The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an absolute juggernaut now, but it hasn't always been that way. In fact, production problems have plagued Marvel Studios for years and there's been plenty of problems where it looked as if a project might fall through completely.
From problems with actors and directors to not knowing whether the industry could accept what they were trying to achieve, it's never been an easy ride to success but Kevin Feige has safely guided the ship into what fans know today. Any one of these scenarios though could have spelled doom for some of these massive films, especially with the constant threat of Marvel films outside the studio.
10 Ant-Man
Ant-Man always seemed like a difficult character to develop further, but for years Edgar Wright believed he had the answer. Developing the character before Iron Man ever hit screens, the writer and director were passionate about the project.
Supposedly a Phase 1 film, eventually Wright dropped out over creative differences. The fate of the film was left in the balance, although eventually before its cancellation Peyton Reed would step in and continue on from the brilliant work set out; unfortunately with Ant-Man being added to the MCU a little late for some.
9 Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man was always a difficult character to put on screen. With Sony having multiple attempts of trying to produce an ongoing franchise (and usually ruining it with a sequel) it was unclear what would happen next for the web-head.
There was once a time that bringing the web-slinger to the MCU seemed like a pipe dream. On multiple occasions, this film almost never happened, but thanks to a great deal and some fantastic creative work, Spidey finally made it into the Avengers!
8 Iron Man
While the original outing for the Avengers is said to have drastically changed the MCU it's also arguable that there is another film that really reshaped cinema as we know it. The original feature film boasted the talents of Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark; Iron Man was born on screen.
But this was never going to be a sure-fire success. With only fragments of a script, a first-time production studio, and a lot of uncertainty, the production could have fallen apart at any moment. Luckily what was created instead was pure magic.
7 The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk might have been an even bigger experiment on screen. With a villain who probably should have been killed by the end of the film rather than leaving him in the unknown for years and some ropey CGI, this film is one of the most controversial of the MCU.
The core of the problems stems from the casting of Edward Norton who was quite difficult to work with. This eventually led to Marvel having to recast the character, but the problems were at times big enough that production could have shut down.
6 Iron Man 2
Stark's sequel may have tried to give the character a little bit more heart but it had a messier production than the first. Studio interference meant constant rewrites and a genuine lack of focus when it came to storytelling.
It's amazing that Jon Favreau made it through this difficult process as there have been many reports of there being large issues with filming. It wouldn't be that surprising to learn that this was almost canceled completely and started from scratch again.
5 Spider-Man: Far From Home
Spider-Man will always be a struggle to put to screen, as there are constantly battles behind the scenes between Disney and Sony about the future of the character. In fact, the sequel movie was almost set to be the last one!
It's unknown what these negotiations were like beforehand, but with Sony trying to launch characters like Venom and Morbius, it's possible that they tried to grab their character back much sooner, endangering Far From Home.
4 Black Panther
The character of Black Panther has been ready for a big-screen adaptation for years. Multiple studios have attempted to bring T'Challa and Wakanda to the cinema, to no avail. Indeed, it always seemed like a doomed project.
Marvel Studios managed to right those wrongs, though, and produce a stellar and groundbreaking movie, with a moving performance from the late Chadwick Boseman. Hollywood had pushed back against such a film for many years though, stating that it wouldn't be accessible to all audiences. Luckily Marvel Studios pushed through despite the doubts.
3 Thor: The Dark World
The Thor franchise might have wanted to develop Loki away from being a secondary villain and more into an anti-hero, but outside of this the second film in the series seemed to have very little direction.
Considered one of the worst films of the MCU, Marvel was in talks with Patty Jenkins to direct before it fell through. Natalie Portman also wanted to leave the project—and later did thanks to creative differences. But somehow the movie managed to survive this turmoil.
2 Guardians Of The Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy are hardly a top tier team—at least they weren't when James Gunn was originally developing the idea. Even when announced at Comic-Con, fans were left scratching their head.
It would have taken a long time to get this project greenlit, especially with properties like Inhumans in the works at the time (and later canceled). It's therefore a miracle that such a bizarre franchise made it to screen at all.
1 Black Widow
While fans have been creating a lot of crazy fan theories about what could happen when Black Widow finally gets her own solo film, audiences are very aware that this idea has been in the works for a long time.
With such a stacked slate of films, it seemed almost impossible that Natasha Romanov would ever get her own film. Time and time again the idea was seemingly shot down until the final announcement was made completely shocking fans.