Scarlett Johansson is, without a doubt, MCU royalty. She was part of the franchise from nearly its beginning, debuting in Iron Man 2 as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. Natasha made a triumphant exit in Avengers: Endgame, but the last time we saw her was in Black Widow, which was set before Endgame. 6m133g

Despite Natasha’s exit, though, fans aren’t letting up. It’s the MCU, after all. If Robert Downey Jr. can return as Doctor Doom, then anything is possible. But even if Natasha is revived, the real question is: Does ScarJo want to return? 

Scarlett Johansson wants us to accept reality 6l305g

Scarlett Johansson was the world’s highest-paid actress for two years, in 2018 and 2019. Evidently, the MCU proved to be a very lucrative career move financially. Furthermore, ScarJo remains the highest-grossing actress of all time, and a chunk of those billions are thanks to the MCU. But that doesn’t mean the Jurassic World: Rebirth star is interested in returning. And it’s time for hopeful fans to throw in the towel. 

In a recent piece with In Style magazine, we got a candid glimpse into Johansson’s life, both personal and professional. The piece touched on her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, and her work/life balance as a mother of two children. But when asked about the fate of Black Widow, Johansson didn’t mince her words.

Natasha is dead.

While fans are aware of the truth, the statement is still heartbreaking to hear. “She is dead,” Johansson continued. “She’s dead, okay?” Sorry, hopefuls, but according to ScarJo, “We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.”

For anyone who has forgotten, Natasha ensured that the team got the Soul Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, by sacrificing herself in exchange for the gem on the planet Vormir. Her death was devastating but essential, as it set the precedent for much of the future of the MCU.

But what do I do if I miss Black Widow? 28o5s

Some people might have forgotten, but there is still a Black Widow assassin in the MCU. First introduced in Black Widow, and later in Hawkeye, Yelena Belova is the adoptive younger sister of Natasha Romanoff. She was trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow alongside Natasha and was under the mind-control of the Red Room for years after Natasha defected.

Yelena Belova will take center stage in the MCU’s movie Thunderbolts*, which will also star Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost. 

A key part of Yelena’s character in all her appearances in the MCU so far is her love for her sister and grief over her death, so it’s not too outlandish to think Natasha might get a mention somewhere in Thunderbolts*. Johansson will also be involved in Thunderbolts* as a producer, so while Natasha is no longer present in the MCU, her spirit remains alive. 

What more can possibly be said about Avengers: Endgame — the film, the feat, and the cultural event — that hasn’t already been repeated ad nauseam? It was at once one of the most remarkable accomplishments in cinema that the quartet of Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely managed to tie together over a decades’ worth of compartmentalized worldbuilding, creating not only a sensational hurrah, but also a series of satisfying ends to now-timeless character arcs.

And that was just the theatrical cut; who knows what other bits and pieces of this climax never saw the light of day? Well, we now know one of them, and the response will probably put off any further leaks in the future.

It’s not because the cut scene was bad, oh no, quite the opposite. As you can see in the clip above, there was a version of this film that included a moment where Wanda Maximoff — newly undisintegrated and out for Thanos’ blood — touched down on the battlefield before giving a chilling head tilt at the sight of the Mad Titan.

It very much gave the horror movie stylings Sam Raimi would eventually use to carry Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as far as it did, and it’s because Elizabeth Olsen sells the moment as well as she does that fans are up in arms about only just seeing it now.

Others took it a step further by declaring their love/grief for Wanda as a character, who had a rather morbid cameo in the first episode of Agatha All Along (one that we would, however, probably be wise to not take at face value).

Exactly what the future holds for the Scarlet Witch is anyone’s guess. Some rock-solid rumors about a Scarlet Witch solo film are exciting enough, but it’s hard to ignore how many reparations Marvel needs to make with this character at this point. Multiverse of Madness jumbled her arc pretty severely, and given how immensely powerful of a character she is, Marvel would be remiss to not have a major role for her to play as we barrel toward Avengers: Secret Wars (for those of you familiar with the comics, she could very well step into Molecule Man’s shoes in this iteration of the storyline).

And if she’s going to be that prominent in the saga’s overarching narrative, it’s only logical that we should have some idea of where she stands as a character, which a well-executed Scarlet Witch film could accomplish (complete, perhaps, with a menacing head tilt that we should have gotten back in 2019). Here’s hoping, then, that Wanda’s future is indeed a bright one, because lord knows she and everyone else needs it.

The 2024 presidential race has touched on just about every aspect of pop culture, from the involvement of musicians like Charli XCX to the overrunning of our algorithms with coconut tree memes. 

Now, the race to the White House has drawn in the world of superhero movies, with a viral clip drawing parallels between Kamala Harris’ candidacy and a climactic scene in Avengers: Endgame. The video was posted on X by comedian and actress Leslie Jones (one of multiple celebrities who’ve ed the Harris train), and recasts the blockbuster’s final face-off with Thanos as a rallying call for Harris’ campaign. 

Naturally, Chris Evans’ Captain America is given the Harris treatment, while Thanos is portrayed as Trump (even though Thanos can actually speak coherently). The Endgame scene used to depict the presidential race is the one where all hope seems to be lost in the face of Thanos’ master plan, before a whole host of crossover-jumping heroes appear to take on the villain.

In the video, the gradually assembling roster of heroes is likened to demographics who Harris, from Black men and women who overwhelmingly back the Democratic candidate to generation X, millennials and “white dudes,” who are rendered as Guardians of the Galaxy’s Drax the Destroyer, Mantis and Star-Lord, respectively. 

That each demographic is given a worthy, triumphant superhero entrance makes the whole video feel strangely patriotic, and the corresponding characters somehow just feel right. Gen Z is represented by Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, with a slew of Harris endorsers also getting the Avengers treatment. There’s Barack Obama as Falcon, Pete Buttigeig as Doctor Strange, and Tim Walz as Thor. 

For her part, Hillary Clinton s the Harris army as Pepper Potts, while Bernie Sanders appears as Doctor Strange’s Wong and President Joe Biden is depicted as Iron Man. The video even makes mention of key events in Harris’ campaign, from the record-breaking Zoom call meetings to the Democratic National Convention. Thanos/Trump receives his biggest rival in the video’s final moments, when the Hulk-sized base that is Taylor Swift and her fans appears to bolster the Democratic offensive.

