in Los Angeles on January 29, 2018,[137] and began its international release on February 13.[138] It was released in the U.S. on February 16,[139] and also had a "cross-nation release" in Africa, a first for a Disney film.[140][141]
The Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to try to stop Thanos from collecting all of the Infinity Stones.[144]
The film was announced in October 2014 asAvengers: Infinity War – Part 1.[43] In April 2015, Marvel announced that Anthony and Joe Russo would direct the film and in May, that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely would write the screenplay.[31][32] In July 2016, Marvel revealed the title would be shortened to simplyAvengers: Infinity War.[145]Josh Brolin reprises his role as Thanos,[146][147] and is part of an ensemble cast featuring many actors who have appeared in other MCU films. Filming forInfinity War began in January 2017 in Atlanta,[134][148] and lasted until that July.[149] Additional filming also took place in Scotland.[150]Avengers: Infinity War premiered in Los Angeles on April 23, 2018.[151] It was released worldwide on April 27, with a few debuts beginning as early as April 25 in some countries.[152]
The film is set two years after the events ofCivil War.[153] Marvel had been planting the seeds forInfinity War since their early films, by introducing the Infinity Stones as MacGuffins: the Tesseract / Space Stone inCaptain America: The First Avenger (2011), Loki's Scepter / Mind Stone inThe Avengers, the Aether / Reality Stone inThe Dark World, the Orb / Power Stone inGuardians of the Galaxy, and the Eye of Agamotto / Time Stone inDoctor Strange.[74] Additionally, Thanos is shown holding an empty Infinity Gauntlet inAge of Ultron.[154] TheRed Skull fromThe First Avenger appears in the film, played byRoss Marquand instead ofHugo Weaving, and is the keeper of the final Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone.[155] The post-credits scene featuresNick Fury transmitting a distress signal on a device that has the insignia ofCaptain Marvel.[156]
Ant-Man and the Wasp was announced in October 2015.[139]Peyton Reed confirmed that he would return to direct in November 2015, and thatPaul Rudd andEvangeline Lilly would reprise their roles as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne / Wasp, respectively.[33] The next month, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, and Rudd were confirmed to be writing the screenplay,[158] with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers revealed to have also contributed to the script in August 2017.[34] In February 2017,Michael Douglas confirmed he would reprise his role as Hank Pym.[159]Michelle Pfeiffer was cast asJanet van Dyne in July,[160] and filming began a month later in Atlanta. Additional filming took place in San Francisco,[34] and production ended in November 2017.[161]Stephen Broussard also served as a producer on the film.[162]Ant-Man and the Wasp had its premiere in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 25, 2018,[163] and was released in the U.S. on July 6.[139]
The film is set two years after the events ofCivil War in the lead up toInfinity War, showing what Lang is doing during the latter.[157][164] In the mid-credits scene, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne are disintegrated as a result of Thanos's actions at the end ofInfinity War.[165]
Carol Danvers becomes Captain Marvel, one of the galaxy's strongest heroes, after the Earth is caught in the center of an intergalactic conflict between two alien worlds.[166]
In May 2013,The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel had a working script based on the characterMs. Marvel.[167] In October 2014, Marvel announced the film would be titledCaptain Marvel and feature Carol Danvers.[43] In April 2015, Nicole Perlman andMeg LeFauve were announced as screenwriters.[168] At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con,Brie Larson was confirmed to play the role of Carol Danvers.[169] In April 2017,Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were hired to direct.[35] That August,Geneva Robertson-Dworet was revealed to be taking over as the film's screenwriter.[170] Boden, Fleck, and Robertson-Dworet received final screenplay credits on the film.[36]Location filming occurred in January 2018,[171][172] while principal photography began in March in Los Angeles[173] and concluded in July.[174] The film was released on March 8, 2019.[139]
After half of all life in the universe was killed due to the actions of Thanos inInfinity War, the remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert those actions in one final stand.[180]
The film was announced in October 2014 asAvengers: Infinity War – Part 2.[43] In April 2015, it was revealed that Anthony and Joe Russo would direct the film and in May, that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely would write the screenplay.[31][32] In July 2016, the title was temporarily changed toUntitled Avengers,[145] before the actual title was revealed asAvengers: Endgame in December 2018.[181] Brolin reprises his role as Thanos,[146][147] and is part of an ensemble cast featuring many actors who have appeared in other MCU films. Filming began in August 2017 in Atlanta,[182] and ended in January 2018.[183] The film was released on April 26, 2019.[181]
