Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a series of American superhero movies produced by Marvel Studios and based on the characters that appear in  Marvel Comics publications. This phase began  with the release of Iron Man in 2008 and ended with the release of Marvel's The Avengers in 2012. Kevin Feige made all the films at this stage, and alongside  Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk's Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd also made the Incredible Hulk. The six films in this phase have earned over US $ 3.8 billion in box office revenue worldwide and have been generally well received by critics and the general public. 

 Samuel L Jackson made the most appearances in this phase, starring or  cameo  in five of the Phase 1 films. Meanwhile, Avengers actors  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner have signed the stars in many films. Marvel Studios has expanded the MCU by creating three short films for the Marvel One-Shot program. On the other hand, each  feature film received, linked, and adapted comics and video games. Phase 1 together with Phase 2 and Phase 3 form Infinity Saga.




Development of the marvel movies


Marvel gained the film rights to Iron Man in November 2005 from New Line Cinema. In February 2006, Marvel announced that they had gained the film rights to Hulk from Universal, in exchange for letting Universal own the distribution rights to The Incredible Hulk and the right of first refusal to pick up the distribution rights to any future Marvel Studios-produced Hulk films. In April 2006, Thor was announced to be a Marvel Studios production. Soon after, Lions Gate Entertainment dropped the Black Widow project it had been working on since 2004, giving the rights back to Marvel.

 Kevin Feige was named President of Production at Marvel Studios in March 2007 as Iron Man began filming. After the successful opening weekend of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that Iron Man 2 would be released on April 30, 2010, followed by Thor on June 4, 2010, Captain America :The First Avenger on May 6, 2011, and the team-up film The Avengers on July 15, 2011, which would feature Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, and Thor. In March 2009, Marvel adjusted their release schedule, moving Thor first to June 17, 2011 and later May 20, 2011,The First Avenger: Captain America to July 22, 2011, and The Avengers to May 4, 2012.

 In January 2010, Thor`s release date moved once again, to May 6, 2011.That April, Marvel changed the title of The First Avenger: Captain America to Captain America: The First Avenger. On October 18, 2010, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures acquired the distribution rights for The Avengers from Paramount Pictures, with Paramount's logo and credit remaining on the films and on July 2, 2013, Disney purchased the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger from Paramount. Edgar Wright's pitch for Ant-Man in 2006 helped shape the early films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige said some of the MCU was changed to "accommodate this version" of the film, as that version "helped to dictate what we did with the roster for Avengers the first time. It was a bit of both in terms of his idea for the Ant-Man story influencing the birth of the MCU in the early films leading up to Avengers."


Films of Marvel Phase one