The MCU is getting bigger all the time, with Marvel Studios releasing three movies and TV series apiece over the course of 2022. Just as the franchise is increasing in size, so too are the productions themselves.
Back in Phases One and Two, Marvel’s films tended to be relatively uniform in their runtimes, generally coming in at around two hours in length. However, fast forward to Phase Four, and it’s common for the movies to be pushing two and a half hours and beyond.
Ahead of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever roaring into cinemas, which will again be one of the largest entries in this universe to date, let’s run through the 10 MCU movies with the most bladder-busting, butt-numbing runtimes, as ranked from shortest to longest.
10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) — 2 hours 16 minutes
Spy thriller, The Winter Soldier, was a much more mature movie than its predecessor, the pulpy wartime adventure, Captain America: The First Avenger, and that’s something that’s reflected in its runtime, which is a full 12 minutes longer than Chris Evans’ initial go-around as Steve Rogers. This is the first Russo brothers directorial effort on this list, but, spoiler alert, it won’t be the last.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) — 2 hours 17 minutes
2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy transformed a bunch of obscure comic book heroes into some of the most beloved characters in the MCU. It’s no surprise that writer/director James Gunn handed in a longer movie with 2017’s Vol. 2, thereby allowing us to spend a little more time with the team of cosmic misfits. It’s very likely that next year’s Vol. 3 will turn out to be the lengthiest of the lot.
8. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) — 2 hours 21 minutes
With so many heroes to play with, Avengers movies are always going to be among the heftiest Marvel efforts. Interestingly, 2015’s Age of Ultron is the leanest of the four to date, despite the fact it has to deal with the rise of the eponymous evil android, the introductions of Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Quicksilver, as well as putting the entire Earth under threat yet again.
7. The Avengers (2012) — 2 hours 23 minutes
Sure enough, The Avengers was easily the longest MCU movie when it was released back in 2012. That was mostly because it had so much heavy-lifting to do in bringing the characters we had previously met in the likes of Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and The First Avenger together for the first time, not to mention debuting a whole new Hulk in the form of Mark Ruffalo.
6. Captain America: Civil War (2016) — 2 hours 27 minutes
To be honest, there’s so much going on in Civil War that it’s actually kind of impressive that the Russos managed to keep the runtime under two and a half hours. Not only does it have to act as a Cap story, it also has to establish the Sokovia Accords conflict and deliver a satisfactory battle between our heroes. That’s not to mention that it need to introduce Tom Holland as Spider-Man somewhere along the way.
5. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) — 2 hours 28 minutes
The first two installments of Marvel’s Spider-Man trilogy are middle-range entries in terms of runtime—coming in at two hours and 13 minutes for Homecoming and two hours and nine minutes for Far From Home. The Multiversal third installment, No Way Home, was naturally a lot chunkier given its quintet of classic villains, a role for Doctor Strange and, oh yeah, the return of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) — 2 hour 29 minutes
Continuing their streak of making each successive movie longer than the last, the Russos turned in yet another mammoth serving of Marvel goodness with Avengers: Infinity War. Despite telling only half the story for The Infinity Saga‘s conclusion, it still has more than enough going on to justify its two and a half hours of Avengers versus Thanos action.
3. Eternals (2021) — 2 hours 37 minutes
Ah, Eternals. Although there is a fervent subset of fans who adore it, Chloe Zhao’s surprisingly Zack Snyder-like epic was blasted by critics at the time of its release, partly for what was seen as an overly indulgent runtime. While Eternals perhaps doesn’t necessarily need to be pushing three hours in terms of its plot, the extra length does help Zhao craft a very different tone and feel from the rest of the MCU.
2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) — 2 hours 41 minutes
2018’s Black Panther missed out on a space in this ranking with its two hours and 14 minute runtime, but Wakanda Forever is coming in almost a full half hour longer. Considering all that Ryan Coogler’s sequel has to juggle, that is completely fair enough. Not only does it have to pay homage to Chadwick Boseman, but we’ve got to get used to our next Black Panther and meet new villain Namor.
1. Avengers: Endgame (2019) — 3 hours 2 minutes
It’s usually more of a DC move to dish out a movie that’s three hours long. Avengers: Endgame was such a special case that clearly Marvel decided to go for broke with this one and hand it a Lord of the Rings-level runtime. The funny thing is that Endgame had so much to do, in terms of wrapping up the first decade of the MCU in a satisfying way, that many fans wish it had been even longer.
