By 2005 Marvel Entertainment wanted to make its own films rather than licensing characters to other studios, which had given it little profit. Marvel Studios was formed under Avi Arad, and Kevin Feige, a self-described fan, proposed introducing Avengers characters in individual films before a crossover. The studio raised capital through a $525 million credit facility and created a creative committee to protect comic book lore. Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in 2009, and the studio went on to plan a multi-phase shared universe.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.