Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

Anthony and Joe Russo, directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame

The Avengers become fractured into two opposing teams, one led by Steve Rogers and another by Tony Stark, after extensive collateral damage prompts politicians to pass an act regulating superhuman activity with government oversight and accountability for the Avengers while also facing against 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 third Captain America installment, which they confirmed in March 2014, with Chris Evans returning as Captain America, Kevin Feige returning to produce, and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely writing the screenplay.[19][41] In October 2014, the title was officially announced as Captain America: Civil War along with the reveal that Robert 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 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios,[47][48] and concluded in August 2015.[49] Captain America: Civil War had its premiere in Hollywood on April 12, 2016,[50] was released internationally beginning April 27,[51] and was released on May 6 in the United States.[52]

The film is set one year after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).[53] Captain America: Civil War introduces Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther to the MCU, who appear in solo films in 2017 and 2018, respectively.[7][54] William Hurt reprises his role as Thaddeus Ross from The Incredible Hulk (2008), with the character now being the U.S. Secretary of State.[55] For the mid-credits scene, in which T'Challa offers Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes asylum in Wakanda, Joe and Anthony Russo received input from Black Panther (2018) director Ryan Coogler on the look and design of Wakanda.[56]

After Stephen Strange, the world's top neurosurgeon, is involved in a car accident that ruins his career, he sets out on a journey of healing, where he encounters the Ancient One, who teaches Strange the use of 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.[59] In January 2013, Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange would be a part of their Phase Three slate of films.[60] In June 2014, Scott Derrickson was hired to direct.[20] In December 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch was cast in the eponymous role, and Jon Spaihts was confirmed to rewrite the script.[61][62] In December 2015, C. Robert Cargill revealed he was a co-writer on the film,[63] and the following April, revealed that Derrickson also wrote the script.[64] Pre-production began in June 2014,[65] with filming beginning in November 2015 in Nepal, before moving to Longcross Studios in the UK later in the month.[66][67] Filming concluded in New York City in April 2016.[68][69] Doctor Strange had its premiere in Hong Kong on October 13, 2016,[70] and was released in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2016,[71] and on November 4 in the United States.[43]

Derrickson stated that the events of Doctor Strange take "roughly" a year, ending "up to date with the rest of the MCU",[72] with Cargill noting it begins in February 2016 and ends later that year.[73] Doctor Strange introduces the Eye of Agamotto, a mystical relic that can manipulate time and is revealed to be an Infinity Stone at the end of the film,[72] specifically the Time Stone.[74] The film's mid-credits scene features a cameo appearance by Chris Hemsworth reprising his MCU role of Thor, meeting with Strange, which was footage from Thor: Ragnarok (2017). The scene was directed by Ragnarok director Taika Waititi.[74]

James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films

The Guardians of the Galaxy travel throughout the cosmos and struggle to keep their newfound family together while helping Peter Quill learn more about his true parentage and facing against new enemies.[75]

In July 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman confirmed that James Gunn would return to write and direct the sequel.[22][76] Chris Pratt returns for the sequel 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 by Pom Klementieff as Mantis,[78][79] and Kurt Russell as Ego.[78][80] In June 2015, the film's title was revealed as Guardians 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 on May 5, 2017.[43]

The film is set two-to-three months after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy,[86][87] in 2014.[88] One of the film's post-credit sequences hints at the introduction of Adam Warlock,[89] after Gunn originally intended for Warlock to make a full appearance in Vol. 2. He noted that Warlock could appear in future Guardians films, and is considered "a pretty important part" of the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[90] The Grandmaster, played by Jeff Goldblum, is seen dancing in the end credits, before his appearance in Thor: Ragnarok.[91]

Peter Parker tries to balance being the hero Spider-Man with his high school life under guidance of Tony Stark as he deals with the threat of the Vulture.[92][93]

