Black Panther: Wakanda Perpetually star Dominique Thorne is again as Riri Williams within the brand-new Disney+ sequence Ironheart, the fifteenth TV present going down absolutely within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—a shared world that now contains shorts, specials, and naturally 37 characteristic movies. Collectively, they create a (considerably) cohesive entire.
Except for Thunderbolts*, which solely not too long ago debuted in theaters, nearly all of the MCU content material is streaming on-line. We’re right here to inform you the right way to watch every film and present within the correct order.
After all, that relies on what you contemplate “correct.” You might go together with the Order of Launch choice, which is how the die-hard followers do it—we watch all the pieces on opening night time. Or try the Chronological Order choice if you cannot take care of flashbacks or time jumps. There’s even a 3rd method we’re calling Chronological Order With TV Reveals and One-Pictures, by which we toss in as many attainable MCU-related TV exhibits and brief movies as attainable. (Today, you may’t watch the flicks with out watching the TV exhibits.)
For probably the most half, Disney+ is all it’s essential stream the MCU. That is the place you may discover the newest releases, like the wonderful Daredevil: Born Once more and this 12 months’s Captain America: Courageous New World, streaming. Any exceptions are famous under.
Order of Launch (Films Solely)
Dates point out when the movie was (or can be) launched to theaters.
MCU: Part One
Iron Man (Could 2, 2008)
The Unimaginable Hulk (June 13, 2008)
Iron Man 2 (Could 7, 2010)
Thor (Could 6, 2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22, 2011)
Avengers (Could 4, 2012)
MCU: Part Two
Iron Man 3 (Could 3, 2013)
Thor: The Darkish World (Nov. 8, 2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Apr. 4, 2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (Aug. 1, 2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (Could 1, 2015)
Ant-Man (July 17, 2015)
MCU: Part Three
Captain America: Civil Warfare (Could 6, 2016)
Physician Unusual (Nov. 4, 2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Could 5, 2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7, 2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (Nov. 3, 2017)
Black Panther (Feb. 16, 2018)
Avengers: Infinity Warfare (Apr. 27, 2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6, 2018)
Captain Marvel (Mar. 8, 2019)
Avengers: Endgame (Apr. 26, 2019)
Spider-Man: Far From House (July 2, 2019)
MCU: Part 4
Black Widow (July 9, 2021)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Sep. 3, 2021)
The Eternals (Nov. 5, 2021)
Spider-Man: No Manner House (Dec. 17, 2021)
Physician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity (Could 6, 2022)
Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8, 2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Perpetually (Nov. 11, 2022)
MCU: Part 5
MCU: Part Six
Chronological Order (Films Solely)
The date on every movie under signifies the estimated 12 months or years it takes place. There are caveats about timeline anomalies, and that is earlier than the movies even get to the time journey stuff.
We even have hyperlinks to seek out the flicks. The bulk are on Disney+. However Marvel’s rights points with some characters return many years, notably with the Hulk and Spider-Man, which is why they’re typically on different providers.
Disney purchased Fox, so many of the Fox-produced X-Males films—even Deadpool—are on Disney+ or Hulu. Until explicitly instructed in any other case, contemplate {that a} completely different part of the multiverse.
The post-credits scenes on the finish of every Marvel film typically happen in wildly completely different timeframes than the primary movie itself or have been bits minimize from the subsequent film to come back out. We’re not counting them right here.
