Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films, independently produced by Marvel Studios and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The franchise includes comic books, short films, television series, and digital series. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Phase 1

  • Iron Man (2008)* – directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, & Gwyneth Paltrow
  • The Incredible Hulk (2008) – directed by Louis Leterrier, starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, & William Hurt
  • Iron Man 2 (2010)* – directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, & Samuel L. Jackson
  • Thor (2011)* – directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, & Anthony Hopkins
  • Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)* – directed by Joe Johnston, starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, Toby Jones, & Stanley Tucci
  • The Avengers (2012)* – directed by Joss Whedon, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, & Samuel L. Jackson

Phase 2

  • Iron Man 3 (2013)* – directed by Shane Black, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, & Ben Kingsley
  • Thor: The Dark World (2013)* – directed by Alan Taylor, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, & Rene Russo
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)* – directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Robert Redford, & Samuel L. Jackson
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)* – directed by James Gunn, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, & Benicio del Toro
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)* – directed by Joss Whedon, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, & Samuel L. Jackson
  • Ant-Man (2015)* – directed by Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, & Michael Douglas

Phase 3

  • Captain America: Civi War (2016)* – directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, & Daniel Brühl
  • Doctor Strange (2016)* – directed by Scott Derrickson, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, & Tilda Swinton
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)* – directed by James Gunn, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, & Kurt Russell
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)* – directed by John Watts, starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, & Robert Downey Jr.
  • Thor: Ragnarok (2017)* – directed by Taika Waititi, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, & Anthony Hopkins
  • Black Panther (2018)* – directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, & Andy Serkis
  • Avengers: Infinity War (2018)* – directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, & Chris Pratt
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)* – directed by Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, & Michael Douglas
  • Captain Marvel (2019)* – directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, & Jude Law
  • Avengers: Endgame (2019)* – directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, & Josh Brolin
  • Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)* – directed by John Watts, starring Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, & Jake Gyllenhaal

Phase 4

  • Black Widow (2021)* – directed by Cate Shortland, starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, & Rachel Weisz
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)* – directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, & Tony Leung
  • Eternals (2021)* – directed by Chloé Zhao, starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, & Angelina Jolie
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)* – directed by John Watts, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, & Tobey Maguire
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)* – directed by Sam Raimi, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, & Xochitl Gomez
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)* – directed by Taika Waititi, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Jeff Goldblum, & Vin Diesel
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)* – directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Starring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, & Angela Bassett
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)* – directed by Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, Katy O’Brian, William Jackson Harper, Bill Murray, Michelle Pfeiffer, Corey Stoll, & Michael Douglas
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)* – directed by James Gunn, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, & Sylvester Stallone
  • The Marvels (2023)* – directed by Nia DaCosta, starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, & Samuel L. Jackson
  • Captain America: New World Order (2024) – directed by Julius Onah, starring Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Shira Haas, Harrison Ford, & Liv Tyler