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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a media franchise and shared universe that is the setting of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios, based on characters that appear in Marvel Comics publications. Phases One, Two, and Three, were known as "The Infinity Saga", featuring many franchises and their sequels, and the first four Avengers crossover films.[1][2] Phase Four features four sequels to earlier films and three new film properties,[3] with Phase Five set to include four sequels and two new properties,[4] and Phase Six intended to feature two sequels and two new properties, including the crossover films Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).[5][6] Phases Four, Five, and Six comprise "The Multiverse Saga".[6]
Phase Four and Phase Five film actors
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Hemsworth, Johansson, Pratt, Rudd, Lilly, Cumberbatch, Holland, Larson, Wright, Mackie, Stan, and Cheadle return from the Infinity Saga to headline their own films in the Multiverse Saga. New headliners introduced for the Multiverse Saga include Liu and Chan with Phase Four, Parris, Reynolds, and Jackman with Phase Five, and Pascal and Ali with Phase Six. Downey, Jr. will star as Doctor Doom in Doomsday and Secret Wars.
As the franchise is composed of films adapted from a variety of Marvel Comics properties, there are multiple lead actors. Chris Hemsworth headlined as Thor in the Thor films in the Infinity Saga and again in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022); Chris Pratt portrays the lead character, Peter Quill / Star-Lord, in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and returns for its sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and joined Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder; Paul Rudd stars as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly co-stars as Hope van Dyne / Wasp in the Ant-Man films, with both actors returning for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023); Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Stephen Strange and appears again in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022); Tom Holland portrays Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Spider-Man films and returns in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) where he is joined by Cumberbatch; and Brie Larson portrays Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel and appears again in The Marvels (2023), along with Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.
After appearing in supporting roles in the Infinity Saga, Scarlett Johansson stars as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in Black Widow (2021), Letitia Wright stars as Shuri / Black Panther in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Anthony Mackie will headline Captain America: Brave New World (2025) as Sam Wilson / Captain America, Sebastian Stan will lead the ensemble film Thunderbolts* (2025) as Bucky Barnes, and Don Cheadle will star as James Rhodes / War Machine in Armor Wars. Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), while Gemma Chan headlines as Sersi in the ensemble film Eternals (2021). Ryan Reynolds stars as Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Hugh Jackman co-stars as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), both reprising their roles from the X-Men film series produced by 20th Century Fox. Pedro Pascal is set to lead the ensemble film The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, and Mahershala Ali is set to headline Blade as Blade. Pascal is also set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Multiple other cast members recur across multiple films and series within the franchise, while the Multiverse Saga prominently features several actors reprising their roles from prior non-MCU Marvel films produced by Fox, New Line Cinema, and Sony Pictures. In addition to Reynolds and Jackman, these include Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Thomas Haden Church, Andrew Garfield, Rhys Ifans, Jamie Foxx, and Tom Hardy in No Way Home, Patrick Stewart in Multiverse of Madness, Kelsey Grammer in The Marvels, and Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Chris Evans, Jennifer Garner, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, Dafne Keen, Shioli Kutsuna, Tyler Mane, Wesley Snipes, Karan Soni, Aaron Stanford, Lewis Tan, and Leslie Uggams in Deadpool & Wolverine. The list below is sorted by film and the character's surname, as some characters have been portrayed by multiple actors. All characters that have made appearances in other MCU media, such as the short films, television series, or digital series, are noted.
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Phase One of the franchise includes six films, featuring four different superhero properties, leading up to a crossover in the 2012 film Marvel's The Avengers. The franchise's Phase Two features three sequels to Phase One films, as well as two new film properties, and the crossover Avengers: Age of Ultron, which released in 2015. Phase Three features four sequels to earlier films, and four new film properties, as well as the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).[7] The films from Phase One through Phase Three are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga".[1][2]
The Infinity Saga saw multiple lead actors: Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark / Iron Man;[8] Edward Norton headlined The Incredible Hulk (2008), playing Bruce Banner / Hulk,[9] but did not reprise the role in the future films, being replaced by Mark Ruffalo for all subsequent films involving the character;[10] Chris Evans portrays Steve Rogers / Captain America;[11] Chris Hemsworth plays Thor;[12] Chris Pratt portrays Peter Quill / Star-Lord;[13] Paul Rudd co-stars as Scott Lang / Ant-Man with Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne / Wasp;[14] Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Stephen Strange;[15] Tom Holland portrays Peter Parker / Spider-Man;[16] Chadwick Boseman portrayed T'Challa / Black Panther;[17] and Brie Larson portrays Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel.[18]
Samuel L. Jackson had cameo and supporting appearances as Nick Fury in several of the early films in the franchise, before co-starring in The Avengers; he would continue to have supporting roles in later films as well.[19] Multiple other cast members recur across multiple films within the saga.
