Behind-The-Scenes | 2000’s Marvel In Cinema Long before Iron Man launched the MCU in 2008, Marvel’s characters were already on screen—yet spread across separate studios. Could these films have united into an original Avengers long before 2012? Imagine Tobey Maguire’s Spider‑Man, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine anchoring the X‑Men trilogy, Jessica Alba and Chris Evans leading the 2005 Fantastic Four, Wesley Snipes as Blade, Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider, Ben Affleck’s Daredevil & Jennifer Garner’s Elektra,