The Marvel Cinematic Universe began life back in 2008. The release of Iron Man – then a mere B-list superhero – surprisingly signalled the start of what has become the biggest movie franchise of all time.

It has since expanded exponentially. Its relatively grounded beginnings – with some of the technology seen in Iron Man not a million miles away from what we’re already capable of in the real world – seem a long way away, as there are now green aliens thunder gods, talking raccoons and evil robots on the loose in the MCU.

With that in mind, it’s interesting to wonder just how far the franchise will go – and indeed how crazy it will become.

With twelve movies already released, ten more are planned between 2016 and 2019 and, given the franchise’s massive success, you have to think it will go beyond that – and we want to know what you think will happen in that regard.

We’re going to run through the franchise’s development to date and theorise where we believe it might go in the future based on past patterns, but we really want to hear your opinions as well.

So, just how far will the Marvel Cinematic Universe go? Let’s take a look.

Phase One

Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was undoubtedly the most grounded we’ve seen so far and the most grounded that we’re likely to see full stop.

Starting with Iron Man, its beginnings were categorically humble in comparison to the craziness that has since arrived in the franchise.

It was all about introducing key characters, developing them and assembling the Avengers to pave the way for things to come and, aside from Thor, his related characters and the Chitauri, all of the major characters were Earth-based – and the inclusion of the very humanoid aliens in this phase simply prepared audiences for the madness that would come.

It was the first and most clear indication that each phase had the express purpose of hinting towards what would happen in the following phases and, with that in mind, let’s take a look at Phase Two.