Marvel Studios has done a lot to change the face of cinema over the past ten years. They ushered in the age of the shared universe, the dominance of superhero movies and, perhaps most impressively, managed to produce an incredible 21 movies in that time. For comparison’s sake, the James Bond franchise took 50 years to reach its 23rd film.
What other studios have failed to realize when attempting to copy Marvel’s formula, however, is that their phenomenal success and groundbreaking world-building came off the back of a series of popular, well-made origins movies. Once Iron Man, Captain America and Thor were introduced to the moviegoing public with aplomb, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was allowed to fly off in multiple directions, even turning obscure comic book properties like Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther into smash-hit films and offering fresh takes on old favorites, like Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s been a long but legendary journey, then, and this epic fan-made video is on hand to celebrate the whole thing.
Lovingly made by YouTube user The Captain, the 16-minute clip above pays tribute to the first ten years of Marvel Studios by telling the story of the MCU so far in miniature, going from the climactic moments of 2008’s Iron Man to the shocking denouement of Avengers: Infinity War. The awesome thing about the MCU is that this tribute, while definitive at present, will quickly become out of date.
There’s no Ant-Man and the Wasp, for example, which has just hit theaters. Following that, 2019 will see three more new films from the franchise arrive – namely, Captain Marvel, Avengers 4 and Spider-Man: Far From Home. These should be hugely important additions to the MCU, too, as they promise to bring Phase Three to a spectacular close and pave the way for the new beginning that is Phase Four.
Staying in the here and now, though, all we’d like to say is Happy 10th Birthday, Marvel Studios – here’s to the next decade!
