# Multiverse (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
The multiverse of the [Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-cinematic-universe) (MCU) is the franchise's fictional framework of parallel universes and branching timelines, through which [Marvel Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-studios) connects its main continuity (the Sacred Timeline, designated [Earth-616](https://www.edgepedia.org/earth-616)) with earlier, separately produced Marvel film series such as the Sony Spider-Man films and the Fox X-Men films. First hinted at in *Doctor Strange* (2016) and made central to the franchise from 2021 onward, it underpins the MCU's second narrative era, the Multiverse Saga of Phases 4 through 6.[1](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/) • [2](https://time.com/6169255/cinematic-multiverse-list/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First on-screen establishment | Marvel established a multiverse in 2016's *Doctor Strange*, with fuller introduction in *Loki* (2021) and *Spider-Man: No Way Home* (2021)[1](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/) • [2](https://time.com/6169255/cinematic-multiverse-list/) |
| Saga structure | Phases 4–6 form the Multiverse Saga, announced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 with the full Phase 5 and 6 calendar[3](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/full-list-of-all-upcoming-marvel-movies/) |
| Core mechanics | Time travel creates branching realities; the Time Variance Authority policed a single Sacred Timeline; incursions occur when two universes collide and destroy one or both[4](https://time.com/6052097/loki-time-travel/) • [5](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/everything-we-know-about-avengers-doomsday) • [6](https://marvel-universe-guide.vercel.app/sagas) |
| Designated universes | Earth-616 is the main MCU Sacred Timeline; the Fox X-Men films occupy Earth-10005[5](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/everything-we-know-about-avengers-doomsday) • [7](https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-watch-marvel-movies-in-order-mcu/) |
| Planned villain change | Kang the Conqueror was the saga's intended antagonist; the role shifted to Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., after Kang underperformed in *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* and the actor faced criminal charges in New York[3](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/full-list-of-all-upcoming-marvel-movies/) |
| Concluding films | *Avengers: Doomsday* releases December 18, 2026, followed by *Avengers: Secret Wars*, which is expected to act as a reboot of the MCU[8](https://movies.disney.com/avengers-doomsday) • [9](https://www.cinemablend.com/superheroes/marvel-cinematic-universe/ive-been-bummed-about-mcu-multiverse-saga-from-beginning-but-after-seeing-fantastic-four-totally-changed-my-tune) |
| Commercial record | Infinity Saga films averaged $982 million worldwide; Multiverse Saga films averaged $706 million, with a larger average second-weekend drop (63.66% versus 55.58%)[10](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/marvel-mcu-stakes-2026-avengers-doomsday-spider-man-brand-new-day/) |
## Origins in the Infinity Saga
The MCU's first three phases, the Infinity Saga, told a single-universe story culminating in *Avengers: Endgame* (2019). The multiverse entered the franchise gradually. Marvel established the concept in 2016's *Doctor Strange*, and the 2019 time-travel plot of *Endgame* introduced its branching rule: when the Avengers travel to the past to retrieve the [Infinity Stones](https://www.edgepedia.org/infinity-stones), their interference creates branching realities that function as alternate universes, and [Captain America](https://www.edgepedia.org/captain-america) is tasked with returning the stones so as not to create branching timelines.[1](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/) • [4](https://time.com/6052097/loki-time-travel/) • [2](https://time.com/6169255/cinematic-multiverse-list/)
**Loki and the Sacred Timeline.** The 2021 Disney+ series *Loki* made the multiverse a governing institution of the franchise. It begins with the [Time Variance Authority](https://www.edgepedia.org/time-variance-authority) (TVA) apprehending a 2012 variant of Loki for diverging from the master timeline, and reveals that many timelines and variants exist, including a female Loki, Sylvie. Loki and Sylvie discover He Who Remains, a scientist who defeated a variant of himself called [Kang the Conqueror](https://www.edgepedia.org/kang-the-conqueror) and created one true timeline to prevent Kang from ruling the whole multiverse.[4](https://time.com/6052097/loki-time-travel/) The series also explains how the Sacred Timeline branched off into the multiverse, though the multiverse is not limited to events occurring after *Loki* chronologically.[1](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/)
## The Multiverse Saga
At [San Diego Comic-Con](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-diego-comic-con) in 2022, [Kevin Feige](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-feige) revealed the full calendar for Phases Five and Six and labeled the whole span "The Multiverse Saga," the successor to the Infinity Saga of Phases 1 through 3.[3](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/full-list-of-all-upcoming-marvel-movies/) The saga's intended throughline was Kang the Conqueror, played by [Jonathan Majors](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-majors), but that plan collapsed: Kang proved unimpressive in his true debut in *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania*, and Majors faced criminal charges in New York. The saga's climax was reworked around Doctor Doom, with Robert Downey Jr. cast in the role.[3](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/full-list-of-all-upcoming-marvel-movies/)
