The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a rich tapestry. There are multiple connections throughout the vast universe that are presented through multiple films and television series; so many, that it can be hard to keep track of the correct, chronological MCU timeline.
We like to consider ourselves complete Marvel geeks, and have watched all the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and TV shows, and have even done our own research on the side, just for sheer amusement. It’s with this in mind that we’re able to tell you exactly how all the MCU films and shows connect to one another.
Whether it’s through hidden Easter eggs within the movies that you may have missed, end credit scenes or some throwaway line the heroes say, the MCU films and shows have all been cleverly weaved together.
This goes without saying but there are major spoilers ahead for every MCU project… Steer clear if you’re not up to date!
Iron Man
7.9 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard & Jeff Bridges, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2008
This iconic film launched the MCU back in 2008 and introduced us to playboy, billionaire and philanthropist Tony Stark and how he became Iron Man. As it’s the first film in the massive franchise, there aren’t too many connections to other MCU entries but there are still some.
Firstly, Captain America’s shield can be seen behind Tony when he’s testing Mark III and, secondly, the post-credits scene introduces us to the director of SHIELD, Nick Fury, who wants to talk to Tony “about the Avenger Initiative”, which of course hints at subsequent MCU film, The Avengers.
The Incredible Hulk
6.7 IMDb score, stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth & William Hurt, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2008
The Incredible Hulk’s plot focuses on Bruce Banner’s condition – you know, when he’s angry he turns into an invincible green monster who likes to ‘smash’. However, the film also hints that SHIELD has tried to recreate the serum that Steve Rogers receives in the subsequent MCU film, Captain America: The First Avenger and shows Emil Blonsky undergoing a very similar treatment to Steve’s but with lesser results.
The Incredible Hulk also features a post-credit scene where Robert Downey Jr. cameos as Tony Stark and talks about “putting a team together” to General Ross, further hinting at subsequent MCU film, The Avengers.
Iron Man 2
7.0 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell & Samuel L. Jackson, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2010
Iron Man 2 follows on from the first Iron Man film but has key connections to later MCU films. Natalie Rushman is introduced but midway through the film, she’s revealed to actually be Natasha Romanov AKA Black Widow, a SHIELD employee who has an integral role in the subsequent MCU film, The Avengers.
Howard Stark, Tony’s father, is also introduced who plays a huge role in Captain America: The First Avenger. Plus, Agent Coulson mentions during Iron Man 2 that he’s been reassigned by SHIELD to a new case in New Mexico and then in the post-credits scene, he’s shown arriving there and telling Fury on the phone that he’s “found it”. The camera then pans to what Coulson’s referring to, Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer – foreshadowing Coulson’s role in the subsequent MCU film, Thor.
Thor
7.0 IMDb score, stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston & Stellan Skarsgård, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2011
Thor introduces us to the titular character himself, Thor, the Asgardian God Of Thunder, as well as Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye, a SHIELD agent, Loki, Asgardian God Of Mischief, and Dr Erik Selvig, renowned astrophysicist; all of whom are integral to subsequent MCU film, The Avengers.
Thor also marks the first appearance of an Infinity Stone in the MCU (however, it’s in the form of the Tesseract) in the post-credits scene. The Infinity Stones are super important in the MCU; in fact, the first 23 films are commonly referred to as ‘The Infinity Saga‘. Thor also shows an Infinity Gauntlet (later used by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War) in Odin’s Trophy Room.
Captain America: The First Avenger
6.9 IMDb score, stars Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Stanley Tucci & Tommy Lee Jones, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2011
Much of Captain America: The First Avenger’s plot concerns the Tesseract linking it to Thor, The Avengers and all other subsequent MCU films and series where the Tesseract AKA the Space Stone is featured – Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Loki.
Also, Captain America’s shield is made from Vibranium – a nearly indestructible element that comes from Wakanda (a country that’s later introduced in Captain America: Civil War). Vibranium is mentioned throughout multiple subsequent MCU films, especially Black Panther.
Plus, the ending shows Steve Rogers waking up in the present (most of Captain America: The First Avenger is set during WWII) and meeting Nick Fury, and the post-credits scene shows Fury approaching Steve for a “mission”, both of which lead directly into Steve’s involvement in The Avengers.
The Avengers
8.1 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård & Samuel L. Jackson, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, released in 2012
The Avengers brings together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye – all from previous MCU films – as they team up to take on Loki – again from a previous MCU film – who has declared war on Earth.