Captain America: The First Avenger (1942)—Disney+
[[Fantastic Four: First Steps (the 1960s, but on another earth in the Multiverse)—Only in theaters
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (opening takes place in 1980)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy (opening takes place in 1988)—Disney+
Captain Marvel (1995)—Disney+
Iron Man (2010)—Disney+
Iron Man 2 (2011)—Disney+
Thor (2011)—Disney+
The Incredible Hulk (May-June 2011; takes place after Iron Man 2 and Thor, despite being released first)—Disney+
The Avengers (2012)—Disney+
Iron Man 3 (2012)—Disney+
Thor: The Dark World (2013)—Disney+
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy (the rest of it is set in 2014)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (the remainder of it is set in 2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)—Disney+
Ant-Man (2015)—Disney+
Doctor Strange (2016-17; part of it happens after Civil War)—Disney+
Captain America: Civil War (2016)—Disney+
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016—the opening takes place during Captain America: Civil War; the rest is set only four years after The Avengers, despite what it says on screen)—Disney+
Black Panther (2017)—Disney+
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)—Disney+
Black Widow (2017)—Disney+
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2017)—Disney+
Avengers: Infinity War (2017)—Disney+
Avengers: Endgame (starts in 2018, jumps to 2023, with hops back to 2012, 2013, 2014, and 1970)—Disney+
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2023)—Disney+
Eternals (2023)—Disney+
Spider-Man: Far From Home (summer 2024)—Disney+
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2024)—Starz
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (early 2025)—Disney+
Thor: Love and Thunder (2025)—Disney+
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2025)—Disney+
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (probably 2026)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (mid-2026)—Disney+
The Marvels (2026)—Disney+
Deadpool & Wolverine (outside of time, but this is when to watch it according to the timeline on Disney+)—Disney+
Captain America: Brave New World (2027)—streaming soon
Thunderbolts* (2027)—only in theaters
Popularity Order (Movies Only)
Here’s yet another option: Watch the MCU in the order of movie quality.
Quality here is in the eyes of the users at JustWatch.com, a service for finding and rating anything streaming. It put together this infographic depicting the popularity ranking of the first 30 films in the MCU, everything up through 2022.
(Credit: JustWatch)
Spider-Man is the favorite franchise within the franchise, which is no surprise. Nor are the ranks for the much-reviled first sequels for Thor and Iron Man.
But The Eternals ranking above the Captain America films, especially The Winter Soldier? Madness!
Chronological Order With TV Shows and One-Shots
A shared universe that encapsulates not only movies but also TV shows? Sometimes it works, but usually it doesn’t. The original MCU shows were kept separate—a by-product of factions of Disney production that didn’t see eye to eye. Now, with the mega-producer of the MCU, Kevin Feige, in charge of even the TV shows on Disney+, the ties to the MCU are tight.
Feige has also brought back favorite characters such as Daredevil and the Kingpin. They were featured on the MCU shows that originally aired on Netflix. Those shows—Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and others—are now on Disney+ too and considered MCU canon.
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Reveals like Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. are stuffed with flashbacks; we did not account for all of them, except the flashback was a complete episode (or extra) set in a distinct interval. However do not watch these episodes out of order—that is nuts. And do not watch Inhumans in any respect. Ever. Even whether it is on Disney+.
The twentieth Century
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 7, Episodes 1-2 (1931)—Disney+
Captain America: The First Avenger (1942)
Agent Carter—Marvel One-Shot brief movie (1946)—Disney+
Agent Carter—Seasons 1 and a couple of (1946 to 1947)—Disney+
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 7, Episodes 3-4 (1955)—Disney+
[[Incredible 4: First Steps (the Nineteen Sixties, however on one other earth within the Multiverse)—Solely in theaters
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 7, Episodes 5-6 (1972-1976)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (opening in 1980)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 7, Episodes 7 (1982)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy (opens in 1988)
Captain Marvel (1995)
2010-11
Iron Man (2010)
Iron Man 2 (2011)
The Unimaginable Hulk (Could-June 2011; most sources say it takes place after Iron Man 2 and Thor, however the official Marvel timeline disagrees)
A Humorous Factor Occurred on the Option to Thor’s Hammer—Marvel One-Shot brief movie beginning Agent Phil Coulson (2011)—Disney+
Thor (2011)
The Marketing consultant—Marvel One-Shot brief movie starring Agent Phil Coulson; performs proper into the post-credits scene of The Unimaginable Hulk (2011)—Disney+
2012
The Avengers (2012)
Loki (2012 for the variant Loki who then steps out of the timestream fully, due to the Time Variance Authority)—Disney+
Merchandise 47—Marvel One-Shot brief movie, takes place post-Avengers (2012)—Disney+
2013
Iron Man 3 (2012)
Thor: The Darkish World (2013)
All Hail the King—Marvel One-Shot brief movie, takes place post-Iron Man 3 (2013)—Disney+
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 1, Episodes 1-16 (2013-14)—Disney+
2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 1, Episodes 17-22 (2013-14)—Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
I Am Groot (“Groot’s First Steps” brief)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (three months later)
I Am Groot (The remainder of the brief episodes happen between the top of the Guardians Vol. 2 and the tag on the finish the place Groot is a teen.)