Endgame begins three weeks after the events ofInfinity War, before jumping ahead five years.[184] It does not have a post-credits scene, but features the sound of anIron Man suit being hammered at the end of the credits as a callback to the first MCU filmIron Man.[185] Ateaser trailer forSpider-Man: Far From Home was played after the credits in some screenings of the film a week after it was first released.[186]Endgame was intended to mark the final appearances of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers,[187][188] though both actors later returned to the franchise.[189][190]
Peter Parker goes on a school trip to Europe with his friends. While abroad, he is recruited by Nick Fury to team up withQuentin Beck to battle theElementals.[191][192]
In December 2016, Sony Pictures scheduled a sequel toHomecoming for release on July 5, 2019.[193] A year later, Watts was confirmed to be returning to direct.[37] Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers returned to write the script.[38] Holland revealed the film's title asSpider-Man: Far From Home in late June 2018.[194] Filming began in July 2018 in England,[195] with filming also occurring in the Czech Republic, Venice,[196] and New York City,[197] and lasted until October.[198] It was believed that the film would be the first film inPhase Four until April 2019, when Feige saidFar From Home would serve as the final film of Phase Three.[199] He later added that it would also be the conclusion to "The Infinity Saga".[200]Spider-Man: Far From Home had its premiere in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 26, 2019,[201] and was released in the U.S. on July 2.[202]
The film is set eight months afterEndgame.[203] Samuel L. Jackson andCobie Smulders reprise their roles as Nick Fury andMaria Hill, respectively, from previous MCU media.[204] The mid-credits scene featuresJ. K. Simmons reprising his role asJ. Jonah Jameson, having previously portrayed a different incarnation of the character inSam Raimi'sSpider-Man film trilogy.[205] The post-credits scene reveals that Fury and Hill in the film are actually the shapeshifting SkrullsTalos andSoren, with the real Nick Fury shown to be in space.Ben Mendelsohn andSharon Blynn reprise their respective roles as Talos and Soren fromCaptain Marvel.[206]
As with Phase Two, the Russo brothers wanted their Phase Three films to use real time, withCivil War set a year afterAge of Ultron,[53] andInfinity War set two years after that.[153] Winderbaum said the Phase Three films would "happen on top of each other" while being less "interlocked" as the Phase One films,[129] withBlack Panther andHomecoming respectively beginning a week and two months afterCivil War;[104][132]Ragnarok beginning four years afterThe Dark World and two years afterAge of Ultron,[127][128] which is around the same time asCivil War andHomecoming;[129]Doctor Strange taking place over a whole year and ending in late 2016,[73] "up to date with the rest of the MCU";[72]Ant-Man and the Wasp also set two years afterCivil War and shortly beforeInfinity War;[157] and bothGuardians of the Galaxy and its sequelVol. 2 being explicitly set in 2014,[87][88] which Feige believed would create a four-year gap betweenVol. 2 andInfinity War, though other MCU films up to that point do not specify years onscreen.[209]Captain Marvel is set in 1995.[175]Endgame begins shortly afterInfinity War and ends in 2023 after a five-year time jump.[184] It confirms dates for several other films, includingDoctor Strange around 2017,[208] andAnt-Man and the Wasp in 2018 beforeInfinity War.Far From Home begins eight months afterEndgame in 2024.[203]
WhenHomecoming was being developed, Watts was shown a scroll detailing the MCU timeline. This was created by co-producer Eric Carroll when he first began working for Marvel Studios. Watts said the scroll included both where the continuity of the films lined-up and did not lineup, and when fully unfurled it extended beyond the length of a long conference room table. This scroll was used as the basis to weave the continuity ofHomecoming into the previous films, such asThe Avengers.[210] The relationship between those two films was labeled inHomecoming with a title card stating that eight years pass between the end ofThe Avengers and the events ofCivil War. This title card was widely criticized as a continuity error that broke the established MCU timeline, in which only four years should have passed.[105][211] Additionally, dialogue inCivil War indicates that eight years pass between the end ofIron Man and the events of that film, despite the established continuity being closer to five or six years.[212][213]Infinity War co-director Joe Russo described theHomecoming eight years time jump as "very incorrect",[214] and the mistake was ignored inInfinity War which specified that its events were taking place only six years afterThe Avengers.[213] The public response to theHomecoming mistake inspired Marvel Studios to release a new timeline for all three phases.[211]
Each film is linked to the "Box office" section of its article.
