The Marvel Cinematic Universe began.
Iron Man 3 . It is the sequel to 2008 's Iron Man and 2010 's Iron Man 2 , and the seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Marvel Cinematic Universe . The first film released in the MCU was Iron Man ( 2008 ) , which began the first phase of films culminating in the crossover film Marvel 's The Avengers ( 2012 ) . Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 ( 2013 ) , and concluded with Ant-Man ( 2015 ) . The films are currently in Phase Three , which began with the release of Captain America : Civil War ( 2016 ) .