Offering a fittingly motivational call to arms, the video concludes with the iconic Marvel quote “Avengers, assemble!,” and the urge to go out and vote has never been stronger. Fans promptly flocked to the video to relish in just how heroic the presidential race now feels, with one X even going as far as saying the clip brought them to tears. 

“Why did this have me tearing up tho,” the wrote, with another adding that “this was so much fun to watch.” Elsewhere, s said that the clip “just made me break down and cry,” and remarked that depicting Trump as Thanos is perhaps giving the Republican a little more power than is warranted by the reality. 

It remains to be seen whether any other films will be likened to the presidential race, but perhaps given Trump’s seemingly romantic compliments about Harris’ beauty, there could be an enemies-to-lovers rom-com arc in their future? Anyone up for a showing of When Donny Met Kamala?        

In a film as massive as Avengers: Endgame, not all plot lines could naturally line up. With the final film appearances of Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in fan-favorite roles, there was a lot of territory to cover.

Already over three hours, Endgame had to pull off an emotional send-off for two characters that was a decade in the making. Some interesting decisions didn’t make the final cut, such as a deleted scene featuring Tony’s (Downey Jr.) daughter, Morgan. After surviving The Snap with Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow), the two have what most characters don’t in the film: a family. The Starks are lucky enough to come out the other side, with a daughter to boot.

The film covers Tony’s attempt to bring back the people they lost, as well as preserving his daughter’s life. In the end he is successful, as we see the five-year-old grieve at Tony’s funeral. However, there were plans for a little bit more than that. 13 Reasons Why and Knives Out star, Katherine Langford, had initially been cast as an older version of Morgan in a scene that was ultimately cut for time. Now, years after this slight, Marvel may be making good on the promise of the characters.

Is Katherine Langford returning to the MCU stage? 55s5c

Joe Russo revealed that the scene in question would have occurred during Tony’s death (via CinemaBlend). After snapping his fingers, his mind would go into a plane of existence where he would see his daughter, a la how Thanos (Josh Brolin) sees Gamora (Ariana Greenblatt). This version of Morgan would be older, and played by Langford. Both the Russos confirmed in an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast that the scene was cut because it didn’t hit home for audiences.

The scene was an attempt to allow Tony the peace he needed to let go, but it didn’t test well since viewers had no connection to this version of Morgan. The same emotional beat is accomplished instead with Pepper, who tells Tony it’s okay to rest. This move makes complete sense in the scope of the film, but it would be a blast from the past to return to the character. Marvel may have the same idea, according to a rumor circulating X.

While unconfirmed at this point, this would be an interesting turn of events, especially considering Downey Jr.’s recent casting as Victor von Doom in the MCU. It may also work out well for Langford, who hasn’t had the greatest success with Netflix fare. Though 13 Reasons Why ran for four seasons, it was the height of controversy when it first premiered.

Trigger warnings are much more prevalent now than they were when the first season premiered, as fans discovered after witnessing the brutally graphic suicide in a bathtub by Langford’s character. Her other Netflix venture, Cursed, was, well, cursed, and quickly canceled after one season. Returning to Marvel would be a boon for the actor, and an emotional connection to a character we all miss.

In 1883, the volcanic Indonesian island known as Krakatoa erupted, causing an explosion that clocked in at about 172 decibels. This was roughly one-third of the volume of Hall H when Robert Downey Jr. was revealed as the MCU‘s Doctor Doom during San Diego Comic-Con.

Indeed, as far as the fans are concerned, the Oppenheimer Oscar winner is the North Star when it comes to endorphins, and given Marvel’s apparent commitment to fan service after the show that Deadpool & Wolverine put on, roping Downey Jr. back into the fray was a financial no-brainer.

It’s only a financial no-brainer, however, in that it’s a particularly steep investment in equal measure. By a firm distance, Downey Jr. is the highest-paid Marvel actor ever, and with Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars reportedly set to net him even more money, no one’s going to be catching up with him any time soon.

All this begs the question; how did we get here? Here’s how much money Downey Jr. pocketed from each Marvel movie he had a hand in.

Iron Man — $2 million 3p1v61

Just as we all have to start somewhere, we also all need to start over somewhere. For Downey Jr., that was the shoes of Tony Stark, which he was paid $2 million to fill in 2008’s Iron Man film, and later in a brief cameo in The Incredible Hulk. His salary initially began at $500,000, but a share of the film’s profits (Iron Man made $585.8 million at the box office) brought the final tally in and around $2 million.

The inaugural MCU film and one of the superhero genre’s finest flicks ever, Iron Man flew on the back of what would become one of the defining performances of a generation; a performance that Downey Jr. brought to roaring life until the very end (which, evidently, wasn’t quite the end in the purest sense).

Iron Man 2 — $10 million 5q382f

Downey Jr. received a pretty significant pay raise for Iron Man 2, going from $2 million to $10 million in what would be the first of many payday increases for the leading man, who very quickly became figuratively (and perhaps literally) essential to the Marvel organism.

That said, one would be forgiven for thinking that the additional $8 million on Downey Jr.’s salary came out of Iron Man 2‘s storytelling budget. This to say that, for those who can look past Downey Jr.’s nostalgic x-factor, it’s clear he doesn’t render the franchise completely bulletproof.

Spider-Man: Homecoming — Between $10 million and $15 million 2o4f4s

By 2017, Downey was able to get a salary equal to or greater than his Iron Man 2 payday with a fraction of the screentime. Such was the case in Spider-Man: Homecoming, where Downey Jr. was paid between $10 million and $15 million to appear in a relatively small ing role.

Tom Holland, the MCU’s Spider-Man, would go on to make $10 million for his work on the bombastic and lucrative Spider-Man: No Way Home, in case you needed a scale for how deeply Marvel and its fanbase valued (and continue to value, evidently) Downey Jr.’s presence.

The Avengers — $50 million 43405k

When it came time for the Avengers to first assemble back in 2012, it was abundantly clear just how all-in Marvel was about propping Downey Jr. up as their MVP, with a $50 million paycheck landing in Downey Jr.’s pocket for his work on The Avengers. The sum includes both box office bonuses and back-end compensation.