The saga's films have varied in how much they engage the concept. Most MCU films in the new saga, including *Black Widow*, *Shang-Chi*, *Thor: Love and Thunder*, and *Thunderbolts\**, made no meaningful contact with the multiverse at all, while *Spider-Man: No Way Home*, *Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness*, and *Deadpool & Wolverine* are built around multiverse crossovers.[11](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/4-years-ago-a-surprising-sci-fi-movie-put-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-to-shame/)
## How the multiverse works in the MCU
The franchise distinguishes several mechanisms. [Time travel](https://www.edgepedia.org/time-travel) to the past creates branching timelines, separate realities that diverge from the main line; a character's variant on another branch can act independently until the TVA captures them.[4](https://time.com/6052097/loki-time-travel/) In *Loki* season 2, the sheer number of branching timelines becomes too much for the Temporal Loom to handle, and the season finale resolves the problem when Loki finds a solution involving the Loom.[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/marvel-phase-5-release-dates-new-mcu-movies-shows-lineup/)
**Incursions.** An incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide, destroying one or both entirely. After the multiverse-shaking events of *Spider-Man: No Way Home* and *Loki*, the Sacred Timeline (Earth-616) is no longer as protected as before, and *Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness* and *The Marvels* highlighted dangers threatening otherwise peaceful universes.[5](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/everything-we-know-about-avengers-doomsday) • [6](https://marvel-universe-guide.vercel.app/sagas) Incursions are positioned as the central threat leading into *Doomsday* and *Secret Wars*.[5](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/everything-we-know-about-avengers-doomsday)
## Crossovers with earlier franchises
The multiverse gave Marvel Studios a way to absorb properties made by other studios. *Spider-Man: No Way Home* (2021) brought villains from the earlier Sony Spider-Man films, played alongside [Tobey Maguire](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobey-maguire) and [Andrew Garfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-garfield)'s Spider-Men, into the MCU; by establishing that those Sony films were universes within the MCU's multiverse, the film retroactively made them part of the official storyline.[13](https://time.com/6174219/doctor-strange-2-mcu-future/) Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's films do not take place on the main MCU timeline; they are stories told across the multiverse and do not fit into the core chronology.[1](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/)
**Deadpool & Wolverine.** After Disney's 2019 merger with Fox gave Marvel Studios access to the X-Men characters, *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024) folded [Ryan Reynolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-reynolds)' Deadpool and [Hugh Jackman](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-jackman)'s Wolverine into the MCU for the first time.[14](https://apnews.com/article/41837da894418c635f96784f06241d7d) The film uses the TVA: Paradox tells Wade Wilson that his universe is dying because its "anchor being," Wolverine, was killed during the events of *Logan*, and Deadpool travels across the multiverse with a stolen TVA device to find a Wolverine variant to save his world.[15](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/deadpool-and-wolverine-ending-explained-what-it-means-for-the-mcus-x-men/1100-6525300/) • [16](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/marvel-movies/deadpool-and-wolverine-marvel-timeline-mcu/) The film functions as both Multiverse Saga lore and a meta-commentary on the Fox X-Men universe's place in the MCU, closing the book on that era while leaving the door open for future crossovers.[17](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/deadpool-wolverine-mcu-multiverse-saga-jokes-explained/)
The X-Men films themselves occupy Earth-10005, separate from the MCU, and the animated *X-Men '97* unfolds on its own timeline within the Marvel multiverse.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-watch-marvel-movies-in-order-mcu/) • [1](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/) Not every MCU project sits on the Sacred Timeline: most of Marvel's animated shows exist within the MCU but off the main chronology, and *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* takes place in its own universe, with its characters arriving in the main continuity only after the film.[18](https://www.gamesradar.com/upcoming-marvel-movies-shows/) • [9](https://www.cinemablend.com/superheroes/marvel-cinematic-universe/ive-been-bummed-about-mcu-multiverse-saga-from-beginning-but-after-seeing-fantastic-four-totally-changed-my-tune)
## Reception and commercial performance
The Multiverse Saga has underperformed its predecessor commercially. According to Comscore data, the average worldwide gross of an Infinity Saga film was $982 million, with an average $135 million domestic opening and an average 55.58% second-weekend drop; Multiverse Saga films averaged $706 million worldwide, a $126 million domestic opening, and a 63.66% second-weekend drop.[10](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/marvel-mcu-stakes-2026-avengers-doomsday-spider-man-brand-new-day/) Commentators have connected the decline to the saga's structure: the expansion of MCU content made its disjointed storytelling evident, the shift from Kang to Doctor Doom was abrupt, and many entries felt disconnected from one another.[19](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/the-biggest-lie-everyone-believes-about-the-mcus-infinity-saga-doomsday-makes-it-worse/) • [20](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-mcu-is-barely-a-shared-universe-anymore/1100-6503319/) Academic and fan commentary has described a related phenomenon of "multiverse fatigue" among audiences.[21](https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3244) A quantitative study of the franchise's character networks found that pre-*Endgame* films are embedded in substantially denser and more interconnected networks than post-*Endgame* releases.[22](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960077926002705)
