The Marvel Cinematic Universe that began with the release of Iron Man in 2008 is unique in cinematic history. An interconnected series that currently includes over 50 films and television series, it tells a continuing universal story, with one entry building upon the previous to create an immersive fictional world. While fans of the MCU find this linked world and its many Easter eggs exhilarating, it can prove to be daunting for anyone new to jump into the series with such a storied legacy. It seems Marvel Studios Head Kevin Feige agrees and is planning on doing something about it.

In a recent interview with ComicBook, Feige discussed the recent move to separate the MCU’s film, television, and animation projects in an effort to make the MCU more accessible to new viewers. For several years, Marvel Studios and Marvel Television co-existed, with the former producing movies under the guidance of Feige, and the latter delivering TV shows, headed up by Jeph Loeb. While there were several character ties between the two arms of Marvel, it became clear over the years that things were never quite in sync, with shows such as Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD throwing up major discrepancies like not recognizing the rules of time-travel and five-year time jump that were introduced in Avengers: Endgame. In 2019, things changed with Marvel Television and Marvel Family Entertainment being brought under the Marvel Studios banner, under Feige’s direct control.

Five years later, ironically, it seems that Marvel Studios is once again splitting itself into different banners, albeit, with all of them still falling under the Marvel Studios umbrella. As Feige explained:

It’s all still under Marvel Studios, which is not the case with the previous incarnation of Marvel Television. One reason we wanted to do that is so that the animation team—the Marvel Animation team that just did
X-Men
’97—has a bunch of great shows ready and coming out.

The hope is that this will open the MCU up to a wider audience who will no longer feel overwhelmed by where to begin. Feige continues,

Then with Marvel Television, to focus it so that people realize that, like the comics, you can tap into something interesting. It’s not all required viewing. There’s a sense of where people say superhero fatigue or have to say they’re doing homework, but these are all individual stories meant to be singular entities. The connectivity is a bonus and something people like.

The Ever-Widening World of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

While Marvel Studios works to create new avenues for the audience to discover the joys of the MCU, it’s also working to expand that very universe by leaps and bounds. With over 20 years of modern Marvel storytelling on both the big and small screen, the acquisition of 20th Century Fox and the integration of Marvel Entertainment has brought many characters back into the Marvel fold. Thanks to the introduction of the multiverse, many of those characters have made unexpected returns to the franchise.

Over the last three years, this has seen the return of characters from Marvel Television’s The Defenders Saga, namely Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. With the two actors having made several appearances in projects like Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo, 2025 will see the arrival of many more familiar faces in Daredevil:Born Again. While that series originally planned to be a fresh start for Cox’s vigilante, a change of direction has fully embraced the character’s past in Netflix’s Daredevil series. While it seems the MCU will play with the timeline of The Defenders series, their incorporation into the official MCU timeline on Disney+ indicates that they are now considered cannon by Marvel Studios.

Related Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Set to Join His MCU Stars With Prestigious Honor The Oscar-nominated producer is being honored for his leadership of the MCU, with Deadpool & Wolverine stars in attendance.

This week Deadpool & Wolverine bursts onto screens, bringing with it many characters and references to the old Fox universe of the X-Men. Via the antics of the fourth-wall-breaking anti-hero, Deadpool & Wolverine promises to introduce both known variants of beloved X-Men characters (complete with a fight in front of the old Fox logo), and new variants, such as Wolverine in his iconic comic book accurate yellow and blue costume, previously unseen on films.

The introduction of these new characters into MCU canon could make it an even more daunting prospect for new audience members to discover the joys of Marvel’s storytelling. Which makes this a perfect time to introduce some separation between the films, television, and animation in hopes of capturing an audience that might enjoy the individual stories, but be afraid of embracing the universe as a whole.

Deadpool & Wolverine
releases in theaters on July 26, 2024.