Reportedly, Downey Jr.’s Marvel compatriots Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo all made just $3 million from the film at the end of the day. Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson, meanwhile, clocked out of Avengers with $6 million each. As with Holland, the gulf in those numbers speaks for themselves.

Iron Man 3 — $50 million 2k1k4h

The $50 million payday continued with Tony Stark’s third solo outing in Iron Man 3. After kicking off Phase One with Downey Jr., it probably made sense in Marvel’s mind to kick off Phase Two with him, too.

In many ways, they were correct; the film snagged $1.2 billion at the box office and was a critical success, although it remains rather divisive in the realm of the MCU fandom. But, as long as Downey Jr. is involved, the complaints will probably never truly take center stage there (which, we assume, is the logic that was applied when he was cast as Doctor Doom).

Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — $50 million apiece, reportedly 6c1v4w

That’s right folks, if these numbers are accurate, a $100 million payday is on the horizon for Downey Jr. as he prepares to step into the shoes of Victor Von Doom, with $50 million due to come from Doomsday, and another $50 million due to come from Secret Wars.

It is, of course, hard to say at this point how things are going to shake out for the franchise as we approach the Multiverse Saga’s attempt at the Thanos-level one-two punch. Indeed, with Downey Jr.’s casting already being dubbed by many as a desperate attempt by the MCU to fan-service its way to box office victory rather than actually make good movies, Doomsday might just end up being too apt a title for the next Avengers film.

Avengers: Age of Ultron — Between $50 million and $80 million 3y654f

His highest unofficial payday yet, Downey Jr.’s second participation in the Avengers ensemble earned him between $50 million and $80 million. It sounds ludicrous to pay anyone that much, and it is, but the correlation between Downey Jr.’s face and Marvel’s box office fortunes at the time was all Marvel needed to keep full-sending this particular outlay (and indeed, Avengers: Age of Ultron crossed the $1.4 million mark during its theatrical run).

Captain America: Civil War — $64 million 6fo1e

How very like both Tony Stark and Downey Jr. to cheekily nab a payday with a number as untidy as 64. Just as well, of course, because Captain America: Civil War saw Downey Jr. take on a more antagonistic role in the Marvel proceedings, depending on who you ask.

$64 million remains Downey Jr.’s third-highest (soon to be fourth-highest) payday ever, on of his last two hurrahs as Iron Man rounding out to the same amount.

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame — $75 million each 5n4l6d

Roughly $400 million in earnings all became justified in a single snap of the fingers; a snap that was heard around the world before that very world burst into tears like never before. Indeed, when it came time for the Infinity Saga’s curtain call, Downey Jr. was paid $75 million to inspire us, and then another $75 million to shatter our hearts.

And now he’s about to get paid even more to toss on a green cloak and rescue the MCU from itself. Life is strange.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the most in-depth and successful franchise of all time during its 16-year run at the box office. While it began with Iron Man in 2008, for fans following the narrative, that’s not where the story actually begins.

There are currently 34 movies in the MCU — soon to be 35 with Captain America: Brave New World — released in five phases. Phases One through Three, known as the Infinity Saga, collectively bring viewers closer to the arrival of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and its epic follow-up, Avengers: Endgame. Meanwhile, phases Four through Six, known as the Multiverse Saga, began in 2021 and will eventually bring viewers closer to Robert Downey Jr.’s ultimate MCU comeback as Doctor Doom in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and its subsequent multiversal showdown in 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. : Kang is a thing of the past.

Phase Four began in 2021 with the Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and continued into 2022 with three major franchise sequels: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Phase Five began in 2023 and also included four franchise sequels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, and most recently Deadpool & Wolverine.

Following the success of Marvel’s Disney Plus streaming hits like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki, we’ve received fresh entries like Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Loki season 2, and soon Agatha All Along. They aim to continue the budding tradition of bringing focused character studies to the small screen, but in light of criticism over reduced quality, Marvel has scaled back these productions a bit. Nevertheless, these shows tie into the larger Marvel universe, which is actually more of a multiverse now. However, those shows won’t be mentioned on this list, as this list pertains to feature films only.

There are numerous ways to enjoy Marvel films, including the order in which they were released, or drawn out of a hat at random, although that last option isn’t recommended for first-time viewers. However, in this article, we’ll be breaking down the chronological timeline of all films in the MCU so you can watch them in the correct narrative order. An at-a-glance lineup of Phases One through Three can be found below:

Below is a breakdown of every MCU film in narrative-timeline order, all of which, save Deadpool & Wolverine, are available to stream now on Disney Plus. Thanks to Marvel’s official The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, we now have a clearer picture of not only what is and isn’t MCU canon, but also whether the nuggets of information we’ve compiled over the years do, indeed, fit into the slots we’ve given them. Spoiler alert: they do.

Captain America: The First Avenger 47504y

Taking place first in the timeline, Captain America: The First Avenger provides the origin story for one of Marvel’s most popular heroes, Steve Rogers, played by the dynamite Chris Evans. This film mostly takes place in 1942 and showcases Rogers’ journey from a scrawny infantry soldier to full-blown Captain America who faces off against Red Skull.

Captain Marvel 2q673

Next up is Captain Marvel, which is set in 1995, much closer to modern times. This movie is the first in the timeline to explore space travel and intergalactic threats. As we are introduced to both Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and soon-to-be S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the pair gets involved in the conflict between the Kree and the Skrulls, with surprising results.

Iron Man 5we3w

The third film in the timeline was the very first Marvel film to be released: Iron Man. The billionaire philanthropist-turned-superhero Tony Stark has his origin story told in this fan-favorite film. Thanks to its box office success and fans’ adoration of Robert Downey Jr.’s performance, the film ultimately kicked off the entire MCU franchise.

