MCU Phases Explained: Phase 1 Through Phase 6
There are six MCU phases so far: Phases 1 to 3 form the Infinity Saga, and Phases 4 to 6 form the Multiverse Saga, which ends with Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027.
Each phase below lists every film, series and special with its US release date. Use the phase filter in the checklist to track one phase at a time.
Phase lists from Marvel.com and Wikipedia’s MCU phase articles, checked 23 October 2026 · Unofficial fan guide
The MCU is currently in Phase Six, which started with The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025. Phase Six includes Spider-Man: Brand New Day, VisionQuest and Avengers: Doomsday, which opens on 18 December 2026.
Knowing the Marvel phase order helps you plan a marathon, because each phase ends with a big payoff. To track your progress phase by phase, use the Marvel movies in order checklist and pick a phase under Advanced.
What is an MCU Phase?
An MCU phase is a group of films and series that Marvel Studios plans and releases together. Each phase builds toward a big team-up or turning point, such as The Avengers at the end of Phase One or Avengers: Endgame at the end of Phase Three.
Phases are grouped into sagas. The Infinity Saga covers Phases One to Three and follows the Infinity Stones, while the Multiverse Saga covers Phases Four to Six and deals with branching realities.
| Phase | Films | Film hours | All MCU titles | All hours (≈) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase One | 6 | 12.4 | 9 | 12.7 |
| Phase Two | 6 | 12.6 | 8 | 13.1 |
| Phase Three | 11 | 24.9 | 11 | 24.9 |
| Phase Four | 7 | 16.3 | 18 | 59.0 |
| Phase Five | 6 | 12.5 | 15 | 54.1 |
| Phase Six | 2 | 4.3 | 8 | 27.4 |
| Total | 38 | 83.1 | 69 | 191.2 |
Phase 1: The Infinity Saga begins (2008-2012)
MCU Phase 1 introduces the founding Avengers one by one, starting with Iron Man in May 2008. Nick Fury links the films together, and the phase ends with The Avengers in May 2012, when the team forms to stop Loki.
| Title | Type | US release |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Man | Film | 2 May 2008 |
| The Incredible Hulk | Film | 13 Jun 2008 |
| Iron Man 2 | Film | 7 May 2010 |
| Thor | Film | 6 May 2011 |
| Captain America: The First Avenger | Film | 22 Jul 2011 |
| The Consultant | One-Shot | 13 Sep 2011 |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer | One-Shot | 25 Oct 2011 |
| The Avengers | Film | 4 May 2012 |
| Item 47 | One-Shot | 25 Sep 2012 |
Phase 2: Expanding the universe (2013-2015)
Phase Two takes the heroes in new directions after the Battle of New York. Guardians of the Galaxy opens up the cosmic side of the MCU, The Winter Soldier turns S.H.I.E.L.D. upside down, and the phase ends with Ant-Man in July 2015.
| Title | Type | US release |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Man 3 | Film | 3 May 2013 |
| Agent Carter | One-Shot | 3 Sep 2013 |
| Thor: The Dark World | Film | 8 Nov 2013 |
| All Hail the King | One-Shot | 4 Feb 2014 |
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Film | 4 Apr 2014 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | Film | 1 Aug 2014 |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | Film | 1 May 2015 |
| Ant-Man | Film | 17 Jul 2015 |
Phase 3: The Infinity Saga finale (2016-2019)
Phase Three is the biggest phase of the Infinity Saga, with 11 films. Civil War splits the Avengers, Black Panther and Spider-Man join, and Thanos finally arrives in Avengers: Infinity War before Endgame closes the story.
| Title | Type | US release |
|---|---|---|
| Captain America: Civil War | Film | 6 May 2016 |
| Doctor Strange | Film | 4 Nov 2016 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Film | 5 May 2017 |
| Spider-Man: Homecoming | Film | 7 Jul 2017 |
| Thor: Ragnarok | Film | 3 Nov 2017 |
| Black Panther | Film | 16 Feb 2018 |
| Avengers: Infinity War | Film | 27 Apr 2018 |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | Film | 6 Jul 2018 |
| Captain Marvel | Film | 8 Mar 2019 |
| Avengers: Endgame | Film | 26 Apr 2019 |
| Spider-Man: Far From Home | Film | 2 Jul 2019 |
Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 2019) is the last Phase Three film and works as an epilogue to Endgame. You see Peter Parker deal with the loss of Tony Stark, so watch it straight after Endgame.
Phase 4: Multiverse Saga begins (2021-2022)
MCU Phase 4 starts on Disney+ with WandaVision in January 2021 and is the first phase to include series. It deals with life after Endgame and opens the multiverse through Loki, No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness.
| Title | Type | US release |
|---|---|---|
| WandaVision | Series | 15 Jan 2021 |
| The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Series | 19 Mar 2021 |
| Loki (season 1) | Series | 9 Jun 2021 |
| Black Widow | Film | 9 Jul 2021 |
| What If…? (season 1) | Animated series | 11 Aug 2021 |
| Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Film | 3 Sep 2021 |
| Eternals | Film | 5 Nov 2021 |
| Hawkeye | Series | 24 Nov 2021 |
| Spider-Man: No Way Home | Film | 17 Dec 2021 |
| Moon Knight | Series | 30 Mar 2022 |
| Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Film | 6 May 2022 |
| Ms. Marvel | Series | 8 Jun 2022 |
| Thor: Love and Thunder | Film | 8 Jul 2022 |
| I Am Groot (season 1) | Animated series | 10 Aug 2022 |
| She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Series | 18 Aug 2022 |
| Werewolf by Night | Special | 7 Oct 2022 |
| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Film | 11 Nov 2022 |
| The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special | Special | 25 Nov 2022 |
Phase 5: Multiverse expands (2023-2025)
MCU Phase 5 begins with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in February 2023. It brings the Fox universe in through Deadpool & Wolverine, introduces the Thunderbolts and ends with Ironheart on Disney+ in June 2025.
