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MCU ERA

Phase 4 — Multiverse Opens (2024–2025)

25 titles · 10 movies · 8 TV series · 61.8h

25 Total Titles
61.8h Runtime
8 Essential
10 Movies
8 TV Series

The Multiverse opening phase marks the MCU's transition from the Infinity Saga's closed-universe storytelling to the open, parallel-reality architecture of the Multiverse Saga. Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania collectively establish the new cosmological rules while introducing the franchise's next generation of heroes.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the phase's most significant theatrical event: the multiverse opening that allows three generations of Spider-Man to coexist, resolves Peter Parker's MCU arc definitively, and functions as both a crowd-pleasing reunion and a genuine farewell. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness then takes the multiverse seriously as a threat rather than a toy. The phase is uneven — Eternals in particular is divisive — but the multiverse infrastructure it establishes is load-bearing for everything that follows in Phases 5 and 6.

Watch Order — Story Sequence

1 Black Widow (Post-Credit Scene) Valentina sends Yelena to kill Clint Barton (Hawkeye) — blaming him for Natasha's death. The chain that leads to Hawkeye, then to Thunderbolts*, then to Doomsday. Special 0.1h
2 Hawkeye (Season 1) Kate Bishop becomes Hawkeye. Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) returns as the crime boss behind it all — directly setting up his Born Again arc as Mayor of New York. TV Series 5h Buy
3 Eternals The Eternals were created to farm civilizations for new Celestials. They stop the Emergence. Standalone story — no confirmed Doomsday payoff. Movie 2.6h Buy
4 Venom: Let There Be Carnage Cletus Kasady becomes Carnage. Mid-credits: Venom briefly crosses into the MCU via Strange's NWH spell — leaving a symbiote fragment behind in the MCU timeline. That fragment is the bridge to the MCU's Venom future. Movie 1.6h Buy
5 Spider-Man: No Way Home Peter asks Strange to make the world forget he's Spider-Man — the spell goes wrong and pulls in multiverse villains and both Tobey and Andrew's Spider-Men. Aunt May dies. All three Peters cure the villains. Strange wipes everyone's memory of Peter — he starts completely alone. Movie Essential 2.5h Buy
6 Morbius Sony SSU. Tangential MCU link: Vulture is transported to the SSU by NWH's spell and proposes a villain team to Morbius. Widely considered poor quality. Movie 1.7h Buy
7 The Daily Bugle (Season 1) J. Jonah Jameson's in-universe anti-Spider-Man social media series. Skippable. Special 0.3h
8 The Daily Bugle (Season 2) J. Jonah Jameson's in-universe anti-Spider-Man social media series. Skippable. Special 0.3h
9 Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness Wanda (Scarlet Witch) is the villain — she dreamwalks universes to find her children, destroying the Illuminati including Professor X. Incursions (universe-collisions) are introduced as the multiverse's great danger. Strange confirmed for Doomsday. Movie Essential 2.1h Buy
10 Moon Knight (Season 1) Marc Spector and Egyptian god Khonshu. Confirmed not in Doomsday — Moon Knight's next appearance is in Born Again S2 in New York. TV Series 4.5h Buy
11 Ms. Marvel (Season 1) Kamala Khan — the first character explicitly called a mutant in the MCU. Her bangle connects to the Noor Dimension. Kamala confirmed for Doomsday. TV Series Essential 4.5h Buy
12 Thor: Love and Thunder Jane Foster wields Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor — and dies of cancer after the final battle. Thor adopts Gorr's daughter Love. Love appears in Doomsday trailers. Thor confirmed for Doomsday. Movie Essential 2h Buy
13 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever T'Challa has died. Shuri becomes the new Black Panther. Namor and Talokan are introduced. Shuri and Namor both confirmed for Doomsday. Movie Essential 2.7h Buy
14 She-Hulk (Season 1) Jennifer Walters becomes She-Hulk. Daredevil cameo in episode 8. Fourth-wall-breaking finale. No confirmed Doomsday thread. TV Series 6h Buy
15 Echo (Season 1) Maya Lopez standalone. Kingpin reveals his political ambitions — Mayor of New York — which Born Again S1 and S2 directly continue. TV Series 3.8h Buy
16 Ironheart (Season 1) Riri Williams builds her Iron Heart suit in Chicago. She's confirmed for Doomsday — likely filling the 'genius inventor' role Tony left behind. TV Series Essential 5h Buy
17 Werewolf by Night Halloween special. Jack Russell is the Werewolf by Night. Elsa Bloodstone claims the Bloodstone. Standalone — no Doomsday thread. Special 0.9h
18 GOTG Holiday Special Mantis is revealed as Peter's half-sister. The Guardians give Peter Knowhere as a Christmas gift. Fun — but zero Doomsday relevance. Special 0.7h
19 I Am Groot (Season 1) Baby Groot animated shorts. No Doomsday thread. Special 0.4h
20 I Am Groot (Season 2) Teen Groot animated shorts. No Doomsday thread. Special 0.4h
21 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Scott and Cassie fight Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm. Kang is defeated — and the post-credits shows the Council of Kangs alarmed that he was killed by ants. The Kang threat is fully unleashed. Movie Essential 2.1h Buy
22 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Rocket's heartbreaking origin — experimented on by the High Evolutionary. The team's emotional farewell: Peter returns to Earth, Rocket leads new Guardians. No confirmed Doomsday payoff. Movie 2.5h Buy
23 Secret Invasion (Season 1) Rogue Skrulls attempt a nuclear attack. Fury's post-Endgame Skrull replacement revealed. No confirmed Doomsday payoff. TV Series 5.5h Buy
24 The Marvels Carol, Kamala and Monica's powers become entangled — they swap places when using them. Monica enters a hole in space and ends up in an alternate universe. Carol and Kamala both confirmed for Doomsday. Movie Essential 1.8h Buy
25 Marvel Zombies Alternate universe zombie apocalypse. Not Sacred Timeline. No Doomsday connection. TV Series 3h Buy

Browse All MCU Eras

Legacy: WWII & The 1940s Legacy: 1960s Legacy: 1990s Legacy: 2000s Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3A Phase 3B Phase 3C Legacy: Future Phase 4 Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6

Frequently Asked Questions

How many titles are in Phase 4?

Phase 4 contains 25 MCU titles: 10 movies, 8 TV series, and 7 shorts/specials. Total runtime is approximately 61.8 hours.

Which Phase 4 titles are essential?

8 titles in Phase 4 are essential for following the main Avengers storyline: Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel (Season 1), Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart (Season 1), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels.

What is the best order to watch Phase 4?

The story order listed above is recommended — it follows the in-universe timeline rather than release dates. Begin with Black Widow (Post-Credit Scene).

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