Iron Man 2 6t1j5d

Picking up shortly after the events of the first Iron Man, Iron Man 2 continues the story of the suited superhero now with his identity known to the public. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the son of a scientist who previously worked at Stark Industries, is back with a grudge and creates his own weaponry with the goal of taking revenge for his fallen father. The film also introduces a soon-to-be Avenger in Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

The Incredible Hulk 3t3210

While many fans may choose to forego 2008’s The Incredible Hulk in their MCU binge given that it features Ed Norton in the role instead of Mark Ruffalo (who later became the official Banner), it’s still technically a part of the MCU timeline. This movie gives fans a unique take on the Hulk’s origin story and hints at more things to come in the closing credits.

Thor 3hy18

Thor’s initial big-screen debut took place in 2011 and gave fans their first look at Asgard and other realms via the Bifrost. This one finds the titular god traveling to Earth to defend the world from Loki and a Frost Giant threat. For many moviegoers, this was their introduction to the beloved character, played by Chris Hemsworth, and for many it solidly delivered.

The Avengers i2i64

The first crossover film in the timeline came with The Avengers, which was set at the conclusion of Marvel’s Phase One. The Avengers brought together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, the Hulk, and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to protect the Earth from Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the Chitauri invasion. The movie also played a key role in introducing the Tesseract as the first of the Infinity Stones. These stones were ultimately the key to all future plans in the MCU.

Thor: The Dark World 2u6o32

The second Thor film in the MCU, Thor: The Dark World, gives us a closer look at Asgard, its inner workings, and the relationship between Thor, his brother Loki, and their father, Odin. The film also gives us insight into the second Infinity Stone, the Aether, which was wielded by the movie’s antagonists, the Dark Elves. Though it’s largely considered one of the less-impressive Marvel films, it serves its purpose and thankfully paves the way for a wonderful Thor threequel.

Iron Man 3 6x4gp

In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark deals with anxiety after experiencing the intergalactic invasion of the Chitauri. After diving into full damage control mode and assembling an army of suits, he’s forced to choose between being Iron Man and protecting those he loves. Meanwhile, he must also deal with the looming threat of “The Mandarin.”

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 1w5r39

Hailed as one of the best films in the entire MCU franchise, Captain America: The Winter Soldier introduces viewers to more of Captain America’s past and throws Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, back into the fray. The movie also reveals the hidden HYDRA threat still present among the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D that ultimately leads to its demise.

Guardians of the Galaxy 6q4w5x

When it was announced that Disney was going to bring the Guardians to the big screen, many were skeptical, but Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be one of the best space films ever, let alone one in the MCU. It introduced us to Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel), an unlikely team that attempts to stop the plot of Ronan the Acc (Lee Pace) from using the Power Stone to destroy Xandar.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 3771d

Taking place shortly after the first film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 gives us a closer look at Peter Quill’s backstory and heritage while also introducing a new member to the squad in the form of Mantis (Pom Klementieff). The story also dives deeper into the sibling rivalry between Gamora and Nebula (Karen Gillan) and shines a light on their relationship with their adoptive father, Thanos, which would pay off in just a few short films.

Avengers: Age of Ultron 682n13

Crossing over once again, the cast of the original Avengers film s forces to defend the Earth from the threat of Ultron (James Spader), a supercomputer developed to be a peacekeeping program by Tony Stark, which overrides its programming and now seeks to eliminate all mankind. In the latter half of the film, the Avengers get a few new additions in the form of Vision (Paul Bettany) and the Maximoff twins, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Ant-Man 591j15

Ant-Man tells the story of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a thief who is recruited by Dr. Hank Pym to assist him with stopping the plot of his former protège, who cast him away from his own company. During the film, Lang becomes Ant-Man after being gifted a suit and trained to use Pym Particles to shrink his size, giving him superhuman strength and the ability to control ants.

Captain America: Civil War 3p75p

While not an Avengers film by name, Captain America: Civil War brings most of the superhero cast together for a face-off over a disagreement on the Sokovia Accords following the events of Age of Ultron. Civil War was also used to introduce a few new characters to the Avengers’ roster, including Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).

Black Widow 49f4r

Finally getting her own origin film after being part of the MCU for over a decade, Natasha Romanoff heads back to her roots in Black Widow, which launched earlier this year. The film introduced us to Natasha’s sister, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who fans got to see again in Hawkeye and who will undoubtedly be appearing again, possibly in a villainous team-up compliments of a certain character who appears in the post-credits scene.

Spider-Man: Homecoming 432h3h

Despite what the movie may have led you to believe, it does not take place eight years after The Avengers. Marvel finally addressed the snafu after years of sweeping it under the rug in the official Marvel Studios: The MCU — An Official Timeline book, confirming it was indeed only four years after the Battle of New York. Taking place right after the events of Civil War, Spider-Man’s MCU debut chose not to retell the hero’s origin story, instead giving us a coming-of-age film that finds Peter Parker juggling his duties as Spider-Man with the demands of high school. There are plenty of comic book Spidey villains teased throughout the film, but his biggest threat is the Vulture, menacingly played by Michael Keaton, who is apparently bad with math.

Black Panther 5g1r6t

Instead of an origin story, when we pick up in Black Panther, T’Challa has already taken on the mantle as the titular hero after the ing of his father in Civil War. This film gives viewers their first look at the inner workings of the afrofuturistic Wakanda, as well as an epic tale of personal and ideological rivalry between T’Challa and Killmonger (Michael B Jordan).

Doctor Strange 2l3v18

The first time we are treated to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the MCU is in his self-titled film. The story explores the origins of Stephen Strange’s character and teases the ideas of multiple dimensions, cosmic beings, and time-traveling threats. As you’d expect, the Time Stone is also a crucial element of the film and only becomes more important from here on out. Other standout characters in the film include Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), Wong (Benedict Wong), Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).

Thor: Ragnarok 306w67

Directed by Taika Waititi and taking on a different style and tone than the previous Thor films, Ragnarok has a more comical personality while maintaining high-quality action sequences. The film addresses many of the loose ends following Age of Ultron and follows Thor and Loki as they attempt to stop their half-sister, Hela (Cate Blanchett) from taking over Asgard. The ending of this film offers a jaw-dropping lead-in to what quickly becomes the beginning of the end of the Infinity Saga.

