MCU ERA

Phase 4 — Multiverse Opens (2024–2025)

25 titles · 11 movies · 8 TV series · 6 shorts and specials · 63.2h

25 Total Titles

63.2h Runtime

12 Essential

11 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 Essential 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 Essential 5h Buy

3 Eternals The Eternals guided humanity for thousands of years without interfering, until the Emergence forced them to choose. They stop it by killing the Celestial Tiamut, whose body is left half risen from the Indian Ocean. That body is the Celestial Island the adamantium plot of Captain America: Brave New World turns on, so this film is where it comes from. Not part of the Doomsday story. Movie Essential 2.6h Buy

4 Venom: Let There Be Carnage Cletus Kasady becomes Carnage. Mid-credits: Strange's spell in No Way Home pulls Venom into the MCU. A credits scene in that film sends him back and leaves a symbiote fragment behind — 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 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Miles takes on the Spider-Society across dozens of universes. Ends on a cliffhanger; the concluding film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is due in 2027. Movie 2.3h Buy

7 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

8 The Daily Bugle (Season 1) J. Jonah Jameson's in-universe anti-Spider-Man social media series. Skippable. Special 0.3h

9 The Daily Bugle (Season 2) J. Jonah Jameson's in-universe anti-Spider-Man social media series. Skippable. Special 0.3h

10 Doctor Strange in the 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

11 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

12 Ms. Marvel (Season 1) Kamala Khan — the first character explicitly called a mutant in the MCU. Her bangle connects to the Noor Dimension. TV Series Essential 4.5h Buy

13 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

14 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

15 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

16 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 Essential 3.8h Buy

17 Ironheart (Season 1) Riri Williams builds her Iron Heart suit in Chicago, and takes on The Hood. TV Series 5h Buy

18 Werewolf by Night Halloween special. Jack Russell is the Werewolf by Night. Elsa Bloodstone claims the Bloodstone. Standalone — no Doomsday thread. Special 0.9h

19 GOTG Holiday Special Mantis is revealed as Peter's half-sister. The Guardians have bought Knowhere from the Collector as their new home. Fun — but zero Doomsday relevance. Special Essential 0.7h

20 I Am Groot (Season 1) Baby Groot animated shorts. No Doomsday thread. Special 0.4h

21 I Am Groot (Season 2) Baby Groot animated shorts. No Doomsday thread. Special 0.4h

22 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Scott and Cassie fight Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm. Kang is defeated — and a mid-credits scene shows a council of his variants planning a multiversal uprising. The Kang threat is fully unleashed. Movie Essential 2.1h Buy

23 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 Essential 2.5h Buy

24 Secret Invasion (Season 1) Rogue Skrulls bomb Moscow to start a war, and Fury comes down from space to stop them. Maria Hill and Talos are killed. No confirmed Doomsday payoff. TV Series 5.5h Buy

25 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. Movie Essential 1.8h Buy

26 Marvel Zombies Alternate universe zombie apocalypse. Not Sacred Timeline. No Doomsday connection. TV Series 2.1h Buy

Browse All MCU Eras

Legacy: WWII & The 1940s Legacy: The Fox X-Men Saga Legacy: 1990s Legacy: 2000s Legacy: Alternate Universes 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: 11 movies, 8 TV series and 6 shorts and specials. Total runtime is approximately 63.2 hours.

Which Phase 4 titles are essential?

12 titles in Phase 4 are essential to the MCU: Hawkeye (Season 1), Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel (Season 1), Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Echo (Season 1), GOTG Holiday Special, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, 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 Hawkeye (Season 1).

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