Avengers: United

Avengers: United is an upcoming American computer-animated superhero film based on characters from the Marvel Universe published by Marvel Comics, intended to celebrate the company’s 90-year anniversary. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Motion Pictures, the film is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, produced by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Kevin Feige, and written by Jelenic, Horvath, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Despite being produced by Marvel Studios and having the majority of the actors from the franchise reprising their roles, the film is not set in the company’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film features an ensemble cast composed of past actors of Marvel characters across the decades as well as new actors, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Dylan O’Brien, Hugh Jackman, John Krasinski, Patrick Stewart, Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charlie Cox, Tom Holland, Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, Shameik Moore, Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd, Nicholas Cage, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Pine, Tyrese Gibson, Milana Vaynthrub, Ryan Gosling, Tenoch Huerta, Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne, and Josh Brolin.

The film is set in an original universe designated as “Earth-39” (referencing Marvel Comics’ founding year being 1939), where hundreds of heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe, including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and other heroes, coexist in one reality. After 85 years of doing service as heroes, the Avengers recruit new heroes for the line-up of superheroes, including Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, who struggles to live up to the hero he is destined to be. Meanwhile, the Avengers face Hammond / Human Torch, who wants revenge on the heroes, leading the villainous team of the Masters of Evil. The film is a meta self-parody of the Marvel Universe, including its characters, tropes, and the cinematic adaptations across the decades, mostly the MCU.

After the success of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Spider-Verse animated trilogy of films for Sony, Marvel Studios expressed interest in using the style of those films for a film on their own. The film was announced in July at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, described as “a meta celebration of 90 years of Marvel media”. Lord and Miller themselves co-produced the film, with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, directors of the DC Comics film ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies'', another superhero film parody, were hired to direct and co-write the film in 2026, alongside past MCU collaborators Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The film was made to celebrate Marvel’s 90th anniversary, featuring a cast of heroes larger than past MCU films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) from all around the established Marvel Universe.

Avengers United had its world premiere at Dolby Theatre on August 23, 2029, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 31, to coincide with the 90th anniversary of Marvel. The film received generally positive reviews, getting praise for its animation, voice performances, creativity, humor, meta references, musical score, and homage to Marvel’s 90-year run. The film broke several box office records, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time, the sixth highest-grossing superhero film, and the thirteenth highest-grossing film of all time, while also having the biggest opening weekend for an animated film.

Synopsis
After 90 years operating as superheroes, the Avengers, living in an alternate Earth known as Earth-39, which allies them with hundreds of heroes from all across the Marvel Universe, decide to unleash a new generation of heroes to face bigger threats, among these new recruited heroes being Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic. Soon, the heroes confront Hammond / Human Torch, who wants revenge on the Marvel Universe and pits the Avengers against the Masters of Evil.