| Title | Type | US release |
|---|---|---|
| Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania | Film | 17 Feb 2023 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Film | 5 May 2023 |
| Secret Invasion | Series | 21 Jun 2023 |
| I Am Groot (season 2) | Animated series | 6 Sep 2023 |
| Loki (season 2) | Series | 5 Oct 2023 |
| The Marvels | Film | 10 Nov 2023 |
| What If…? (season 2) | Animated series | 22 Dec 2023 |
| Echo | Series | 9 Jan 2024 |
| Deadpool & Wolverine | Film | 26 Jul 2024 |
| Agatha All Along | Series | 18 Sep 2024 |
| What If…? (season 3) | Animated series | 22 Dec 2024 |
| Captain America: Brave New World | Film | 14 Feb 2025 |
| Daredevil: Born Again (season 1) | Series | 4 Mar 2025 |
| Thunderbolts* | Film | 2 May 2025 |
| Ironheart | Series | 24 Jun 2025 |
Phase 6: The Multiverse Saga finale (2025-2027)
MCU Phase 6 opens with The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025 and builds toward two Avengers films. Avengers: Doomsday arrives on 18 December 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars closes the phase and the Multiverse Saga on 17 December 2027.
| Title | Type | US release |
|---|---|---|
| The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Film | 25 Jul 2025 |
| Eyes of Wakanda | Animated series | 1 Aug 2025 |
| Marvel Zombies (season 1) | Animated series | 24 Sep 2025 |
| Wonder Man | Series | 27 Jan 2026 |
| Daredevil: Born Again (season 2) | Series | 24 Mar 2026 |
| The Punisher: One Last Kill | Special | 12 May 2026 |
| Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Film | 31 Jul 2026 |
| VisionQuest | Series | 13 Oct 2026 |
| Avengers: Doomsday | Film | 18 Dec 2026 (upcoming) |
| Avengers: Secret Wars | Film | 17 Dec 2027 (upcoming) |
| Daredevil: Born Again (season 3) | Series | March 2027 (month announced) |
| Marvel Zombies: The Winter Soldier | Animated special | October 2027 (month announced) |
Phase Six is still running, so this guide changes as new titles come out. For what to catch up on before the next film, see what to watch before Avengers: Doomsday.
The Sagas: Infinity vs. Multiverse
The Marvel Infinity Saga follows the six Infinity Stones from Iron Man (2008) to Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Thanos is the villain behind it all, and the 23 films tell one story that ends with Avengers: Endgame.
The Marvel Multiverse Saga starts with WandaVision (2021) and is about branching realities and the threats they bring. It mixes films and Disney+ series, so it has more titles but fewer films per phase. For where each title lands in the story, see the MCU timeline, and for every film in one table, the MCU movie list.
MCU phases FAQ
What are the Phases of the MCU?
The MCU phases are the groups Marvel Studios uses to plan its releases. Phase One runs from 2008 to 2012, Phase Two from 2013 to 2015 and Phase Three from 2016 to 2019, together forming the Infinity Saga. Phase Four (2021 to 2022), Phase Five (2023 to 2025) and Phase Six (2025 to 2027) form the Multiverse Saga.
How many MCU Phases are there?
There are six MCU phases so far. Phases One to Three make up the Infinity Saga, which ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019. Phases Four to Six make up the Multiverse Saga, which ends with Avengers: Secret Wars on 17 December 2027. Marvel has not announced what comes after Phase Six.
What Phase is the MCU currently in?
The MCU is currently in Phase Six. It began with The Fantastic Four: First Steps on 25 July 2025 and has continued with Wonder Man, Daredevil: Born Again season 2, The Punisher: One Last Kill, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and VisionQuest. Avengers: Doomsday is the next Phase Six film, out on 18 December 2026.
What movies are in Phase 1 of the MCU?
Phase One has six films: Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). It also includes three Marvel One-Shots released on home video. Together the six films run about 12 hours and introduce every founding member of the Avengers.
What is the difference between Phase and Saga in the MCU?
A phase is a smaller group of releases, usually three to four years long, that builds to one big event. A saga is a group of phases that tells one larger story. The Infinity Saga combines Phases One to Three around the Infinity Stones, and the Multiverse Saga combines Phases Four to Six around the multiverse.
When does Phase 6 end?
Phase Six ends with Avengers: Secret Wars, which Marvel has scheduled for 17 December 2027. That film also ends the Multiverse Saga. Before it, Phase Six still has Avengers: Doomsday on 18 December 2026, Daredevil: Born Again season 3 in March 2027 and the animated special Marvel Zombies: The Winter Soldier in October 2027.
Pick a phase in the checklist on our home page and tick off each title as you go.