This coming July marks the tenth anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in  2008, a newly branded Marvel Studios took a chance and released the first film, in what would later be followed by an avalanche of films, “Iron Man.” Today, the character Iron Man is practically known world-wide, compared to the reputation the character had prior to his debut on the big screen. So with the help of Marvel Studios and director John Favreau, the cinematic universe was unleashed onto the world and has not shown any slowing down at the box-office.

With the guidance of long-term producer turned president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, Marvel Comics characters have become a household name. Each film that has followed “Iron Man,” Marvel Studios has done an unprecedented feat in gaining both critical and financial praise by critics and audiences alike. And with the production value of Walt Disney Studios behind their cinematic universe, Marvel Studios pushes their films forward in all aspects of filmmaking. Being a comic book fan in today’s age is truly a dream come true.

Since my first encounter with Spider-Man in the early nineties, I’ve been fascinated with the stories being told about the character in both animated and comic book form. The relatability of the character and his villains rogue gallery drew me in and has not let go to this day. And with the help from Marvel Studios and Feige’s understanding of the characters that encompass these worlds and their backstories, my fandom for Spider-Man and his fellow superhero friends has skyrocketed to all new heights. Each film following the first “Iron Man” has helped my childhood become a reality year after year. With the exception of a couple of creative misses, the Marvel cinematic universe is nearly perfect to my eyes.

Feige has truly helped create something special that, in my opinion, rivals the popularity of the Star Wars franchise. For many younger generations, this is and will be their franchise that they grow up with. The fans of the source material already have lots of invested reading hours, so with that in mind, the success of the films also benefited from those fans and newcomers because the word of mouth involving the films has been positive for the most part.

Now through the course of ten years of production under their belt, Marvel Studios is set to release “Avengers: Infinity War.” This new release in the cinematic universe will be the culmination of 18 films coming together for the first time in Hollywood history. Each film has been placing storylines that are about to be concluded not only by “Infinity War,” but by the next Avengers film that is set for release next year. But until then, us fans get to speculate and anticipate what heroes will make it onto the next phase of films that Marvel Studios has planned for many years to come. As someone who has followed the growth of the Marvel cinematic universe from the very beginning, it will be difficult to come into terms that some of the actors that I’ve come to appreciate and love will call it quits due to their contracts expiring after the next two Avengers films. Whatever the decision that Feige and Marvel Studios come to, it will no doubt be in the best interest of the studio to push these marvelous films beyond the level of success.