The Avengers marks the first appearance of the Mind Stone (another Infinity Stone) which Loki uses through his sceptre to control people. The Mind Stone connects The Avengers to subsequent MCU films and television shows, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision.
Plus, the post-credits scene of The Avengers briefly introduces us to Thanos, the Mad Titan, who appears in the subsequent MCU projects, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Iron Man 3
7.2 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle & Ben Kingsley, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2013
Iron Man 3 doesn’t actually have too many connections to other MCU films aside from Mark Ruffalo making a brief cameo as Bruce Banner in the post-credit scene as well as featuring characters who go on to make appearances in other MCU projects (for example, Happy appears in multiple MCU films like Spider-Man: Far From Home and Trevor Slattery goes on to appear in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).
Thor: The Dark World
6.8 IMDb score, stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård & Anthony Hopkins, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2013
Thor: The Dark World heavily features the Aether, which is in fact an Infinity Stone; the Reality Stone to be precise. It’s not revealed to be an Infinity Stone until the mid-credits scene though, which introduces the Collector, who not only is the first in the MCU to reveal there are a total of six Infinity Stones but also appears in subsequent MCU films Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7.8 IMDb score, stars Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan & Anthony Mackie, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2014
SHIELD collapses during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which affects most MCU entities released after this film. In one scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Dr Stephen Strange is mentioned; a character that’s later introduced in subsequent MCU film, Doctor Strange, and Nick Fury remarks “last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye” which is explained in subsequent MCU film Captain Marvel.
Plus the post-credits scene introduces us to Baron Von Strucker and Wanda and Pietro Maximoff – who all have prominent roles in Avengers: Age of Ultron, with Wanda going on to appear in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Guardians of the Galaxy
8.1 IMDb score, stars Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Zoe Saldana & Dave Bautista, Action, Adventure & Comedy, released in 2014
Guardians of the Galaxy properly introduces us to Thanos and his ultimate goal of collecting all six Infinity Stones and using them to erase half of all living creatures in the universe. The film also explains – in a scene with the Collector – what the Infinity Stones are and how they came into being.
Plus, most of the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy revolves around one of the Infinity Stones not seen in any previous MCU film, the Power Stone.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
7.3 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen & Paul Bettany, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2015
Avengers: Age of Ultron sees the return of Loki’s sceptre AKA the Mind Stone from the first Avengers film. The sceptre/stone is revealed to have been used by Von Strucker to give Wanda and Pietro Maximoff their powers and then Tony and Bruce use it to create Ultron and Vision. Vision, of course, appears in many subsequent MCU films and series like Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision.
There’s also a small moment during the film where we see Steve Rogers slightly move Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir which connects to Avengers: Endgame.
Thor also experiences a vision of an apocalyptic future which hints at the events of the subsequent MCU film, Thor: Ragnarok, and the Avengers: Age of Ultron mid-credits scene shows Thanos donning the Infinity Gauntlet – from previous MCU film Thor – and vowing to personally retrieve all six Infinity Stones himself, which ultimately sets up Avengers: Infinity War; although it’s not clear how Thanos got the gauntlet from Odin’s Trophy Room.
Ant-Man
7.3 IMDb score, stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll & Evangeline Lilly, Action, Adventure & Comedy, released in 2015
Ant-Man reveals that Hank Pym worked for SHIELD and knew Tony Stark’s father, Howard; which is integral to Avengers: Endgame, especially the fact that because Hank worked at SHIELD there were probably Pym Particles in his office at the time.
The film also introduces us to Scott Lang who features in subsequent MCU films, Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers: Endgame. Scott also tries to break into an old SHIELD building which turns out to be the Avengers complex that first appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Anthony Mackie and Chris Evans make cameos as Falcon/Sam Wilson and Captain America/Steve Rogers respectively.
Captain America: Civil War
7.8 IMDb score, stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd & Tom Holland, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2016
Most of Civil War’s plot has to do with the Sokovia Accords which affects the entire MCU moving forward. Essentially this document causes the Avengers to ‘break up’, which connects to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and it also results in multiple characters becoming fugitives, which affects subsequent MCU films Ant-Man and the Wasp and Black Widow.