Avengers: Infinity War 6d215i

The first part of the epic culmination of all the previous MCU films, Avengers: Infinity War finally gives us our first major introduction to Thanos (Josh Brolin), who has been working behind the scenes to gather the Infinity Stones with the goal of wiping out half of all life in the universe with a snap of his fingers. The movie takes place in 2018 and ultimately, leaves fans with a stunning cliffhanger that segues directly into Avengers: Endgame.

Ant-Man and the Wasp 6e5a4l

The sequel to Ant-Man, this film takes place at the same time as the events of Infinity War in 2018 and does a great job of telling its own story within the Ant-Man comic book canon. This one digs deeper into the relationship between Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), and also introduces a mysterious new villain, Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Just like Infinity War, the final moments of this film leave viewers breathless for answers in anticipation of the impending Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame 61293i

The epic conclusion to over a decade of storytelling, Avengers: Endgame has everything fans could ever want in a Marvel film. It takes place in October 2023, five years after the events of Infinity War, and sees the remaining Avengers attempt to regain hope of defeating Thanos and restore what was lost after his infamous “Snap,” which was later renamed “The Blip.” In the closing act, Endgame boasts one of the most epic action sequences in all of cinema, blasting expectations wide open and forever changing the MCU as we know it.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 6b33w

Shang-Chi is one of the latest heroes to the MCU, and in this first film exploring his character’s origin, we learn more about his role amidst the greater events playing out within the franchise. Alongside his friend Katy (Awkwafina), Shang-Chi is drawn back into the life he used to know and must face the father (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung) he thought he left behind. During the iconic bus fight scene between Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings operative Gao Lei, we’re shown the dates July 21 to 28 in a Jazz Blues Festival ment. Since Katy’s grandma also mentions the “Day of the Dead,” a festival resembling the Chinese Qingming Festival — which takes place in April — and the film itself spans two weeks, we can assume the movie takes place in April 2024. This would put it before Far From Home.

Spider-Man: Far From Home 6b2t2s

Picking up right after Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home addresses the events that took place during the previous film while also introducing some new faces and returning characters from the past. It takes place during the summer of 2024, eight months after The Blip. This is the perfect bridging point to close out Phase Three and enter Phase Four of the MCU — after watching Shang-Chi, of course.

Eternals 1s9i

With its many flashbacks telling the story not only of the Eternals themselves but also the history of the universe, it can be difficult to give this film a true place in the MCU timeline. That said, its present-day moments take place around the same time as Far From Home in 2024, likely just afterward given that the events of the film were not mentioned in the Spider-Man sequel. Fans and critics were largely split on the film (to put it mildly), except in regard to that colorful cameo by Harry Styles in the post-credits scene. Whether Styles will actually return to the MCU is another matter entirely.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Logan took place in 2029, so Deadpool & Wolverine must also take place during or after that, meaning it should be at the bottom of this list. Well, no. The Merc with the Mouth’s first foray into the MCU actually occurs in 2024. We know this because after Happy Hogan rejects Wade’s request to the Avengers (on March 14, 2018, on Earth-616) the time stamp on the screen tells us we jump six years into the future — back on Earth-1005 — which would place the film in 2024. And because we see Wade celebrating his birthday and he’s said in the comics that he’s a Scorpio (on the cusp of a Libra, thank you very much) — and because Deadpool & Wolverine showcases a decent amount of fall foliage — we can safely assume the film occurs in October 2024. As for why Earth-10005’s Wolverine is already dead at the beginning of Deadpool & Wolverine when Logan’s death shouldn’t have occurred for another five years — well, it’s likely that Wade jumped forward in time using the TVA’s TemPad. That, or we’re just going to file the mistake away with all of Marvel’s other embarrassing timeline errors.

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Spider-Man: No Way Home takes place immediately after its predecessor, Far From Home around Nov. 2024. The film brings Peter Parker on the most mind-blowing adventure of his life ⏤ which, unfortunately, no one but he will . The film saw him grapple with everything from losing his Aunt May, to facing off against villains from completely different universes. It also led to Peter finding an unexpected brotherhood with alternate versions of himself, perfectly brought to life by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in tear-inducing appearances that will stand the test of time.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 561g47

Benedict Cumberbatch’s return as the title character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness picked up after the events of No Way Home. It saw Strange deal with the implications of multiversal travel while facing new friends and foes, some of whom created serious trouble for him (ahem – Wanda). Wanda’s future was thrown into flux after she was presumably killed off in the movie’s final moments, but she is rumored to return in a Disney Plus spin-off series, which may or may not happen since Marvel subtly announced that the Earth-616 version of the character is canonically dead. Strange, too, received a cliffhanger ending, something we hope will be addressed in the rumored Doctor Strange 3.

In the meantime, you can rest assured that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes place after Spider-Man: No Way Home, which takes place right around the events of Hawkeye, which takes place around Christmas 2024.

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Thanks to Disney Plus, we now know that — in the eyes of Marvel Studios — this film takes place after Doctor Strange 2. It also takes place after Ms. Marvel, which is believed to take place around Sept. 2025 because of the school’s homecoming dance. However, in Love and Thunder Jane Foster’s eppendorf vial’s tag includes the date April 30, suggesting it takes place in the beginning of 2025. Unfortunately, since we don’t know exactly when Thor and Jane broke up, the God of Thunder’s comments about their breakup happening 8 years 7 months and 6 days before the movie doesn’t exactly paint a clear picture either. Our best bet is to just assume Love and Thunder takes place in April 2025, especially when looking at the next MCU installments on the timeline.

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According to Black Panther Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore, we have a place in the timeline to slot Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Moore says that this film takes place alongside the events of Thor: Love and Thunder, around the start of 2025, so for all rewatching purposes you should be able to enjoy either film first. This placement would make a lot of sense, since neither film directly affects the events of the other. Secret Invasion, on the other hand, almost had us questioning the timing of things when our favorite CIA from Wakanda Forever was revealed to be a Skrull (that was all put to rest in the season finale, though).

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For those who are sticklers for dates, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania takes place during the start of 2025, like Wakanda Forever. How do we know this? A news clip in Wakanda Forever mentions Scott Lang’s book tour, and because book tours don’t last entire years, Quantumania definitely takes place before The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which occurs later that year during Christmastime, which also means it takes place before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, Disney Plus messed with the timeline when it decided to place Quantumania after The Guardians Holiday Special, which it most certainly is not, resulting in MODOK-sized canon headache, if you ask us. It wouldn’t be the first time Disney Plus goofed with the MCU’s timeline, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the time Quantumania was accidentally erased from Phase Five. (Don’t worry, it’s not).