Daredevil—Season 1 (2014)—Disney+
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 2; Episode 20 is concurrent with Avengers: Age of Ultron (2014-15)—Disney+
2015
Jessica Jones—Season 1 (2015)—Disney+
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 3, Episodes 1-10 (2015)—Disney+
Ant-Man (2015)
Cloak and Dagger—Season 1 (2015)—Hulu
2016
Daredevil—Season 2 (2016)—Disney+
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 3, Episodes 11-19 (2016)—Disney+
Luke Cage—Season 1 (2016)—Disney+
Iron Fist—Season 1 (2016)—Disney+
Cloak & Dagger (2016)—Season 2 —Hulu
The Defenders—Mini-series (2016)—Disney+
Physician Unusual (act one in 2016)
Captain America: Civil Warfare (2016)
Black Widow (in response to the official MCU timeline on Disney+, this occurs in 2016 earlier than…)
Black Panther (2016)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 3, Episodes 20-23 (2016)—Disney+
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016)
Punisher—Season 1 (2016 holidays)—Disney+
2017
Physician Unusual (the remainder is about in 2017)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 4, Episodes 1-8 with Ghost Rider (2017)—Disney+
Marvel’s Inhumans (2017)—Disney+
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 4, Ep 9-22 (2017)—Disney+
Jessica Jones—Season 2 (Summer season 2017)—Disney+
Luke Cage—Season 2 (2017)—Disney+
Runaways—Season 1 (2017)—beforehand a Hulu Authentic, solely streaming through purchase or lease now
Runaways—Season 2 (2017-18)
Iron Fist—Season 2 (late 2017)—Disney+
Daredevil—Season 3 (2017)—Disney+
2018
Thor: Ragnarok (2018)
Punisher—Season 2 (2018)—Disney+
Jessica Jones—Season 3 (2018)—Disney+
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018 however see under)
Runaways—Season 3 (2018)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 5, Eps 11-22 (ultimate 4 episodes concurrent to Infinity Warfare in 2018)—Disney+
Avengers: Infinity Warfare (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp—(the credit tag takes place concurrently Thanos’s snap, trapping Scott Lang within the quantum realm from 2018 till 2023)
Avengers: Endgame (begins in 2018 then jumps to 2023, with hops again to 2012, 2013, 2014, and a fast bounce to 1970)
2019
2023
Avengers: Endgame ending (2023)
WandaVision (three weeks post-Endgame, 2023)—Disney+
2024
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Spring 2024)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Spring-Summer season 2024)—Disney+
Spider-Man: Far From House (a full college 12 months after Endgame, Summer season 2024)
Eternals (Oct. 2024)
Spider-Man: No Manner House (Instantly follows Removed from House, however ends close to Dec. 2024)
Marvel’s Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Season 7 – Episodes 8-13, that are fully out of whack with continuity—Disney+
Physician Unusual and the Multiverse of Insanity (Autumn 2024)
Hawkeye (December 2024)—Disney+
The Future(s)
2025
Moon Knight (Spring 2025)
Black Panther: Wakanda Perpetually (Spring 2025; following the dying of T’Challa in Spring 2024)
Echo (this placement is in response to the official MCU timeline)—This was the primary Mature Audiences Solely MCU present for the reason that outdated stuff from Netflix and is dubbed a “Marvel Highlight,” that means you need not have watched any MCU content material to take pleasure in it. Nevertheless it makes far more sense in the event you at the least noticed Daredevil and Hawkeye.
She-Hulk: Lawyer at Legislation (Spring-Autumn 2025)
Ms. Marvel (Autumn 2025)
Thor: Love and Thunder (Autumn 2025…that is eight years and 7 months after Jane and Thor broke up)
Werewolf by Evening (Some will not say for positive, however the official MCU timeline on Disney+ says it takes place after Love and Thunder in 2025)
The Guardians of the Galaxy: Vacation Particular (Vacation time 2025)
(Credit score: Marvel Studios)
2026
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (early 2026)
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (mid-2026)
Secret Invasion (2026)
The Marvels (2026)
Deadpool & Wolverine (Who is aware of?)