A lot of Civil War’s plot also revolves around the serum that turns people into super soldiers, like Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers. This directly ties into the subsequent MCU series Falcon & The Winter Soldier. The film also briefly explores the animosity-driven banter between Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson – which is explored further in the subsequent MCU series Falcon & The Winter Soldier – as well as the fact that Wanda is not in full control of her magic, which ties Civil War with subsequent MCU series WandaVision.
Civil War also introduces us to T’Challa/Black Panther, who goes on to appear in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, as well as Peter Parker/Spider-Man who goes on to appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Plus, there’s a scene near the beginning of Civil War where Tony Stark introduces B.A.R.F technology to a theatre of college students, which is key to the subsequent MCU film, Spider-Man: Far From Home’s plot.
Doctor Strange
7.5 IMDb score, stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen & Tilda Swinton, ACtion, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2016
Doctor Strange introduces us to Stephen Strange, who goes on to appear in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film also introduces the fifth Infinity Stone, the Time Stone. Plus, we see a teaser in the mid-credits scene for the subsequent MCU film, Thor: Ragnarok.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
7.6 IMDb score, stars Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista & Kurt Russell, Action, Adventure & Comedy, released in 2017
While it’s a great film, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 doesn’t have many connections to the larger MCU at all; aside from featuring characters that all appear in later MCU films like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. There’s also a post-credit scene that hints at Adam Warlock, a character who will make his debut in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film, which is currently slated for a 2023 release.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
7.4 IMDb score, stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow & Zendaya, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2017
Spider-Man: Homecoming’s villain, Adrian Toomes/The Vulture was majorly affected by the New York battle that took place in the previous MCU film The Avengers. We also see a fun and different (AKA Peter Parker’s) perspective of the events that took place during Captain America: Civil War.
Tony Stark cameos throughout Spider-Man: Homecoming and we see Steve Rogers in a gym class PSA, with the gym teacher remarking “Pretty sure, this guy’s a war criminal now” which connects to Captain America: Civil War again.
Finally, near the end of the film, Spider-Man decides he’s not ready to be an Avenger; something that’s later referenced in Avenger: Infinity War and explored further in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Thor: Ragnarok
7.9 IMDb score, stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett & Mark Ruffalo, Action, Adventure & Comedy, released in 2017
Doctor Strange makes a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok, bringing him into the larger MCU universe for the first time. During the film, Hela declares the Infinity Gauntlet in Odin’s Trophy Room as a fake which explains that the Gauntlet Thanos has at the end of the previous MCU film Avengers: Age of Ultron is the real one.
The film also explains where Bruce Banner/Hulk has been since his last appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron and it even calls back to calming techniques used by Natasha Romanov in that film. Thor: Ragnarok ends with Asgard being destroyed, mirroring Thor’s vision from Avengers: Age of Ultron and the mid-credits scene shows a menacing ship approaching the ship Thor and Loki are on, which directly sets up the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War.
Black Panther
7.3 IMDb score, stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan & Lupita Nyong’o, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2018
Black Panther follows the events of Captain America: Civil War and aside from a few characters who made appearances in previous MCU films (like Ulysses Klaue and Everett Ross) the only connection is the post-credits scene – Bucky is being helped by Shuri – which is calling back to Captain America: Civil War and connects to subsequent MCU series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.
Avengers: Infinity War
8.5 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner & Josh Brolin, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2018
This is the first film in the MCU that makes pretty much no sense at all without watching ALL prior MCU films. The film opens with Thanos attacking the ship Thor and Loki were on at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and we see Thanos kill Loki for the Tesseract.
Thanos then crushes the Tesseract and takes the Space Stone that was encased in it for his Infinity Gauntlet (last seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron). The film’s plot then revolves around everything mentioned in previous MCU films that had to do with Thanos; essentially, Thanos wants all six Infinity Stones and wants to wipe out half of all living creatures in the universe. So, we see Thanos go to all the places the Infinity Stones are; as shown in multiple previous MCU films.
Avengers: Infinity War also features almost every lead character from previous MCU films, completely connecting them all together.
Plus, the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War shows Nick Fury trying to contact Captain Marvel connecting it to the subsequent MCU film Captain Marvel.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
7.0 IMDb score, stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne & Michael Douglas, Action, Adventure & Comedy, released in 2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp centres around Scott Lang’s house arrest that was a direct result of Captain America: Civil War. Plus, both the mid- and post-credits scenes directly reference the events of Avengers: Infinity War, while the mid-credits scene also sets up a crucial plot point for Avengers: Endgame.
