The MCU has grown in size over more than a decade and has an astounding number of films, TV episodes, web series, and one-shots, and even the most enthusiastic Marvel fans find it difficult to see everything and get their heads around the storyline. We’ve compiled a chronological chronology of Marvel movies, series, and more so you know the order to watch Marvel movies. If you want to view them in the order in which they were released, there is also a release date order for all of the episodes and films.
What will you see here?
Timeline
Marvel has also released its own official movie timeline in the book Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years, which makes its best to offer particular years for when the major films are set:
- 1943-1945: Captain America: The First Avenger
- 1995: Captain Marvel
- 2010: Iron Man
- 2011: Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor
- 2012: The Avengers, Iron Man 3
- 2013: Thor: The Dark World
- 2014: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man
- 2016: Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming
- 2016/2017: Doctor Strange
- 2017: Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man & the Wasp
Watch the Marvel movies and series in chronological order
Let’s begin with the Marvel movies in chronological order, which means you’ll watch them in the order in which they take place.
You’ll begin with Captain America’s WWII origin narrative and finish with Doctor Strange 2, which we believe takes place in early 2024. However, a few MCU Disney Plus episodes are centered around Doctor Strange’s second solo trip.
Eternals, whose climax features a crazy cameo, complicates matters further by including flashbacks to time periods prior to Captain America’s conception.
To avoid any more misunderstanding regarding Eternals’ position in the MCU chronology, we’ve placed it shortly before No Way Home.
Some other times are also uncertain. For instance, Black Widow, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange all take place around the same time. Without an accurate chronology analysis from Marvel Studios, it’s difficult to determine where these MCU films tie in with one another.
WandaVision occurs a few weeks post Endgame, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes place six months later — both programs take place before Spider-Man: Far From Home. Meanwhile, Loki is set after 2012’s The Avengers.
Here’s how to watch the Marvel movies in order by chronology, with the studio’s Disney Plus series included:
- Captain America: The First Avenger – takes place during WWII
- Captain Marvel – occurs in 1995
- Iron Man – takes place in 2008
- Iron Man 2 – occurs after Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk – Unspecified time period, pre-Avengers
- Thor – events occur 6 months before Avengers
- The Avengers – takes place in 2012
- Iron Man 3 – occurs six months following The Avengers
- Thor: Dark World – after-Avengers, pre-Ultron
- Captain America: Winter Soldier – after-Avengers, pre-Ultron
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 – sometime in 2014
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – set post Guardians
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – occurs in 2015
- Ant-Man – takes place in 2015
- Captain America: Civil War – following after-Ultron, pre-Infinity War
- Black Widow – occurs immediately following the Civil War
- Spider-Man: Homecoming – After-Civil War, pre-Infinity War
- Doctor Strange – takes place in 2016
- Black Panther – takes place in 2017
- Thor: Ragnarok – following after-Ultron and pre-Infinity War
- Avengers: Infinity War – happens in 2017
- Ant-Man and The Wasp – unclear, but works well between Infinity War & Endgame (so around 2017)
- Avengers: Endgame – begins in 2017 and likewise in 2022
- WandaVision – 3 weeks after Endgame
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – about 6 months following after Avengers: Endgame
- Spider-Man: Far From Home – set eight months following post the Endgame
- Loki – After The Avengers in 2012, but best seen after Endgame
- What If…? season 1 – This technically spans the whole multiverse, although it’s best viewed after Endgame.
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – set in the MCU’s ‘present-day,’ i.e. 2022
- Eternals – set in the MCU’s ‘current day,’ but journeys across 7,000 years of human history
- Spider-Man: No Way Home – The film is largely set in the ‘current’ day of the MCU, however, its first ten minutes take place immediately after Far From Home.
- Hawkeye – one-year following post Endgame
- Moon Knight – situated in the MCU’s ‘present day’ This is anticipated to be about 2024 at this stage.
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – It’s thought to take place three months after No Way Home, so sometime around 2024.
How to watch the Marvel movies and series in release date order?
Moreover, it’s recommended to see the Marvel movies in the sequence they were released for several reasons. It’s interesting to see how special effects and performers change over time, you won’t feel as awful if you don’t want to do a total binge-watch, and, quite honestly, the release sequence tells a greater narrative – viewing a movie like Captain Marvel out of order may be more perplexing than pleasant.
We’ve split them down into Marvel’s four phases which are also the groups it uses to represent the key chapters of The Infinity Saga. Moreover, this is the most natural approach to putting together your own Marvel movie binge.
Marvel Movies And Series with phase order
First Phase
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
Second Phase
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
Third Phase
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Fourth Phase
- WandaVision (TV show, 2021)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV show, 2021)
- Loki (TV show, 2021)
- Black Widow (2021)
- What If…? (TV show, 2021)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Eternals (2021)
- Hawkeye (TV show, 2021)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- Moon Knight (TV show, 2022)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Marvel movies and series in 2022 and beyond
However, the list of Phase 4 upcoming releases is constantly changing as COVID-19 halts development for movies all around the world and closes several multiplexes.
However, some speculate that the Avengers will pick their new leader based on the list of movies below. Some believe Carol Danvers will take over the squad, but we’ll have to wait until July 2022 to know whether that fan theory is correct. Here’s a quick look at the release dates for forthcoming Marvel films.
Fourth Phase
- Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8, 2022)
- Ms. Marvel (Summer 2022)
Fifth Phase
- Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever (November 11, 2022)
- The Marvels aka Captain Marvel 2 (February 17, 2023)
- Blade ( Likewise To be announced)
- Avengers 5 (Likewise To be announced)
- Untitled Marvel Studios film (May 5, 2023)
- Untitled Marvel Studios film (July 28, 2023)
- Untitled Marvel Studios film (November 3, 2023)
Which Marvel Movies and series Are Streaming on Disney Plus?
Except for “The Incredible Hulk” and the three Tom Holland-fronted “Spider-Man” films, almost every MCU film is presently available on Disney+. However, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is currently available on Digital.
Conclusion
Binge-watching all of the Marvel movies and also series in chronological sequence is a rite of passage for any die-hard MCU fan, and there’s no better time to start than now. Whatever sequence you choose to see the films (most of which are on Disney+), one thing is certain: the Marvel Cinematic Universe has weaved an epic big-screen narrative in its decade-plus existence – and it’s not finishing anytime soon.
