Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The phase, which began with Captain America: Civil War in May 2016, features individual superhero films that build to the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). It includes two Spider-Man films that were co-productions between Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures, including Spider-Man: Far From Home which ended Phase Three in July 2019. Phases One, Two, and Three make up "The Infinity Saga" storyline.
Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase, with Amy Pascal also producing Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Far From Home, and Stephen Broussard also producing Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely collaborated with the creative teams for each film in the phase. The films star Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America in Civil War, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange (2016), Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Spider-Man films, Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther in Black Panther (2018), Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne / Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel in Captain Marvel (2019); all returned for one or both of the crossover films. Evans and Holland have the most appearances in the phase, each starring or making cameo appearances in five films. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed the films except for the Spider-Man films, which were released by Sony Pictures Releasing. The phase's films grossed over billion at the global box office and received generally positive critical and public responses. Endgame became the highest-grossing film at the time. The phase is seen as the franchise's best, with consistent quality and a cohesive overarching story.
Each feature film received tie-in comic books and some were marketed using the in-universe news shows WHIH Newsfront and The Daily Bugle. Marvel Studios also released the Team Thor mockumentary shorts series which expand on Thor's portrayal in Ragnarok. In 2024, a group of television series based on Marvel Comics that were produced by Marvel Television, separately from Marvel Studios, for the streaming service Netflix were retroactively added to the MCU timeline, primarily alongside Phase Three content.
Development
On October 28, 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the full slate of films that the studio planned to release as part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Captain America: Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Captain Marvel (2018), and Inhumans (2018), as well as the culminating crossover films Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 (2019). Feige made this announcement at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, in an event that drew comparisons to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Feige explained that the studio had wanted to announce all of the titles at San Diego Comic-Con earlier in 2014, but "things were not set" for the slate at that point, so the one-off event was used instead once all of the films could be confirmed. Marvel Studios had never done a solo event such as this before. Feige anticipated that it would occur in early August or mid-September before the October date was settled on.
The 2014 Sony Pictures hack, which saw confidential Sony Pictures data being leaked online, revealed that Sony and Marvel were having conversations about potentially sharing the popular Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Marvel wanted to introduce a new version of Spider-Man in Civil War and then have the character continue working with the Avengers in future films, while allowing Sony to keep creative control and use him in their own Spider-Man movies and spin-offs. There was also potential for Sony to use some of Marvel's characters. On February 9, 2015, Marvel officially announced a deal with Sony Pictures to allow Spider-Man to appear in the MCU. In June, Tom Holland was revealed to have been cast as Peter Parker / Spider-Man for Civil War and the next Sony Spider-Man film, later announced as Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). The addition of Homecoming and the Ant-Man sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) to the Phase Three slate led to date changes for Ragnarok (later in 2017), Black Panther (2018), and Captain Marvel (2019). Inhumans was removed from the release schedule, though it was not outright canceled. In November 2016, Feige said "Inhumans will happen for sure. I don't know when. I think it's happening on television. And I think as we get into Phase Four as I've always said, it could happen as a movie." Shortly after, Marvel Television and IMAX Corporation announced the eight-episode television series Inhumans (2017), to be produced with ABC Studios and air on ABC; Marvel Studios decided that the characters were better suited to television, rather than trying to fit multiple potential Inhumans franchise films around the studio's existing film slate. The Inhumans series was not intended to be a reworking of the planned film.
In July 2016, Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 was retitled Avengers: Infinity War, while Part 2 was left untitled until the release of its first teaser trailer in December 2018, when it was revealed to be Avengers: Endgame. After the title was revealed, Feige said withholding it for so long had backfired on the studio due to the high expectations that fans had set for the reveal. Despite this, Feige stood by the decision. He explained that the October 2014 Infinity War announcement had taken attention away from Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and the studio did not want to repeat that mistake by announcing Endgame title before Infinity War was released. Sony confirmed a sequel to Homecoming, later titled Spider-Man: Far From Home, in December 2016. It was scheduled for release in July 2019, shortly after Endgame premiere. Sony's insistence that the sequel be released in 2019 clashed with Marvel's MCU plans considering the character dies at the end of Infinity War and is not resurrected until Endgame, by which time marketing for Far From Home had begun. It was believed to be the first film in Phase Four until April 2019, when Feige said Far From Home would be the final film of Phase Three. In June, he added that the film would be the conclusion to the MCU's "The Infinity Saga" storyline.
Marvel Studios was integrated into Walt Disney Studios in 2015, with Feige reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter. All key film decisions moving forward were to be made by Feige and executives at Marvel Studios rather than the Marvel Entertainment "creative committee" that was involved in earlier MCU films. Following this change, a new Marvel Studios logo was introduced in July 2016 to be featured at the start of new MCU films. It features imagery from the MCU rather than Marvel's general history and the comics. The logo is accompanied by a new fanfare composed by Michael Giacchino. Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame were directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. There was a large amount of collaboration between them and the other Phase Three directors and writers to make sure "everything line[d] up right" for the MCU's culmination in Infinity War and Endgame. Peyton Reed, director of Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp, felt the relationship and collaboration between the Phase Three directors was "probably the closest thing that this generation will have to a '30s- or '40s-era studio system where you are all on the lot and you are all working on different things".
Films
+ Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s) Captain America: Civil War Anthony and Joe Russo Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely Kevin Feige Doctor Strange Scott Derrickson Jon Spaihts and Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 James Gunn Spider-Man: Homecoming Jon Watts Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley and Jon Watts & Christopher Ford and & Erik Sommers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal Thor: Ragnarok Taika Waititi Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher L. Yost Kevin Feige Black Panther Ryan Coogler Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole Avengers: Infinity War Anthony and Joe Russo Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely Ant-Man and the Wasp Peyton Reed Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Paul Rudd & Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard Captain Marvel Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet Kevin Feige Avengers: Endgame Anthony and Joe Russo Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely Spider-Man: Far From Home Jon Watts Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The Avengers become fractured into two opposing teams, one led by Steve Rogers and another by Tony Stark, after extensive collateral damage prompts the United Nations to pass an act regulating superhuman activity with government oversight and accountability for the Avengers. They also face a new enemy, Helmut Zemo, who seeks revenge upon the Avengers.
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. 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. The film is an adaptation from the "Civil War" storyline in the comics. It is also the first film of Phase Three. Filming began in April 2015 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and concluded in August 2015. Captain America: Civil War had its premiere in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on April 12, 2016, was released internationally beginning April 27, and was released on May 6 in the United States.
Civil War is set one year after the events of Age of Ultron. It introduces Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther ahead of their own films. William Hurt reprises his role as Thaddeus Ross from The Incredible Hulk (2008), with the character now being the U.S. Secretary of State. For the mid-credits scene, in which T'Challa offers Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes asylum in Wakanda, the filmmakers received input from Black Panther director Ryan Coogler on the look and design of Wakanda.
Doctor Strange (2016)
When a car accident ruins the career of Dr. Stephen Strange, the world's top neurosurgeon, he sets out on a journey of healing and encounters the Ancient One, who teaches Strange how to use the Mystic Arts and to defend the Earth from mystical threats.