Captain Marvel
6.8 IMDb score, stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn & Jude Law, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2019
Captain Marvel introduces the titular character to the MCU who goes on to appear in subsequent MCU films Avengers: Endgame and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The film also introduces Skrulls into the MCU universe, who make appearances in subsequent MCU projects Spider-Man: Far From Home and WandaVision.
Captain Marvel shows how SHIELD came into possession of the Tesseract after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger and that Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel’s powers come from the Space Stone – similar to how Wanda’s powers come from the Mind Stone as shown in Avengers: Age of Ultron and WandaVision.
The film also calls back to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and shows us how Nick Fury lost his eye and shows us that Nick Fury chose to rename his project The Protector Initiative to The Avengers Initiative because of an old photograph of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel; linking to, of course, The Avengers. We also see a mid-credit scene that sets up Captain Marvel’s appearance in Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame
8.4 IMDb score, stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner & Josh Brolin, Action, Adventure & Drama, released in 2019
Avengers: Endgame is another MCU film that doesn’t make much sense if you haven’t seen every single MCU film that was released before it. Plus, while Spider-Man: Far From Home is technically the last film in the ‘Infinity Saga’, Avengers: Endgame is the film that wraps up the entire Infinity Stones plot.
Obviously, this film has multiple connections to all previous MCU films; too many to list. However, it does have connections to subsequent MCU projects too. Hawkeye is shown operating under the name of Ronin, which is crucial to the plot of the MCU series, Hawkeye.
Loki escaping with the Tesseract when the Avengers go back in time to 2012, sets up the MCU series, Loki, and the Sorceror Supreme briefly explains the multiverse which is explored further in Loki, What If…?, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Plus, Natasha’s death sets up a sub-plot in Hawkeye and Steve Rogers giving his Captain America shield to Sam Wilson/Falcon sets up the series Falcon & The Winter Soldier.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
7.4 IMDb score, stars Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2019
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home connects back to Captain America: Civil War and Tony Stark’s technology B.A.R.F. The post-credits scene also connects back to Captain Marvel, as it’s revealed that Nick Fury for this entire film has actually been the Skrull, Talos.
WandaVision
8.0 IMDb score, stars Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany & Kathryn Hahn, Action, Comedy & Drama, released in 2021, 1 season
WandaVision was the first MCU television series. The show connects back to multiple MCU films – we see how Wanda got her powers prior to her introduction in Captain America: The Winter Soldier/Avengers: Age of Ultron, we see what happened to Wanda and Vision after the events of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and we see the characters Monica, (from Captain Marvel) Darcy (from Thor) and Jimmy (from Ant-Man and the Wasp) return to the MCU in slightly larger roles.
We also see Thanos’ and Tony Stark’s snap from a new perspective (Monica’s; she disappears and reappears in her mother’s hospital room). WandaVision also introduces the Darkhold which ends up in Wanda’s possession and is a major plot device in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The end of WandaVision also clearly sets up the upcoming MCU film The Marvels.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier
7.3 IMDb score, stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell & Daniel Brühl, Action, Adventure & Drama, released in 2021, 1 season
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’s plot revolves around the super-soldier serum that was first introduced in The Incredible Hulk/Captain America: The First Avenger and featured in multiple previous MCU films. It also shows what happened to Sharon Carter and Baron Zemo after the events of Captain America: Civil War.
Plus, we get to see more of how Bucky healed from his Winter Soldier persona in Wakanda which was briefly shown in Black Panther. And the ending sets up the fourth Captain America film which is yet to be released.
Loki
8.3 IMDb score, stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino & Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2021, 1 season
Loki follows on from what happened to the titular character after he escaped with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame. The show also explains exactly what the multiverse is and how variants work, something vital to subsequent MCU films Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Loki also highlights that the Infinity Stones – crucial to the first 22 MCU films – don’t hold much power outside of the main timeline and that versions of them exist in multiple universes. Plus, Loki introduces us to Kang the Conqueror who is confirmed to also appear in the upcoming MCU film, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.
Black Widow
6.7 IMDb score, stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour & Rachel Weisz, Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi, released in 2021
Black Widow shows us what happened to Natasha Romanov directly after the events of Captain America: Civil War. The film also introduces us to Natasha’s sister, Yelena who goes on to appear in the subsequent MCU series, Hawkeye. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who appeared in Falcon & The Winter Soldier also cameos in Black Widow’s post-credits scene, clearly setting up a future MCU project that’s yet to be announced/released (most likely the Dark Avengers from the Marvel comics).