## Doomsday and Secret Wars
The saga concludes with two Avengers films. *Avengers: Doomsday* releases exclusively in theaters on December 18, 2026, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Stephen McFeely; its premise places beloved heroes from three distinct universes on a deadly collision course against an existential threat, with a cast including Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom, Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Anthony Mackie, and Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen among the X-Men actors.[8](https://movies.disney.com/avengers-doomsday) Marvel released four teasers in December 2025 and January 2026 showing Steve Rogers and Thor's return, the debut of the classic X-Men, and Wakanda meeting the Fantastic Four.[5](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/everything-we-know-about-avengers-doomsday)
*Avengers: Secret Wars* follows as the saga's finale, and reporting describes it as acting as a reboot of the MCU, potentially bringing back dead characters and recasting them, with the Multiverse Saga existing in part to enable that transition.[9](https://www.cinemablend.com/superheroes/marvel-cinematic-universe/ive-been-bummed-about-mcu-multiverse-saga-from-beginning-but-after-seeing-fantastic-four-totally-changed-my-tune)
## References
1. [Marvel timeline: The MCU movies and TV shows in chronological order, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/mcu-timeline-marvel-movies-tv-shows/)
2. [A Guide to All the Major Cinematic Multiverses, TIME](https://time.com/6169255/cinematic-multiverse-list/)
3. [Your Full List of All Upcoming Marvel Movies and TV Shows, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/full-list-of-all-upcoming-marvel-movies/)
4. [Everything You Need to Know About Loki and Time Travel in the MCU, TIME](https://time.com/6052097/loki-time-travel/)
5. [Avengers: Doomsday: Release date, plot, cast, & everything else we know, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/everything-we-know-about-avengers-doomsday)
6. [The Infinity Saga vs The Multiverse Saga, Marvel Universe Guide](https://marvel-universe-guide.vercel.app/sagas)
7. [How to watch the Marvel movies in order, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-watch-marvel-movies-in-order-mcu/)
8. [Avengers: Doomsday, Disney Movies](https://movies.disney.com/avengers-doomsday)
9. [I've Been Bummed About The MCU's Multiverse Saga From The Beginning, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/superheroes/marvel-cinematic-universe/ive-been-bummed-about-mcu-multiverse-saga-from-beginning-but-after-seeing-fantastic-four-totally-changed-my-tune)
10. [2026 Could Be the Most Important Year in MCU History, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/marvel-mcu-stakes-2026-avengers-doomsday-spider-man-brand-new-day/)
11. [4 Years Ago, A Surprising Sci-fi Movie Put the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Shame, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/4-years-ago-a-surprising-sci-fi-movie-put-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-to-shame/)
12. [Marvel Phase 5 recap: everything that happened in the Multiverse Saga, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/marvel-phase-5-release-dates-new-mcu-movies-shows-lineup/)
13. [What Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Can Tell Us About the Future of the MCU, TIME](https://time.com/6174219/doctor-strange-2-mcu-future/)
14. [Deadpool & Wolverine is (almost) ready to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/41837da894418c635f96784f06241d7d)
15. [Deadpool And Wolverine Ending Explained: What It Means For The MCU's X-Men, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/deadpool-and-wolverine-ending-explained-what-it-means-for-the-mcus-x-men/1100-6525300/)
16. [When does Deadpool and Wolverine take place on the Marvel timeline?, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/marvel-movies/deadpool-and-wolverine-marvel-timeline-mcu/)
17. [How Deadpool & Wolverine Pokes Fun at the MCU Multiverse Saga, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/deadpool-wolverine-mcu-multiverse-saga-jokes-explained/)
18. [Upcoming Marvel movies and shows for 2026 and beyond, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/upcoming-marvel-movies-shows/)
19. [The Biggest Lie Everyone Believes About the MCU's Infinity Saga, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/the-biggest-lie-everyone-believes-about-the-mcus-infinity-saga-doomsday-makes-it-worse/)
20. [The MCU Is Barely A Shared Universe Anymore, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-mcu-is-barely-a-shared-universe-anymore/1100-6503319/)
21. [Fan Burnout and the Multiverse, M/C Journal](https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3244)
22. [The economics of shared cinematic universes, ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960077926002705)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Fictional worlds and series reference apparatus › Episode lists, seasons, and broadcast lifecycle › Crossovers and crossover events*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license