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Phase Four
List indicators
This section includes characters who have appeared in films in the Phase.- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
- A 5 indicates the character reappears in a Phase Five film.
- A 6 indicates the character reappears in a Phase Six film.
- A 617 indicates the character is an alternate version from Earth-617.
- An 838 indicates the character is an alternate version from Earth-838.
- An A indicates an appearance through archival footage.
- A C indicates an uncredited cameo role.
- A DS indicates the character appears in a digital series.
- An MC indicates a motion-capture-only role.
- An MS indicates the character appears in a Marvel Studios television series.
- An MT indicates the character appears in a Marvel Television series.
- An OS indicates the character appears in a One-Shot.
- A P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
- An SP indicates the character appears in a Marvel Studios Special Presentation.
- A V indicates a voice-only role.
- A Y indicates a younger version of the character.
Phase Five
List indicators
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in films in the Phase.- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence has not yet been confirmed.
- A 6 indicates the character reappears in a Phase Six film.
- An A indicates an appearance through archival footage.
- A C indicates an uncredited cameo role.
- A DS indicates the character appears in a digital series.
- An MS indicates the character appears in a Marvel Studios television series.
- An MT indicates the character appears in a Marvel Television series.
- An SP indicates the character appears in a Marvel Studios Special Presentation.
- A V indicates a voice-only role.
- A Y indicates a younger version of the character.
Phase Six
List indicators
This section includes characters who will appear in films in the Phase.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
- An MS indicates the character appears in a Marvel Studios television series.
- A V indicates a voice-only role.
| Character | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fantastic Four: First Steps |
Avengers: Doomsday |
Untitled Spider-Man: No Way Home sequel |
Avengers: Secret Wars | ||||
Introduced in The Infinity Saga | |||||||
| Clint Barton HawkeyeMS |
Jeremy Renner[210] | ||||||
| Peggy Carter | Hayley Atwell[211] | ||||||
| Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson | Zendaya[212] | ||||||
| Peter Parker Spider-Man |
Tom Holland[213][214] | ||||||
| Stephen Strange | Benedict Cumberbatch[215] | ||||||
| Sam Wilson Captain AmericaMS |
Anthony Mackie[216] | ||||||
Introduced in Marvel Television series | |||||||
| Matt Murdock DaredevilMS |
Charlie Cox[217] | ||||||
Introduced in The Fantastic Four: First Steps | |||||||
| Galactus | Ralph Ineson[218] | ||||||
| Ben Grimm Thing |
Ebon Moss-Bachrach[219][220] | Ebon Moss-Bachrach[220] | |||||
| Reed Richards Mister Fantastic |
Pedro Pascal[219][220] | Pedro Pascal[220] | |||||
| Shalla-Bal Silver Surfer |
Julia Garner[221] | ||||||
| Johnny Storm Human Torch |
Joseph Quinn[219][220] | Joseph Quinn[220] | |||||
| Susan Storm Invisible Woman |
Vanessa Kirby[219][220] | Vanessa Kirby[220] | |||||
| Victor von Doom Doctor Doom |
Robert Downey Jr.[222][223] | Robert Downey Jr.[223] | |||||
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List indicators
This section includes characters who will appear in films in the future.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
- An MS indicates the character appears in a Marvel Studios television series.
| Character | TBA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Wars | Blade | Untitled Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel | |||||
Introduced in The Infinity Saga | |||||||
| Sonny Burch | Walton Goggins[224] | ||||||
| James "Rhodey" Rhodes War Machine |
Don Cheadle[225] | ||||||
Introduced in The Multiverse Saga | |||||||
| Blade | Mahershala Ali[226] | ||||||
| Riri Williams IronheartMS |
Dominique Thorne[227] | ||||||
| Xu Shang-Chi | Simu Liu[228] | ||||||
Introduced in Blade | |||||||
| Lilith | Mia Goth[229] | ||||||
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- First appeared in Venom (2018).
- First appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
- First appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).
- First appeared in Spider-Man 3 (2007).
- First appeared in Spider-Man 2 (2004).
- First appeared in Spider-Man (2002).
- Pearson first portrayed the role in Marvel Studios' Team Thor short film series.[37]
- This is an alternate version of the character introduced in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- First appeared in Deadpool (2016).
- First appeared in X-Men (2000) portrayed by Alexander Burton.
- First appeared in Blade (1998).
- First appeared in X-Men (2000).
- First appeared in Logan (2017).
- Jackman also portrays six other versions of Wolverine in the film.[193]
- First appeared in Daredevil (2003).
- First appeared in Deadpool 2 (2018).
- First appeared in Fantastic Four (2005).
- First appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
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