What If…?
7.5 IMDb score, stars Jeffrey Wright, Animation, Action & Adventure, released in 2021, 1 season
What If…? is the first animated entry in the MCU and it explores alternate timelines in the multiverse, a concept briefly introduced in Avengers: Endgame and explored further in Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
What If…? also connects to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness because Captain Carter who is introduced in What If…? appears in the second Doctor Strange film.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
7.5 IMDb score, stars Simu Liu, Awkwafina & Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2021
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings features a connection to Iron Man 3 as it’s revealed that the Ten Rings imprisoned Trevor Slattery (who appeared in the third Iron Man film) after the events of Iron Man 3. Plus, Wong, Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel, from multiple previous MCU films all cameo in the mid-credits scene too.
Eternals
6.4 IMDb score, stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek & Kit Harington, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2021
Eternals doesn’t have too many connections to other MCU projects but Thanos’ snap and Tony Stark’s snap are referenced. Plus, both the mid- and post-credits scenes are clearly setting up future MCU projects – Thanos’ brother, Eros is introduced and it’s hinted that the Black Knight and Blade will at some point have MCU films or series.
Hawkeye
7.7 IMDb score, stars Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld & Florence Pugh, Action, Adventure & Crime, released in 2021, 1 season
Hawkeye connects back to Clint Barton’s Ronin persona that he adapted during Avengers: Endgame. The series also shows the events of The Avengers from a new perspective (Kate Bishop’s), as well as Thanos’ and Tony Stark’s snap from yet another perspective (we see that Yelena was blipped but to her, it felt like no time had passed). Clint also clearly uses arrows that are equipped with Stark and Pymm technology.
We also see both Clint and Yelena struggle with Nastaha’s death, which occurred in Avengers: Endgame.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
8.5 IMDb score, stars Tom Holland, Zendaya & Benedict Cumberbatch, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home really delves into the multiverse that was featured in previous MCU projects, Avengers: Endgame, Loki and What If…?. Doctor Strange, at Peter Parker’s request, casts a spell that results in the multiverse being ripped open and while the film ends with Doctor Strange fixing it, it sets up that the multiverse will be explored once again in the subsequent film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Another connection is that Spider-Man: No Way Home’s post-credit scene is practically a trailer for the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film.
Spider-Man: No Way Home also has lots of connections to other Marvel films and series that are NOT a part of the MCU such as Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil and Venom, which hints that because of the multiverse, these films and series, as well as others, could soon be considered as a part of the MCU… But only time will tell.
Moon Knight
7.7 IMDb score, stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke & May Calamawy, Action, Adventure & Drama, released in 2022, 1 season
Moon Knight only has a few small connections to the MCU. The first is that Arthur Harrow’s magic is the same colour as Agatha Harkness’ magic, which was confirmed in WandaVision to be ‘dark magic’. A bus shown in the background of a Moon Knight scene features an ad for the GRC, a company that makes an appearance in Falcon & The Winter Soldier, and whose sole purpose is to help with the aftermath of The Blip which occurred in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
There’s also a reference to Madripoor which is where Sharon Carter ruled the city’s underworld as the Power Broker in Falcon & The Winter Soldier as well as a reference to the ‘Ancestral Plane’ which is featured in Black Panther.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
7.1 IMDb score, stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong & Rachel McAdams, Action, Adventure & Fantasy, released in 2022
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness explores the multiverse instantly connecting it to past MCU projects Loki, What If…?, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Plus, Thanos’ Blip from Avengers: Infinity War is referenced in the film.
We also see a different version of the massive Thanos fight seen in Avengers: Endgame; instead of Tony Stark essentially saving the day, in an alternate multiverse dimension, an alternate version of Dr Strange uses the Darkhold to defeat Thanos.
Speaking of the Darkhold, Wanda still has it after the events of WandaVision and uses it throughout this film to find her now non-existent children (introduced in WandaVision) in an alternate universe.
In an alternate dimension, we see slightly different versions of Ultron robots connecting Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to Avengers: Age of Ultron. We also see Captain Carter, introduced in What If…? as well as a few characters (an alternate version of Mordo, an alternate version of Captain Marvel, Black Bolt, Professor X and Mister Fantastic) that link to past and future MCU projects as well as Marvel projects that are not a part of the MCU.
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