Phase Three is the highest-grossing phase, more than doubling Phase Two's $5.3 billion gross. Six of the eleven films made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, includingInfinity War andEndgame which each made more than $2 billion.Infinity War became the fourth-highest-grossing film andEndgame the highest-grossing film at the time, unadjusted for inflation.Endgame dethronedAvatar (2009) on July 21, 2019.[a][300] 2019 was the first year that three MCU films made at least $1 billion each:Captain Marvel,Endgame, andSpider-Man: Far From Home.[301]Far From Home was the firstSpider-Man film to make $1 billion at the box office.[302]
Conner Schwerdtfeger ofCinemaBlend praised Phase Three as the best of the MCU so far, citing the diversification of character personality traits, genres, and filmmaking styles in addition to the more diverse character line-up following the introductions of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and more. He believed the more diverse approach to storytelling had allowed the MCU to avoid so-called "superhero fatigue" and concluded, "if Marvel can continue defining the differences in the styles and genres of each hero's particular sub-franchise, then there's arguably no reason to assume that the MCU cannot continue for years to come and continue staying as fresh as ever" following Phase Three.[356] Douglas Laman atCollider also noted the progress made with representation among lead characters, and was impressed by the number of characters, storylines, and aesthetics that the phase was able to balance. He rankedBlack Panther as the best film of the phase.[357] Discussing a survey of the weakest films in the phase,/Film's Ryan Scott said Phase Three was a "true game-changer" for the franchise and its strongest era, leaving big shoes for future phases to fill.Ant-Man and the Wasp,Doctor Strange, andCaptain Marvel topped the survey, which Scott felt was proof that Marvel "hit a hot streak" with the phase since those films were all successful and well-liked by critics and audiences.Civil War,Ragnarok,Infinity War, andEndgame received no votes and Scott said they were "some of the greatest comic book movies ever made".[358]
In an opinion piece forEntertainment Weekly, Darren Franich was more critical and found the amount of success the franchise achieved in a short period of time to be draining. He noted thatCivil War andInfinity Way continued a trend for the franchise of feigning big changes that would be reverted in later films: the Avengers' break-up and Thanos's killing of half of all life, respectively. However, Franich highlighted three films that he called his "MCU Holy Trinity" which each explored similar stories and themes of family lies and showed their heroes deciding to "burn it down and start over":Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,Ragnarok, andBlack Panther. He said they each "looked back in anger, at the MCU's history and beyond, with self-awareness and self-critique".[359] After the first two phases received criticisms for many of their villains being weak and uninteresting, Rich Knight atCinemaBlend believed this changed with Phase Three and attributed it to them having stronger motivations. He ranked Thanos and Killmonger as the two best villains of the phase, saying they both had motivations that the audience could understand and even agree with, and in third place he ranked the Vulture. Knight felt the reveal inHomecoming that the Vulture is the father of Spider-Man's homecoming date was the best twist of the entire MCU.[360] Writing forMashable, Alexis Nedd agreed that the phase had improved on the MCU's "villain problem". After finding only Loki and Bucky—who both becomeantiheroes—to be interesting villains in the first two phases, Nedd found most of the Phase Three villains to be more interesting and attributed this to them having closer emotional connections to the heroes just like Loki and Bucky. He said Killmonger was the best villain of the phase.[361]