On February 9, 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel announced that Sony would be releasing a Spider-Man film co-produced by Marvel Studios president Feige and Amy Pascal, with Sony Pictures continuing to own, finance, distribute, and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.[5] In April 2015, Feige confirmed the character would be Peter Parker and added that Marvel had been working to add Spider-Man to the MCU since at least October 2014, when they announced their full slate of Phase Three films, 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."[94] In June 2015, Tom Holland was cast in the role of Spider-Man and Jon Watts was hired to direct the film,[23] and the next month, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were hired to write the screenplay.[95] Additional screenwriters include Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.[24] In April 2016, the title was revealed to be Spider-Man: Homecoming.[96] Production began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios,[97][98] and concluded in October 2016.[99] Spider-Man: Homecoming premiered on June 28, 2017 in Hollywood,[100] and was released in the United Kingdom on July 5,[101] and the United States on July 7, 2017.[102]

The film is set several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War,[103] which is four years after the events of The Avengers (2012).[104] In April 2016, Feige confirmed that characters from previous MCU films would appear in the film,[105] with Robert Downey Jr. confirmed to reprise his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man shortly thereafter.[106] Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Evans also reprise their roles as Happy Hogan,[107] Pepper Potts,[108] and Steve Rogers / Captain America, respectively.[109] The cleanup crew Damage Control appear in the film, after previously being referenced in Iron Man (2008) and the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ahead of an intended television series about them.[110][111][112] Various weaponry and artifacts from previous films are referenced throughout the film that Toomes and his crew repurpose for their weapons. In Parker's high school, one of his classes has a lesson about the Sokovia Accords,[113] and portraits of Bruce Banner, Howard Stark, and Abraham Erskine are seen within the school.[114]

Thor, trapped on another world without Mjolnir, must survive a gladiatorial duel against the Hulk and return to Asgard in time to stop the villainous Hela and the impending Ragnarök.[115]

In January 2014, Marvel announced that a third Thor film was in development, with Craig Kyle and Christopher L. Yost writing the screenplay,[116] and was officially announced as Thor: Ragnarok in October 2014.[43] By October 2015, Taika Waititi entered in negotiations to direct Thor: Ragnarok.[25][117] In December 2015, Stephany Folsom was hired to rewrite the script.[118] A year later, in January 2017, it was revealed that Eric Pearson wrote the screenplay, with Kyle, Yost and Folsom receiving story credit.[115] Pearson, Kyle and Yost would ultimately receive screenwriting credit for the film.[26][27] Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins reprise their roles as Thor, Loki, Heimdall, and Odin, respectively, and are joined by Cate Blanchett as Hela.[119] Production began in July 2016 in Australia at Village Roadshow Studios,[120][121] and wrapped in late October 2016.[122] Thor: Ragnarok premiered in Los Angeles on October 10, 2017,[123] began its international release on October 24, 2017 in the United Kingdom,[124] and was released on November 3, 2017 in the United States.[125]

The film is set four years after the events of Thor: The Dark World (2013), two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron,[126][127] and around the same time period as Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Producer Brad Winderbaum noted that "Things happen on top of each other now in Phase Three. They're not as interlocked as they were in Phase One."[128] Mark Ruffalo reprises his MCU role of Bruce Banner / Hulk, with Benedict Cumberbatch also returning as Dr. Stephen Strange from Doctor Strange.[74][119] The film reveals that the Infinity Gauntlet first seen in Odin's vault in Thor (2011) was a fake,[129] while also introducing Thanos' ship Sanctuary II in a post-credits scene.[130]

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.[131]

Documentary filmmaker Mark Bailey was hired to write a script for Black Panther in January 2011.[132] In October 2014, the film was announced and Chadwick 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 at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta,[133][134] and concluded in April 2017.[135] Black Panther premiered in Los Angeles on January 29, 2018,[136] and began its international release on February 13, 2018,[137] and was released on February 16, 2018 in the United States.[138] The film also had a "cross-nation release" in Africa, a first for a Disney film.[139][140]

The film is set one week after the events of Captain America: Civil War.[131] Florence Kasumba,[141] Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, and John Kani reprise their roles as Ayo, Ulysses Klaue, Everett K. Ross and T'Chaka respectively from previous MCU films.[131] The film's post-credits scene features a cameo appearance by Sebastian Stan, reprising his role as Bucky Barnes.[142]

The Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to try to stop Thanos from collecting all of the Infinity Stones.[143]

The film was announced in October 2014 as Avengers: 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 simply Avengers: Infinity War.[144] Josh Brolin reprises his role as Thanos,[145][146] and is part of an ensemble cast featuring many actors who have appeared in other MCU films. Filming for Infinity War began in January 2017 in Atlanta,[133][147] and lasted until July 2017.[148] Additional filming also took place in Scotland.[149] Avengers: Infinity War premiered in Los Angeles on April 23, 2018.[150] It was released worldwide on April 27, 2018, with a few debuts beginning as early as April 25 in a handful of countries.[151]

The film is set two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War.[152] Marvel had been planting the seeds for Infinity War since their early films, by introducing the Infinity Stones as MacGuffins: the Tesseract / Space Stone in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Loki's Scepter / Mind Stone in The Avengers, the Aether / Reality Stone in Thor: The Dark World, the Orb / Power Stone in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Eye of Agamotto / Time Stone in Doctor Strange.[74] Additionally, Thanos is shown holding an empty Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Age of Ultron.[153] The Red Skull from The First Avenger appears in the film, played by Ross Marquand instead of Hugo Weaving, and is the keeper of the final Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone.[154] The post-credits scene features Nick Fury transmitting a distress signal on a device, which has the insignia of Captain Marvel.[155]

Peyton Reed, director of Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp

Scott Lang tries to balance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, when Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym present him with a new mission, requiring him to team up with Van Dyne as the Wasp.[34]

Ant-Man and the Wasp was announced in October 2015.[138] Peyton Reed confirmed that he would return to direct in November 2015, and that Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly would reprise their roles as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne / Wasp, respectively.[33] In December 2015, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, and Rudd were confirmed to write the screenplay,[156] 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 in the film.[157] Michelle Pfeiffer was revealed as having been cast as Janet van Dyne in July 2017.[158] Filming began in August 2017 in Atlanta with additional filming in San Francisco,[34] and ended in November 2017.[159] Stephen Broussard also served as a producer on the film.[160] Ant-Man and the Wasp had its premiere in Hollywood on June 25, 2018,[161] and was released in the United States on July 6, 2018.[138]

The film is set two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War and before Avengers: Infinity War.[162][163] In the mid-credits scene, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne are disintegrated as a result of the events of Infinity War.[164]

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.[165]

In May 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel had a working script for Ms. Marvel.[166] In October 2014, Marvel announced the film would be titled Captain Marvel and feature Carol Danvers.[43] In April 2015, Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve were announced as screenwriters.[167] At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, Brie Larson was confirmed to play the role of Carol Danvers.[168] 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, replacing Perlman and LeFauve.[169] Boden, Fleck, and Robertson-Dworet received final screenplay credits on the film.[36] Location filming occurred in January 2018,[170][171] while principal photography began in March in Los Angeles[172] and concluded in July.[173] The film was released on March 8, 2019.[138]

The film is set in 1995.[174] Samuel L. Jackson, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, and Clark Gregg reprise their MCU roles as Nick Fury, Korath, Ronan the Accuser, and Phil Coulson, respectively,[175][176] while the Skrull species are introduced to the MCU.[177] The Russo brothers filmed the mid-credits scene, which was footage supposed to occur offscreen before the first scenes of Avengers: Endgame (2019), and features Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. The post-credits scene shows Goose regurgitating the Tesseract on Fury's desk after swallowing it during the film's third act.[178]

After half of all life in the universe was killed due to the actions of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, the remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert those actions in one final stand.[179]

The film was announced in October 2014 as Avengers: 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, Marvel revealed the title would be changed, being known simply at that time as the Untitled Avengers film.[144] Its title was revealed as Avengers: Endgame in December 2018.[180] Brolin reprises his role as Thanos,[145][146] and is part of an ensemble cast featuring many actors who have appeared in other MCU films. Filming began in August 2017 in Atlanta,[181] and ended in January 2018.[182] The film was released on April 26, 2019.[180]

