User:MarioProtIV/List of multiverse worlds (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and its related media, the multiverse is a construct and setting that is used to connect various universes in-franchise and various Marvel-related film franchises under Marvel Studios. First introduced in Doctor Strange (2016), it was expanded upon considerably in "The Multiverse Saga" of the MCU, beginning with the Disney+ series Loki (2021–2023) in Phase Four of the MCU. The universes set within the MCU multiverse have been shown to be variable in nature, and are usually designated either in-film itself, by Marvel Studios themselves, or have been confirmed by a producer or director of the respective media.

Designations
Compared to Marvel Comics, the way universes are designated in the MCU multiverse is different, as it is intended to be separate from the way the comics do so – Doctor Strange (2016) director Scott Derrickson described that film as starting the "Marvel Cinematic multiverse". In 2008, the designation for the MCU, shortly after the release of Iron Man (2008), was revealed as "Earth-199999" by Marvel Comics within the Marvel multiverse as part of their continuity. Easter eggs referring to the MCU as Earth-616 or alluding to it were referenced in Thor: The Dark World (2013), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Loki (2021–present), although they were either non-canonical, revealed as ruses (in the case of Far From Home) or left intentionally vague.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) connected the MCU to previous Spider-Man films (starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, respectively) as well as Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), the first two franchises having previously being officially designated by Marvel Comics as "Earth-96283" and "Earth-120703", although not referred to as such in the MCU. The SSU later received its designation in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) as "Earth-688", despite the designation being already used in the comics.

In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), one of the major universes visited by Strange is designated "Earth-838", where that universe’s Christine Palmer refers to the main MCU universe as Earth-616. This was intentional – Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore and eventually president Kevin Feige referred to the main MCU timeline as Earth-616 as far back as late 2021. On the commentary audio track for Multiverse of Madness, director Sam Raimi revealed that the universe that an alternate version of Stephen Strange seen in the opening scene originated from was designated "Earth-617".

Main realities
As of 2024, at least a dozen or so alternate realities have been depicted on-screen or referenced to in five projects so far: Avengers: Endgame (2019), Loki (2021–2023), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and The Marvels (2023). Some of these realities take inspiration from various projects of Marvel or diverge from the main MCU timeline. Additionally, it has linked previous film franchises of Marvel characters to the main MCU, as is the case with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–07) and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man duology (2012–14), both of which were produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), the sequel to 20th Century Fox's Deadpool 2 (2018), incorporates the Time Variance Authority (TVA) in the film and makes explicit references to the MCU via archive footage of many of the past MCU films, so it is also considered canon to the broader MCU multiverse.

What If…? realities
In the animated anthology series What If...?, many different alternate realities are explored. All of them branch from established events from the main MCU continuity of Earth-616, with various changes to a character's origin or where events of one of the films played out in a different way. These can have dire consequences on the reality, or in extreme cases, the multiverse, as what happened with an alternate Ultron. Season 2 of What If...? will continue to explore alternate realities from various points in the MCU, or continue previous storylines in alternate realities depicted in season 1.

Other known realities
Besides What If...?, some timelines have diverged from Earth-616 at unspecified points in the past or were shown briefly or had a lesser impact on the plot before eventually being pruned or reversed. Examples of these were shown in the ABC television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), especially in later seasons, as well as the results of the Time Heists in Avengers: Endgame (2019).