Agatha All Alongside (Fall 2026, three years after WandaVision)
Daredevil: Born Once more (Late 2026 for the primary episode prelude)
2027
As you may see, the post-Snap continuity is messy.
Most of Loki and Deadpool & Wolverine happen exterior of time, due to the Time Variance Authority. The official timeline says Loki S1 is just post-Endgame, and S2 comes after The Marvels.
Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith) in ‘What If…?’ Season 3 (Credit score: Marvel Animation.)
A present like What If…? takes place exterior of continuity utterly, however extremely informs the way forward for films that contain the multiverse.
If you happen to do not like this timeline, you could have different choices. Take a look at the scarily detailed one on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Fandom Wiki.
Or purchase the hardcover coffee-table guide The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline. It covers the Sacred Timeline (IYKYK, proper Loki followers?)—which implies it does not embrace Marvel TV exhibits like Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D, Daredevil, and many others. (these are a separate department, in fact)—up by Part 5.
Advisable by Our Editors
What’s Coming?
Loads of films and TV exhibits are coming quickly to the MCU. These are the titles we all know, with up to date launch dates.
MCU: Part 6
Incredible 4: First Steps (July 25, 2025)—Direct to theaters
Eyes of Wakanda animated TV present (Aug. 6, 2025)—Direct to Disney+
Marvel Zombies (Oct. 25, 2025 – What If…? spin-off) —Direct to Disney+
Surprise Man TV present (December 2025)—Direct to Disney+
Spider-Man: Model New Day (July 31, 2026)—Direct to theaters
Avengers: Doomsday (Dec. 18, 2026)—Direct to theaters
Punisher Particular (2026)—Direct to Disney+
Imaginative and prescient sequence (2026)—Direct to Disney+
Avengers: Secret Wars (Dec. 17, 2027)—Direct to theaters
Dates for 2028 movies with no titles hooked up but.
Feb. 2028
Could 2028
Nov. 2028
Delayed or Canceled:
Armor Wars—initially meant to be a TV present that includes Don Cheadle as Warfare Machine, it is being revamped into a movie, or possibly it is canceled.
Blade—Direct to theaters
Probably candidates for these unannounced tasks embrace sequels for Physician Unusual, Shang-Chi, Black Panther, and Thor and, doubtlessly, the complete MCU reveal of the X-Males. Perhaps Blade will get again on the schedule. Maybe we’ll get that team-up of Younger Avengers Marvel has been teasing. We can also get TV exhibits about Okoye from Black Panther and the person referred to as Nova (the Nova Corps are house cops; you noticed a number of within the first GotG).
Then once more, Marvel’s multiverse could also be just a little too dense. Some declare the corporate is overdoing it. Marvel scaled again a bit because it confronted quite a few points, together with the truth that it fired Kang.
You’ll be able to embrace Spider-Man: Throughout the Spider-Verse within the Marvel multiverse. The follow-up to the Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse hit theaters in the summertime of 2023 and made more cash than the primary. A 3rd, Past the Spider-Verse, initially meant to be out already, is now scheduled for a June 4, 2027 launch.
Season one among X-Males ’97, the continuation of the cartoon that ended over 25 years in the past, was a big hit with Marvel followers in 2024. It is a blast, nevertheless it’s not a part of the MCU. Neither is the brand new Your Pleasant Neighborhood Spider-Man, although it references MCU film occasions.
This story does not even dip into the Marvel-adjacent movies from Sony, together with Madame Net and Kraven the Hunter. If you happen to preferred Venom and Morbius, you may take pleasure in these, too. However in all probability not.
Lastly, in the event you’re in search of a superb Marvel TV present that has nothing to do with the MCU, is simply barely associated to the X-Males movies, and has musical numbers, watch Legion. All three seasons are on Hulu through FX.
About Eric Griffith
Senior Editor, Options
I have been writing about computer systems, the web, and expertise professionally for over 30 years, greater than half of that point with PCMag. I run a number of particular tasks together with the Readers’ Selection and Enterprise Selection surveys, and yearly protection of the Greatest ISPs and Greatest Gaming ISPs, plus Greatest Merchandise of the Yr and Greatest Manufacturers. I work from my house, and did it lengthy earlier than pandemics made it cool.
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