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Ms. Marvel provides us with a pretty good guestimation where The Marvels takes place on the MCU timeline. Because the Disney Plus series is believed to take place around Sept. 2025 and Kamala Khan’s body-swapping problem doesn’t go unaddressed long, The Marvels likely takes place before 2026, which means it comes before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Carol Danvers’ intergalactic team-up with Captain Rambeau and Kamala to defeat the Kree general Dar-Benn in the highly-anticipated sequel to her billion-dollar predecessor, Captain Marvel, also happens to be the shortest movie in MCU history. Should any information in the movie, which will premiere in just a few short days, contradict this entry, we will revise it ASAP.

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It’s hard to give Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 an exact place on the MCU’s timeline since it is unaffected by previous films and has little effect on the overall MCU storyline. However, it’s safe to say that this intergalactic, twisty-turny threequel takes place in 2026 since it occurs after the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special in Dec. 2025. As a rule of thumb, here’s every MCU movie you should watch before starting Vol. 3.

Captain America is undergoing significant rebranding for Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World.

He’s got a different face, a different name, and is played by a different actor, so, for those who have not kept up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the last five years, the shift might be a little confusing.

Brave New World will be Anthony Mackie’s first solo headlining film as the all-American hero, replacing Chris Evans, who played the role for eight years. The 45-year-old actor first ed the franchise in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as veteran United States Air Force Pararescueman Sam Wilson, befriending the first Captain America, Steve Rogers, and becoming his faithful sidekick.

Sam Wilson’s road to becoming Captain America 151a2c

Before Sam Wilson became Captain America, he had already ed the Avengers. After following Steve Rogers in his mission to stop Hydra in The Winter Soldier, he decided to help his friend find Bucky Barnes, and, by the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, had been recruited by the super-hero team.

Sam played a huge role in Steve’s third film, even if that was more of a knock-off Avengers movie than a third Captain America installment. Steve faced off against Tony Stark after the two disagreed on whether the Avengers should be ed and supervised by the United Nations under the Sokovia Accords — a clash which was made worse by the discovery that the man Steve was trying to protect while all of this was going on, Bucky Barnes, was responsible for the murder of Tony’s parents.

After the whole ordeal, including a stint in a maximum security prison for Sam, the pair became runaways, while Bucky hid out in Wakanda. That is until an intergalactic threat against the Avengers and basically the entire universe became so great that Steve, Sam, and the rest of the gang’s infractions were quickly forgiven — enter Thanos, the mad titan set on decimating half of the existing population.

Unless you lived under a rock in 2018 and 2019, you probably know how that whole situation played out. Initially separated and spread out across different galaxies, the Avengers were no match for the purple giant and did not manage to stop him from collecting every infinity stone and seeing his plan through. After most of them, including Sam, were “blipped” — an MCU term for being turned into dust for five years — the team was down to the six original Avengers who staged a time heist to collect the same stones from different moments in the past, in order to undo Thanos’ damage. Now united, the Earth and fellow planets’ mightiest heroes finally managed to stop the enemy, unfortunately sacrificing Tony Stark in the process.

Steve Rogers was then in charge of traveling back in time again and replacing the stolen infinity stones in the specific moments they had previously been taken from, so as not to disturb the Sacred Timeline and create new branched-out parallel universes (for more on that, you’ll have to check out Loki). However, the First Avenger, who you will recall was frozen for 70 years, had different plans and took the opportunity to reunite with the love of his life, Peggy Carter, in 1949.

Back in the present timeline, Sam and Bucky spot Steve, aged 112, on a nearby park bench. He tells Sam he decided to live the life that was taken from him when he crashed into the snow in the ’40s and then gives him his shield, with it ing on the Captain America mantle. Sam accepts it, promising him he will do his best.

During Sam and Bucky’s Disney Plus The Falcon and The Winter Soldier spin-off series, we see Sam struggle with the responsibility that comes with the shield, handing it over to the U.S. government to be displayed in a museum, except they give it to an unhinged U.S. Army Captain named John Walker who takes no time soiling the name and reputation of Captain America. Thankfully, Sam soon realizes that Steve was right and that he’s the only man for the job, even if his version of The Star-Spangled Man will be different, adjusted to his personal morals and principles.

That’s where we stand ahead of Captain America: A Brave New World, which will see the newly elected president of the United States Thaddeus Ross (played by Harrison Ford, stepping in for the late William Hurt) call on Sam to make Captain America an official military position. Judging by the trailer, Sam isn’t too fond of the idea.

Captain America: A Brave New World will premiere in theatres globally Feb. 14, 2025, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.

It’s been a rough few years for Marvel — the cinematic titan that once had people flocking to the theater has had a rather tepid response to most of its releases since Endgame, and now all hope is riding on Avengers 5 (and Deadpool 3 of course).

With all the Jonathan Majors drama from last year, the studio’s plan to feature Kang the Conqueror as its next big bad of the MCU seems to have been completely scuppered. However, there are rumors that Marvel has a plan for the fifth Avengers film, and if it manages to pull it off it could very well outdo Endgame.

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So what is this supposed super plan that could save the MCU? Well, according to a rumor shared by @comicodigy on X (formerly Twitter) the next film will feature the masters of evil as the villainous group the heroes will have to face off against. Apparently, this squad of evil-doers will include quite a few well known villains from the comics including Baron Zemo, Agatha, and even Doctor Doom to name just a few.

At first glance this sounds like great news, and plenty of fans are already excited to see this come to fruition on the big screen. But let’s pause for just one second. Is this really the best plan Marvel could come up with? If you ask me there is a pretty glaring problem with this approach.

The Problem with Marvel’s plan 3i122r

It’s been done before! We’ve seen multiple villain storylines done in the MCU a ton of times and with varying degrees of success. Sure, films like Spider-Man: No Way Home were great, but for every one of those there’s an Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, M.O.D.O.K. and the Kang variants really didn’t help that movie out and it could have been better with just one villain. It’s not just a Marvel problem – DC did it with Suicide Squad and, well, we don’t talk about Suicide Squad anymore.