Avengers: Endgame begins three weeks after the events of Infinity War, before jumping ahead five years.[183] It does not have a post-credits scene, but features the sound of an Iron Man suit being hammered at the end of the credits as a callback to the first MCU film Iron Man,[184] and a teaser trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) was played after the credits in some screenings of the film a week after the film released.[185] Endgame was intended to mark the final appearances of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.[186][187]

Jon Watts, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home

Peter Parker goes on a school trip to Europe with his friends. While abroad, he is recruited by Nick Fury to team up with Quentin Beck to battle the Elementals.[188][189]

In December 2016, Sony Pictures scheduled a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming for release on July 5, 2019.[190] A year later, Watts was confirmed to be returning to direct the film.[37] Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, two of the writers of the first film, returned to write the script.[38] Holland revealed the film's title as Spider-Man: Far From Home in late June 2018.[191] Filming began in July 2018, in England,[192] with filming also occurring in the Czech Republic, Venice,[193] and New York City.[194] and lasted until October 2018.[195] It was believed that the film would be the first film in Phase Four until April 2019, when Feige first publicly stated Far From Home would serve as the final film of Phase Three.[196] He later added that it would also be the conclusion to "The Infinity Saga".[197] Spider-Man: Far From Home had its premiere in Hollywood on June 26, 2019,[198] and was released in the United States on July 2, 2019.[199]

The film is set eight months after Avengers: Endgame.[200] Jackson and Cobie Smulders reprise their roles as Fury and Maria Hill, respectively, from previous MCU media.[201] The mid-credits scene features J. K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson, having previously portrayed a different incarnation of the character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy.[202] The post-credits scene features Ben Mendelsohn and Sharon Blynn as the Skrulls Talos and Soren, reprising their roles from Captain Marvel.[203]

Phase Three is the highest-grossing phase, more than doubling Phase Two's $5.3 billion gross, with six of its eleven films making over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, including Infinity War and Endgame, which each made more than $2 billion. As a result, Infinity War became the fourth-highest-grossing film ever and Endgame the highest-grossing film ever, unadjusted for inflation. Endgame surpassed Infinity War within eleven days of release and dethroned Avatar (2009) on July 21, 2019,[lower-alpha 1] after Avatar held the title for nearly a decade,[322] 2019 was the first year that three MCU films made at least $1 billion each, thanks to Captain Marvel, Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.[323] By doing so, Far From Home became the first Spider-Man film to make $1 billion at the box office.[324]

Josh Kurp of Uproxx felt that Phase Three was the strongest of all Marvel Cinematic Universe phases.[359] Conner Schwerdtfeger of CinemaBlend also felt that Phase Three was Marvel's best, citing increase in diverse unique filmmaking style as his main motivator.[360]

The films of the phase have been nominated for eleven Academy Awards (winning three),[361] three Golden Globe Awards,[362] six BAFTA Awards (winning one),[363] ten Grammy Awards (winning two),[364] sixty-five Saturn Awards (winning nineteen),[365] five Hugo Awards,[366] nineteen MTV Movie & TV Awards (winning eight),[367] and twenty-two Visual Effects Society Awards (winning six),[368] among others.

WHIH Newsfront is an in-universe current affairs show that serves as a viral marketing campaign for some of the MCU films, created in partnership with Google for YouTube.[369][370] The campaign is an extension of the fictional news network WHIH World News, which is seen reporting on major events in the MCU.[371] The videos released during April and May 2016 as a WHIH Newsfront Special Report focus on the Avengers and the political issues surrounding them as part of a viral marketing campaign for Captain America: Civil War. William Sadler reprises his role as President of the United States Matthew Ellis from Iron Man 3 (2013).[372]

The Daily Bugle is an in-universe current affairs show serving as viral marketing campaign for Spider-Man: Far From Home, with six videos released on YouTube during October and November 2019. It is based on the fictional sensationalist news outlet of the same name that appears in the MCU—itself based on the fictional newspaper agency of the same name appearing in several Marvel Comics publications. J. K. Simmons reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson from the mid-credits scene of Far From Home.[373]