Back during Phases One and Two of the MCU, Marvel Studios produced The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World, both of which weren’t even two hours long. Fast-forward to present day, where Marvel Studios has proved that they are unafraid to adopt longer runtimes. They have made several films around two and a half hours long, and in 2019, released a film that clocked in at a whopping three hours. While some films, such as Thor: Love and Thunder, are still reportedly given a runtime mandate, their other films have often crossed the two-hour mark.
With movie intermissions being a thing of the past, moviegoers have needed to make sure they’ve used the washroom in advance. The MCU’s Phase Four might be coming to an end, but there remains lots of ground to cover before the conclusion of The Multiverse Saga. As such, fans shouldn’t expect Marvel movies to get shorter any time soon. Here are the longest movies in the MCU, ranked by runtime.
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7 The Avengers — 2h 23m
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios made sure that The Avengers had enough breathing room to accomplish everything it set out to do. The crossover film brought six people together from very different worlds, showcasing the formation of Earth’s mightiest superhero team. That wasn’t something that just happened in an instant, as some of the Avengers were not initially fond of each other. Over the course of the film, audiences got to see them warm up to each other and eventually put their differences aside. The Avengers was neither too long nor too short, it was well-paced and engaging all throughout.
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6 Captain America: Civil War — 2h 27m
Captain America: Civil War tackled the Sokovia Accords, falling out with the Avengers, and a strained relationship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. At the same time, Civil War also marked the first MCU appearances of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, and Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo. While it was indeed a Captain America film, in a way, Civil War doubled as an “Avengers 2.5.” It certainly was required viewing as Captain America: Civil War acted as a bridge between Age of Ultron and Infinity War. Despite featuring a near two and a half hour runtime, the Sokovia Accords could have been explored even more.
5 Spider-Man: No Way Home — 2h 28m
Marvel StudiosDisney
Holland’s third Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was the longest in the Homecoming trilogy. It was tasked with uniting three generations of Spider-Man, pulling villains from the Multiverse, and continuing Peter Parker’s journey of rapid but painful character growth. The creative teams were able to include solid action set-pieces, dramatic moments, and plenty of fan service. A near-two and a half hour runtime allowed the film to really emotionally hit home, with Peter learning what it means to be a hero. An extended cut titled Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version added a total of 11 minutes from deleted scenes.
4 Avengers: Infinity War — 2h 29m
Following small appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and two Avengers mid-credits scenes, Thanos made his proper MCU debut in Avengers: Infinity War. He was the protagonist of the film, meeting the Avengers as he collected all six of the Infinity Stones. As a result, Thanos was the villain that brought the Avengers together in the MCU, and the villain that connected their movie franchises in real-life. Marvel fans used to wonder how the third Avengers film would do its characters justice with its limited runtime. Coming off of a successful Captain America trilogy, the Russo Brothers found a way to make it work.
3 Eternals — 2h 37m
Covering thousands of years and jumping throughout various points in time, Eternals was one of Marvel Studios’ longest movies. Eternals was a very ambitious film, introducing both the Eternals and the Deviants to the MCU. The Celestial known as “Arishem the Judge” was also introduced, who was credited with creating the first Sun and bringing “light to the universe.” Even before its release, Eternals was teased as being “bigger” than Endgame. That turned out to be true, as Eternals went so far as to explore the “very creation of the Marvel universe itself” (via SyFy). The Eternals and the Deviants had never been seen before, and were given a hefty runtime for their relationships to be properly explored.
2 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — 2h 41m
Walt Disney Studios
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will have a runtime of 2 hours and 41 minutes. For comparison, the first Black Panther film was 2 hours and 14 minutes. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will not just be the longest film of Phase Four, but the second-longest film in the entire MCU. That should come at no surprise, as the highly-anticipated Black Panther sequel has set out to do a lot of things: it will introduce Ironheart and Namor, who are both expected to have large roles in the MCU’s future; Wakanda Forever will also explore the world of Talocan and pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
1 Avengers: Endgame — 3h 2m
The culmination of over ten years of epic storytelling, Avengers: Endgame, was the first MCU film to feature an over three-hour runtime. It used that runtime well, giving many of its characters their shining moments. As the grand finale of The Infinity Saga (technicalities of it being Spider-Man: Far From Home aside), Avengers: Endgame was understandably very long. Most of the film revolved around the Time Heist, which provided an in-universe reason to revisit key moments in the MCU. With Endgame, Marvel demonstrated that big plans and even better execution equals massive success. No other film studio has been able to create a shared universe as successful as the MCU.
