Credit: Marvel StudiosWant to feel old? The first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was released on April 14, 2008. That’s right; the MCU is almost 15 years old. And Marvel is ready to celebrate with a brand new logo and collection of art books.
While it is now considered a classic action movie, Iron Man (2008) was considered a massive risk. Not only was it based on a comic book that wasn’t Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man, but it starred Robert Downey Jr. People thought he was washed up and the movie would be a flop.
Fortunately, Marvel proved the critics wrong and became one of the year’s biggest box-office hits. However, things kicked into another gear at the end of The Incredible Hulk (2008) when Tony Stark appeared in a scene with Thor’s hammer. This meant only one thing: Marvel wasn’t building franchises. They were creating a universe.
Iron Man changed cinema forever and led to the creation of some of the most financially successful films of all time.
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The first three phases of the MCU, known as The Infinity Saga, were integral in establishing the brand by introducing numerous beloved characters, forming The Avengers, and building to the epic climax with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The MCU made superstars out of Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and the late Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther. It expanded into unique television shows with WandaVision (2021), Loki (2021), and Moon Knight (2022). It even brought Spider-Man back from Sony and then united Tom Holland with the two previous Spider-Men.
Phase Four and The Multiverse Saga will have to do a lot of work to make that kind of impact.
Marvel Studios is recognizing this achievement with a collection of highly detailed art books and a fresh new logo. Let’s take a look!
The New MCU Logo
Marvel Studios’ new logo pays homage to the first three phases that made the MCU famous. In case you weren’t sure how many years it has been, the logo sports a giant red “15” diagonally cut off by the classic Marvel Studios logo. Underneath that is The Infinity Saga, written in purple.
Overall, it’s straightforward and gets the job done. This will most likely appear before the rest of the films and shows are released in 2023, like Guardians Of The Galaxy vol. 3 and What If…? season 2.
The Movie Art Books
Marvel and Titan Books will be releasing art books based on films from The Infinity Saga periodically over the next few years. Each of these is s reissued special edition published alongside their respective films.
Related: Marvel Studios Will Make Less Family-Friendly MCU Projects
Each book will be released in the order they were initially released, with the first two being Iron Man: The Art of the Movie and the presumably titled Iron Man 2: The Art of the Movie. The first book is expected to come to bookstores near you on June 27, and the second will be out on July 25.
The announcement for The Art of Iron Man also came with a description from Marvel:
“Reissued to mark 15 years since Marvel Studios’ ‘Iron Man’ launched the Infinity Saga chapter of the MCU, ‘Iron Man: The Art of the Movie’ is a fully illustrated tome packed with exclusive content that will treat fans to a comprehensive, unique, and privileged behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind the state-of-the-art technology used in the blockbuster motion picture.”
The third book released will be about Thor (2011) and will hit shelves on August 29. The final book, Avengers: Endgame: The Art of the Movie, is expected to release sometime in 2025.
What Marvel Studios has accomplished with the MCU is incomparable to anything else done in cinema. Other companies have tried similar things (remember Universal’s Dark Universe?) but have not been nearly as successful. This logo and these books are a great way to celebrate where the MCU has been and where it will be going.
What do you think of the logo? Want the new art books? Let us know in the comments below.