All this is to say, it’s a formula that Marvel has already done and will likely do again before Avengers 5 comes out. Let’s not forget, we already have a super villain team up akin to Suicide Squad coming from Marvel next year. I just think Marvel hasn’t thought this through, are they not worried that audiences will grow tired of the formula before the next Avengers?

Crossovers are cool, but bigger is not always better, the more characters added, the more the film runs the risk of becoming a bloated mess. Some fans are already criticizing the line-up, some of the villains might be cool, but many of them are D-listers at best. If you ask me, Marvel should dial it back with the villains. Endgame is a great movie, but the studio can still make a movie that’s better without overcrowding on the villain front.

Thought Endgame had a lot of characters to keep track of? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Excluding the cameos of the final battle, the grand finale to the MCU’s Infinity Saga had about 12-15 heroic characters in prominent roles. According to the latest intel on the next outing for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, meanwhile, Avengers 5 will have over 60.

As per Deadline, Marvel Studios is looking at around six-zero returning actors to reprise their roles in the film formerly known as The Kang Dynasty. Curiously, an oddball selection of potential stars is listed — Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Simu Liu, and Karen Gillian.

The grab-bag nature of this lineup makes more sense considering that Deadline also reveals that Avengers 5 will be a true “ensemble feature” with a large group of heroes having “equal footing” instead of what happened in the first four Avengers films, that saw “a handful of characters leading the team.”

In some ways, this sounds exciting, as it teases an even bigger scope than something universe-breaking like Endgame. And yet, upon closer inspection, this approach underlines the big problem the Multiverse Saga has had all along.

Avengers 5 being an “ensemble film” proves what’s been the problem with the Multiverse Saga from the start 3j2l2

It’s easy to forget now how much of a gamble 2012’s The Avengers was back in the day, as its stupendous success convinced Hollywood and the whole world that team-up movies were the peak of cinema. As we’ve seen with the likes of Justice League (and arguably its own direct sequel, 2015’s Age of Ultron), however, it’s all too easy to mess these kind of films up when they lose focus.

In The Avengers, what makes the film work is that, while the full team (barring Hawkeye) gets a fair swathe of screen time, the central arcs belongs to Iron Man and Captain America — Tony and Steve start the movie at loggerheads, with the latter convinced the former is too selfish to ever make “the sacrifice play.” Of course, two hours later, Tony has come close to sacrificing himself for the world while Steve has found a family and a place to belong in the present.

So successful was this framework that Endgame essentially copied it seven years later — except with Tony actually sacrificing himself this time and Steve finding a place to belong in the past. Meanwhile, while Ultron is a little scattershot, Infinity War‘s secret weapon was the fact the writers elected to make Thanos the main character rather than the various heroes, mapping it across his own warped hero’s quest as he amassed the Infinity Stones.

If Marvel really is making Avengers 5 an ensemble piece then clearly it hasn’t been paying attention to the fandom’s criticisms about the Multiverse Saga so far. The lack of a “main character” or focal point is at the root of many folks’ complaints about Phases Four through Five — if you look at the recent movies and shows, the overall individual quality is actually pretty high. The problem is that we just aren’t feeling the same forward momentum as we used to because there’s no Iron Man to act as the franchise’s backbone.

Avengers 5 having no main characters only emphasizes the lack of a through line in the MCU since 2019 — arguably the closest thing the Multiverse Saga has had to a protagonist is Jonathan Majors’ Kang, but obviously we’re not going to be seeing him again. I’m all for more Avengers assembling than ever before, but what’s going to keep them together if they’ve got no central hero or two to assemble around?

Avengers 5 is scheduled to release on May 1, 2026.

The Russo brothers have more than proved that they have their fingers on the pulse of pop culture. Which isn’t necessarily something we ever expected to say of two filmmakers who started their career with 2007’s You, Me, and Dupree, but there you go.

The duo have grown into two of the most successful filmmakers in cinema history, earning Marvel Studios alone a total of $6 billion across their four MCU movies to date. So when they announce that they think they know what’s really at the root of the franchise’s problems this decade, then we should probably sit up and listen as they might just have a point.

The buzzword that gets thrown around a lot to explain the MCU’s downturn is “superhero fatigue,” but when GamesRadar+ asked the Russos for their thoughts on the issue, they immediately shut it down. To them, the audience is not necessarily fatigued with superhero storytelling, but maybe they are fatigued with the way superhero storytelling is being presented to them. As Joe Russo put it:

“I think it’s a reflection of the current state of everything. It’s difficult right now, it’s an interesting time,” Russo said. “I think we’re in a transitional period and people don’t know quite yet how they’re going to receive stories moving forward, or what kinds of stories they’re going to want.”

Joe Russo believes that the younger generation, who are naturally Marvel’s main target demographic, are simply losing overall interest in theatrical cinema as a medium, which has contributed to falling ticket sales in recent years. A reminder that The Marvels was the studio’s lowest-grossing movie by some margin last November, when it only brought home $200 million worldwide (its 2019 forebear, Captain Marvel, earned five times that, don’t forget).

“There’s a big generational divide about how you consume media,” he continued. “There’s a generation that’s used to appointment viewing and going to a theater on a certain date to see something, but it’s aging out. Meanwhile the new generation are ‘I want it now, I want to process it now’, then moving onto the next thing, which they process whilst doing two other things at the same time. You know, it’s a very different moment in time than it’s ever been. And so I think everyone, including Marvel, is experiencing the same thing, this transition. And I think that really is probably what’s at play more than anything else.”

Are the Russos right about the biggest problem facing the MCU? 4x5b2a

Keeping up with changing content trends is definitely a hot-button issue for the Russos, seeing as they’ve made a lot of projects for Netflix and Prime Video in recent years, and they’re certainly correct that cinema as we know it is evolving. On the other hand, the pair do seem to be being rather diplomatic about the MCU’s own problems since they left it behind five years ago.

