(Updated 09/17/2024)
With more than 30 released movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe can feel as big as an actual universe. For those who’ve been watching since the beginning, when IRON MAN debuted in 2008, it’s been easy to keep up. But for younger viewers, people who never got into Marvel until later in the game, or those who want to revisit everything prior to CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, the MCU can be a daunting place.
We're here to help, with advice on the best way to watch the Marvel movies in order.
There are a few possible MCU viewing orders. Which is the best MCU viewing order? Well. There's release order, which winds through four and a half "phases" – BRAVE NEW WORLD is the fifth Phase Five movie. There’s also chronological order, which looks at the movies from a story timeline perspective. But with flashbacks, time travel, and other story aspects, that's not always ideal.
What's the solution? A hybrid!
The Best MCU Viewing Order
We want to propose an ideal Marvel order that is mostly chronological, with a few deviations. We group some themes and characters, and give some big events space to breathe. The Spider-Man movies FAR FROM HOME and NO WAY HOME, for example, basically take place one right after the other, despite the fact that several real-world years passed between them.
ETERNALS is still a question mark, but we no longer keep it at the end. While it takes place some time after the events of AVENGERS: ENDGAME, there are big events in the story which haven't been referenced more widely in the MCU so far.
What About End Credits Scenes?
The question of end credits scenes can be tricky! Most of BLACK WIDOW, for example, is set after the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, but the post-credits scene takes place after ENDGAME. With that as a guide, we've mostly ignored mid- and post-credits scenes for the purposes of setting up a Marvel viewing order.
How to Watch the Marvel Movies in Order
OK, enough talking! Here's how we recommend watching the MCU in order:
1) Captain America: The First Avenger
2) Captain Marvel
3) Iron Man
4) Incredible Hulk
5) Iron Man 2
6) Thor
7) The Avengers
8) Thor: The Dark World
9) Guardians of the Galaxy
10) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
11) Iron Man 3
12) Guardians of the Galaxy 2
13) Avengers: Age of Ultron
14) Doctor Strange
15) Ant-Man
16) Captain America: Civil War
17) Black Widow
18) Black Panther
19) Spider-Man: Homecoming
20) Ant-Man & the Wasp
21) Thor: Ragnarök
22) Avengers: Infinity War
23) Avengers: Endgame
24) Spider-Man: Far from Home
25) Spider-Man: No Way Home
26) Thor: Love and Thunder
27) Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings
28) Eternals
29) Dr. Strange & the Multiverse of Madness
30) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
31) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
32) Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
33) The Marvels
34) Deadpool & Wolverine
The Official Marvel Timeline by Year
Thanks to the 2023 book "The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline," we have an official account of the chronology for the MCU. It's complete with specific years and sometimes even seasons for the 34 movies. Note that some of this timeline contradicts what we've set out above, but that's the fun of a constantly-evolving story like what we see in the MCU. Not everything lines up in a perfect way.
And while we've included Marvel's non-movie series below, you won't find either season of "Loki," as most of that show takes place outside of any real time.
Summer 1943 to Spring 1945: Captain America: The First Avenger
Summer 1995: Captain Marvel
Spring 2008: Iron Man
Spring 2010: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor
Spring 2012: The Avengers
Fall 2013: Thor: The Dark World
December 2013: Iron Man 3
Spring 2014: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Summer 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy
Fall 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
Spring 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Summer 2015: Ant-Man
Spring 2016: Captain America: Civil War
Spring to Summer 2016: Black Widow
Summer 2016: Black Panther
Fall 2016: Spider-Man: Homecoming
Winter to Fall 2017: Doctor Strange
Fall 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
Spring 2018: Ant-Man and The Wasp, and Avengers: Infinity War
2018 to 2023: The Blip Fall 2023: Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision
2024: Deadpool & Wolverine Spring 2024: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spring to Summer 2024: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Summer 2024: Spider-Man: Far From Home
Summer to Fall 2024: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Fall 2024: Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Winter 2024: Hawkeye
Spring to Fall 2025: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Spring 2025: Moon Knight, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Echo
Fall 2025: Ms Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Werewolf By Night
Winter 2025: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
2026: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Secret Invasion, The Marvels, and Agatha All Along
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD opens on February 14.
All images courtesy of Marvel Studios.