Marvel Studios: Assembled

Marvel Studios: Assembled is an American anthology television docuseries of specials created for the streaming service Disney+. Produced by Marvel Studios, each special goes behind-the-scenes of a Marvel Studios Disney+ series or film, particularly those within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with the creatives, exploring the process of creating each series or film.

The series was first announced in February 2021. Marvel Studios: Assembled premiered on March 12, 2021, with subsequent specials releasing shortly after a Disney+ series' completion or a film's Disney+ release. 14 specials were released for Phase Four of the MCU, followed by specials releasing for Phase Five and the first season of the Marvel Studios Animation series X-Men '97 (2024). Assembled received positive responses for showcasing how each series or film came together, particularly with the technical aspects and franchise connectivity.

Premise
The series goes behind-the-scenes of a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Disney+ series or film with the creatives, exploring the process of creating each series or film.

Background
Marvel Studios: Assembled was announced in February 2021 as a documentary series of television specials that would go behind-the-scenes with an "in-depth examination" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series and films in the franchise's Phase Four slate of content. Each "making of" special follows the filmmakers and the cast and crew members during the production of each project, with exclusive on-set footage used to compile the specials in the series. Assembled was announced to premiere on March 12, 2021, starting with a special for Marvel Studios's first MCU series WandaVision (2021).

Commentators called Assembled a companion series to fellow Marvel Studios docuseries Marvel Studios: Legends, which releases before a series or film to help inform viewers about relevant events to that series or film, while Hoai-Tran Bui and Ethan Anderton of /Film, and ComicBook.com Charlie Ridgley each noted the similarities to the Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian documentary series for the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Ridgley and Matt Miller at Game Informer noted Assembled allowed Marvel Studios to provide more insight on how their content is produced and answer questions audiences may have regarding them. David Wolinsky of GameSpot felt Assembled was a "promising follow-up" to Marvel's Behind the Mask (2021), a documentary special highlighting the inspiration behind Marvel's comic book heroes.

Subsequent Assembled specials were released throughout 2021 for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the first season of Loki, the first season of What If...?, and the films Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Specials continued to release throughout 2022 for Hawkeye, Eternals, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and a special for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released in early 2023 as the final special for a Phase Four property.

Specials for Phase Five of the MCU began in July 2023, with the release of a special for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This was followed by specials for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Secret Invasion, and the second season of Loki. These continued into 2024 with specials for Echo and The Marvels. A special for the first season of the non-MCU Marvel Studios Animation series X-Men '97 was also released later that year.

Release
Marvel Studios: Assembled premiered on March 12, 2021, on Disney+. Additional specials are released shortly after a Disney+ series' completion or a film's Disney+ release, with the first three specials debuting one week after the release of each series' finale. The specials for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Thor: Love and Thunder were released as part of the "Disney+ Day" event, respectively in 2021 and 2022, coinciding with the Disney+ releases of those films.

Several specials were released later than they were initially announced for: the Hawkeye special was originally announced to be released on January 19, 2022, although this was moved to February 9; the Moon Knight special was initially set for May 11, 2022, but ultimately released on May 25; the special for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was intended to be released on July 1, 2022, before being pushed back and releasing a week later on July 8; and the special for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was set to be released on June 14, 2023, but ultimately released on July 19. The latter's delay was believed to be due to the legal issues of that film's star Jonathan Majors. The special for the second season of Loki was moved forward from its initial release date of November 29, 2023, and ultimately released on November 22.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases for some of the series included their documentaries as bonus features. These included Loki season one's release on September 26, 2023, WandaVision on November 28, 2023, and The Falcon and Winter Soldier and Moon Knight on April 30, 2024.

Critical response
With the release of the special for WandaVision, Anderton recalled how Marvel Studios had gone from making the MCU as the "largest episodic experiment ever", according to that series' star Paul Bettany, into a "full fledged success" with its interconnectivity and felt Assembled allowed Marvel Studios to "dive into every aspect" of their upcoming productions, including the "spoiler-filled details" that were kept under wraps. Elaine Low, writing for Variety, said the WandaVision special was a "delightful deep dive" that explored the "massive scale and breadth" of the visual effects used for its episodes and the production design. Lucas Pearce at The People's Movies felt that special was a "great way to close the gap" between that series' finale by showing how it "all came together".

Regarding the special for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anderton felt as that series was more straightforward than WandaVision, it was less compelling or enthralling, but highlighted the technical aspects of that production he found "surprising", such as showcasing the use of real skydivers for some frames, and the use of visual effects for some backgrounds in action scenes and on Sam Wilson's Captain America suit. He particularly highlighted stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan joking around together and a single take scene of Daniel Brühl in character as Baron Helmut Zemo promoting a Sokovian clothing store called Suit-kovia for a "makeshift commercial", which was filmed at the Brass Monkey nightclub set that was used for the series' Madripoor setting.

Accolades
"The Making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was nominated for Outstanding Variety, Sketch, or Talk – Series or Special at the 2023 Black Reel Awards.

Related documentaries
In November 2022, the documentary special Director by Night was released, going behind the scenes of the Marvel Studios Special Presentation Werewolf by Night (2022) with an emphasis on the life and career of its director and composer Michael Giacchino.