For starters, the lack of old favorites Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, and others has most definitely rocked audiences’ loyalty to the franchise, and the lack of a clear narrative or chief protagonist across the Multiverse Saga has arguably damaged the brand. Were people put off by The Marvels because it was released in a cinema, or because it was “just another Marvel movie” rather than a key chapter in the story?

Honestly, you could also argue that Avengers: Endgame was such an unattainable high both financially and narratively that there was nowhere to go but down for the MCU after that. The truth of superhero fatigue will be proven once James Gunn’s DCU gets cooking next year — if audiences lap up his new Superman movie and its sequels but continue to ignore Marvel then clearly the MCU’s problem isn’t with the genre or theaters, it’s that the Russos are no longer around to show ’em how it’s done.

Ant-Man just can’t catch a break; even Scott Lang himself knows that as far as the Avengers go, he’s not exactly killing it on the popularity scale, and while perhaps that makes the sparse moments with true fans more special, he’s also the Avenger that spearheaded Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. We all know there’s no recovering from that.

But there is one thing that Ant-Man has going for him; he arguably boasts the most interesting powerset of the Avengers by quite a few orders of magnitude, and “interesting” doesn’t mean the flashiest or most exciting. No, if the great Brandon Sanderson has taught us anything about magic systems (and individual superpowers totally count as their own magic systems), it’s that drawbacks and limitations are always more interesting than the powers themselves.

And Ant-Man, with his size-shifting abilities, has plenty of restrictive nuances packed into those Pym Particles, most notably the severe physiological effects he must contend with if he stays giant for too long. But, when we say “giant,” what does that mean for Ant-Man specifically?

How tall can Ant-Man get? 2k5q6y

At the moment, there’s no exact number for the limits of Ant-Man’s giant size; we know that, at one point, his limit was 65 feet, as was pointed out in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp. In Avengers: Endgame, however, he quite noticeably eclipsed that height during the final confrontation with Thanos and his army. It’s entirely possible, however, that the unique adrenaline offered by the moment was what allowed Scott to go well beyond his limit (and yes, that is perfectly acceptable logic by comic book standards), so for now, we’ll call 65 feet the effective limit on Scott’s growing abilities.

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With these numbers, Ant-Man is therefore capable of growing between roughly 11 and 12 times his regular height, which is five feet and 10 inches tall. We know this because that is the height of Paul Rudd, who plays Scott Lang, and we profoundly doubt the MCU has had the time to fuss about such details as Scott Lang’s normal, unaffected height.

How tiny can Ant-Man get? 3r633b

As for Ant-Man’s limits in the opposite direction, those are quite literally unobservable, as he’s capable of getting smaller than quarks (quarks, for the less science-inclined, are basically particles of particles). In other words, we don’t really have any way to measure how small Ant-Man can get; the best and most correct answer we can give is “small enough.”

the days when a single post from an Avenger could break the internet? Well, Chris Pratt just took us on a nostalgia-fueled trip down MCU memory lane with his latest “illegal” behind-the-scenes video.

From the looks of it, the BTS clip is from the final battle scene in Avengers: Endgame. Judging from Chris Evans’ fake shock at noticing Pratt making the video and the fact that the studio kept the film’s production under tight wraps to protect it from those sniffing around for leaks, it is easy to deduce why it used to be “illegal.”

The video is a who’s who of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ve got Dave Bautista (Drax), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda), Chris Hemsworth (who seems to be battling an invisible swarm of flies), and even a rare sighting of Chris Evans (Captain America) channeling his inner SpongeBob SquarePants. Meanwhile, Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) appears deep in thought, script in hand, while Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), and other casts make brief but impactful appearances. The presence of Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark), seemingly bored and chewing on something, adds a touch of humor to the scene.

But amidst the laughter and camaraderie, there’s a sense of bittersweetness that permeates the comments section. 

Fans have spotted Chadwick Boseman, forever our Black Panther, trying to hide his face from the camera. It strikes a chord, knowing now what we didn’t know then – that Boseman was silently battling cancer even as he suited up to save the universe.

Furthermore, if Pratt’s video is a reminder of Marvel’s glory days, it’s also a stark contrast to the company’s current state which is a mess of mediocre movies and Disney Plus shows. Fans are mourning the glory days of the MCU when every film was a must-see event and the Avengers were still assembling. 

One laments:

“When Marvel was actually worth a damn.”

While another adds:

It’s no secret that the MCU has been struggling to recapture the magic of its early phases, with a string of lackluster releases and a growing sense of superhero fatigue among audiences. Sure, there have been bright spots – Pratt’s own Guardians of the Galaxy films continue to be a blast, and Spider-Man: No Way Home proved that the MCU still has some tricks up its sleeve.

Tom Hiddleston’s performance in Loki TV series as the God of Stories was an interesting revelation, and the show’s exploration of free will and determinism was surprisingly thoughtful for a series about a guy with magic horns. Now we have Deadpool & Wolverine hanging tight to the expectation that it will revive the currently comatose MCU with the aid of Wade Wilson’s proper Marvel initiation and Wolverine’s return.

But for every hit, there seems to be a massive miss (we’re looking at you, Eternals). When your big climactic battle scene involves a bunch of CGI monsters that look like they escaped from a PlayStation 2 game, you know you’ve got problems.

Perhaps the most telling moment in the video comes from Sean Gunn’s Rocket stand-in, who quips, “I’m pretty sure I’m the most famous person here.” It’s a joke, of course, but it also says a lot about the star power the franchise is steadily losing. These were the biggest names in Hollywood, all gathered together for a common purpose. And now? Well, let’s just say the fandom would trade their souls to erase Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and M.O.D.O.K.’s minion buttocks from existence.

The MCU has become so focused on expanding its universe that it’s forgotten what made it special in the first place– the characters, the heart, and the well-written plots that left us wanting more.

That’s what makes Pratt’s video so special. It reminds us of a time when the MCU was more than just a franchise — it was a family. A dysfunctional, quippy, occasionally problematic family, sure, but a family nonetheless. And in a world where every new release feels like a calculated attempt to set up the next big thing, it’s refreshing to see these actors just being themselves.

So thank you, Chris Pratt, for this blast from the past. Maybe this video will be the wake-up call that Kevin Feige and co. need to get back to basics and what made us fall in love with these characters in the first place.