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Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero

The MCU is all about phases, but they have just created one they didn't intend - but we see it.

Believe it or not, there was a world before the Marvel Cinematic Universe - and in that time was a realm of anarchy (both good and bad), and Marvel movies (both good and bad). Movies like 1998's Blade with Wesley Snipes co-existed alongside the David Hasselhoff-led Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and we all just agreed none of it was connected. When Marvel made the ultimate gamble to self-finance movies (and put a second mortgage the House of Ideas in the process), though, they settled on the big idea that - as much as possible - all the Marvel-produced movies would co-exist in the same fictional reality... and it worked. (No doubt because the first movie, 2008's Iron Man, was really amazing.)

In the wave of popularity that followed, Marvel Studios chairman/founder David Maisel and president Kevin Feige mapped out a grand, unified theory of the

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Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse's Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)

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