Several commentators have used ranked lists when revisiting the MCU phases. After Phase Four was released, Jeff Ames ofComingSoon.net and Knight both listed Phase Three as the best,[362][363] as didThe Mary Sue's Rachel Ulatowski afterPhase Five was released.[364] Knight said there was no contest for what the best MCU phase is considering all the Phase Three films ranged from good to outstanding, andInfinity War andEndgame paid off storylines that had been built up sinceThe Avengers.[362] Ulatowski agreed that all eleven films were "well above mediocre" and highlightedCivil War,Doctor Strange,Ragnarok,Black Panther, andEndgame as some of the best films in the MCU. She praised the phase for ensuring that every film connected to the Infinity Saga storyline, and said all the films had "performances, directing, visuals, and storylines that appealed to viewers".[364] Ames felt the phase had some "speedbumps", pointing toCaptain Marvel andDoctor Strange, but also outstanding films likeCivil War,Homecoming,Ragnarok,Black Panther,Infinity War, andEndgame. He said Phase Three "catapulted the franchise into something akin to legendary status" and would be looked back on as the peak of the MCU as well as "one of the more astonishing periods of sustained success in cinematic history".[363]
WHIH Newsfront is an in-universe current affairs show that serves as aviral marketing campaign for some of the MCU films, created in partnership with Google forYouTube.[373][374] The campaign is an extension of the fictional news network WHIH World News, which is seen reporting on major events in the MCU.[375] The videos released during April and May 2016 as aWHIH Newsfront Special Report focus on the Avengers and the political issues surrounding them as part of a viral marketing campaign forCaptain America: Civil War.William Sadler reprises his role as President of the United StatesMatthew Ellis fromIron Man 3 (2013).[376]
The Daily Bugle is an in-universe current affairs show serving as viral marketing campaign forSpider-Man: Far From Home, with six videos released on YouTube during October and November 2019. It is based on the fictional sensationalist news outletof the same name that appears in the MCU—itself based on the fictional newspaper agencyof the same name appearing in several Marvel Comics publications. J. K. Simmons reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson from the mid-credits scene ofFar From Home.[377]
Team Thor is a series of direct-to-videomockumentary short films that were released from 2016 to 2018, consisting ofTeam Thor,Team Thor: Part 2, andTeam Darryl, all written and directed by Taika Waititi. The three short films are included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases. The first two films follow Thor as he moves in with a new roommate, Darryl Jacobson, during the events ofCaptain America: Civil War,[379][380] whileTeam Darryl sees Darryl move to Los Angeles and move in with theGrandmaster.[381] The shorts were designed to introduce MCU fans to the irreverent tone of Waititi'sThor: Ragnarok.[382] The three shorts were made available onDisney+ in January 2022,[383] at which point Marvel classified them asMarvel One-Shots.[384][385]
By October 2013,Marvel Television was preparing four drama series and a miniseries to present tovideo on demand services and cable providers, withNetflix,Amazon, andWGN America expressing interest.[415] Disney announced the next month that it would provide Netflix with live-action series based onDaredevil,Jessica Jones,Iron Fist, andLuke Cage, leading to a crossover miniseries based on theDefenders.[416] In April 2016, Marvel and Netflix orderedThe Punisher as a spin-off fromDaredevil.[414] Netflix had canceled all of the series by the end of February 2019.[417] All series were no longer available on Netflix starting March 1, 2022, due to Netflix's license for the series ending and Disney regaining the rights.[418] They all began streaming onDisney+ from March 16, 2022.[419]
With the release of Marvel Studios' Disney+ miniseriesEcho in January 2024, all of the Netflix series were retroactively added to theMCU Disney+ timeline, and were placed primarily alongside thePhase Two and Phase Three content of the MCU on the timeline.[420][421][422] Marvel Studios' head of streamingBrad Winderbaum acknowledged that Marvel Studios had previously been "a little bit cagey" about what was part of theirSacred Timeline, noting how there had been the corporate divide between what Marvel Studios created and what Marvel Television created.[423] Marvel Studios began looking at the Netflix series as a more integral part of the MCU by September 2023, after theDaredevil reboot seriesDaredevil: Born Again (2025) underwent a creative overhaul to be more aligned with the Netflix series.[424][425]
^abAfter becoming the highest-grossing film of all time,Avengers: Endgame was later surpassed byAvatar (2009) when that film was re-released in 2021.[1]
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