How to watch Marvel movies in order: MCU chronological timeline and release order
Here’s how to watch the Marvel movies in order as we await the arrival of Deadpool & Wolverine later this year.
Looking to watch the Marvel movies and shows in order? With seven huge movies on the horizon in Phase 5 and 6 including Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and the Fantastic Four reboot, the cast of which has officially been announced, now is the perfect time to get stuck in.
But where should you begin? Phase 5 continued in January 2024 with the release of the Hawkeye spin-off series Echo on Disney+.
So far in this phase of the MCU, we've also been treated to three cinematic releases in the form of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the epic trilogy closer Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the Captain Marvel sequel film The Marvels, which is now available to stream on Disney+.
Of course, with four previous phases, fans might be wondering where the best starting point is? Have no fear, RadioTimes.com has you covered in how to watch Marvel movies in order - including both chronological and release date order.
How to watch Marvel movies in chronological order
Looking at the Marvel series in chronological order, it's actually Captain America: The First Avenger that is set earliest, taking place during the Second World War where a skinny Steve Rogers is first dosed with the incredible Super Soldier Serum.
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The latest film entries in the chronological timeline are Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which were released in 2022 but due to the Endgame time jump, actually takes place around the year 2026.
Some fans believe that this is the best way to watch the MCU movies as elements are introduced as the characters in the story encounter them – for instance, this method makes Nick Fury's Infinity War cameo more satisfying, as viewers will already have the context provided by Captain Marvel (released in cinemas the following year).
However, there are other cases in which this is a detriment, such as Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is largely set before the events of Infinity War, but its own post-credits scene spoils the ending to the epic crossover movie.
The following list of films and TV series are based on Disney+'s official viewing order.
Here are the Marvel movies in chronological viewing order:
- Captain America: The First Avenger (1942)
- Captain Marvel (1995)
- Iron Man (2010)
- Iron Man 2 (2011)
- The Incredible Hulk (2011)
- Thor (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Iron Man 3 (2012)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Black Widow (2016, excluding post-credits scene)
- Black Panther (2016)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016-2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2017)
- Avengers: Endgame (2017-2022)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2023)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2023)
- Eternals (2023, excluding flashbacks)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2024)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2025)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2026)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2026)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2026)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2026)
- The Marvels (2026)
Some fans believe that this is the best way to watch the MCU movies as elements are introduced as the characters in the story encounter them – for instance, this method makes Nick Fury's Infinity War cameo more satisfying, as viewers will already have the context provided by Captain Marvel (released in cinemas the following year).
However, there are other cases in which this is a detriment, such as Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is largely set before the events of Infinity War, but its own post-credits scene spoils the ending to the epic crossover movie.
The above list of films and TV series are based on Disney+'s official viewing order.
Meanwhile, below you can find the Marvel TV shows in chronological viewing order:
- Werewolf By Night (TBC)
- Loki (after Endgame, but outside of the main timeline – read more on Loki's timeline)
- WandaVision (2023)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2023)
- Hawkeye (2024)
- Moon Knight (2025)
- She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2025)
- Ms Marvel (2025)
- Echo (2025)
Marvel's What If...? is set outside the main timeline, as it takes place in various parallel realities.
Additionally, considering the complicated relationship with rights to the character, you may also need to check out our Spider-Man movies in order page.
We asked a panel of pop-culture enthusiasts to share their thoughts on the release of The Marvels this November. Watch the full Marvel versus DC debate show now.
How to watch Marvel movies in order of release
If the chronological order sounds a little too confusing, there is also the option to simply watch the Marvel movies in release date order, which also neatly categorises the MCU story into four distinct "phases".
The first three phases make up what is now referred to as the Infinity Saga, beginning with the introduction of the Avengers characters and ending with the time-hopping mega-event that was Avengers: Endgame.
Watching this method will send you on the same journey that millions of Marvel fans all over the world have enjoyed, allowing you to watch first-hand how the MCU grew from a fairly grounded superhero flick to an all-out space opera.
It's true that watching this way will mean you see some events outside of their in-universe order, i.e. the origin of Captain America or the first meeting between Nick Fury and Captain Marvel, but this doesn't cause any serious storytelling problems.
In release date order, the MCU begins with 2008's Iron Man and continues all the way up to 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with several new movies to be added to that list next year.
The Infinity Saga
Phase One
- Iron Man (May, 2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (June, 2008)
- Iron Man 2 (May, 2010)
- Thor (May, 2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22, 2011)
- Avengers Assemble (May 4, 2012)
Phase Two
- Iron Man 3 (May, 2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (November, 2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April, 2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (August, 2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (May, 2015)
- Ant-Man (July, 2015)
Phase Three
- Captain America: Civil War (May, 2016)
- Doctor Strange (November, 2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May, 2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (July, 2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (November, 2017)
- Black Panther (February, 2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (April, 2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (July, 2018)
- Captain Marvel (March, 2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (April, 2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (July, 2019)
The Multiverse Saga
Phase Four
- WandaVision (TV series) (January, 2021)
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TV series) (March, 2021)
- Loki season 1 (TV series) (June, 2021)
- Black Widow (9th July 2021)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (3rd September 2021)
- Eternals (5th November 2021)
- Hawkeye (24th November 2021)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (17th December 2021)
- Moon Knight (TV show -30th March 2022)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (5th May 2022)
- Ms Marvel (TV show - 8th June 2022)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (8th July 2022)
- She-Hulk (TV show - 18th August 2022)
- Werewolf By Night (TV special - 7th October 2022)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (11th November 2022)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (TV special - 25th November 2022)
Phase Five
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (17th February 2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (5th May 2023)
- Secret Invasion (TV show - 21st June 2023)
- Loki season 2 (TV show - 6th October 2023)
- The Marvels (10th November 2023)
- Echo (TV show - 9th January 2023)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (25th July 2024)
- Agatha (TV show - 2024)
- Captain America: Brave New World (14th February 2025)
- Ironheart (TV show - TBC)
- Daredevil: Born Again (TV show - 2025)
Phase Six
- Thunderbolts* (2nd May 2025)
- Fantastic Four (25th July 2025)
- Blade (7th November 2025)
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (1st May 2026)
- Avengers: Secret Wars (7th May 2027)
Future MCU movies and TV shows
- Armour Wars (Movie- TBC)
- Eternals sequel (Movie - TBC)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel (Movie - TBC)
- Untitled Wakanda Series (TV show - TBC)
- Wonder Man (TV show - TBC)
- Vision Quest (TV show - TBC)
- Untitled X-Men movie (Movie - TBC)
So, we still have a wealth of Marvel series left to enjoy in the next few years - and beyond!
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What Marvel movies are available on Disney Plus?
As Marvel is owned by Disney, you can watch most of the MCU movies whenever you like if you're a subscriber to the studio's very own streaming service: Disney Plus.
The following Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are available on Disney+.
- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers (Avengers Assemble)
- Iron Man 3
- Thor: The Dark World
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
- Captain America: Civil War
- Doctor Strange
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Black Panther
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Endgame
- Black Widow
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- The Marvels
That said, there are a few movies missing from the platform at the time of writing, specifically Tom Holland's recent Spider-Man movies (as they were co-produced with Sony Pictures).
Fortunately, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home are available to purchase digitally and are available on other streaming services.
The following MCU television series and specials are also available on Disney+.
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Loki season 1
- What If...? season 1
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Ms Marvel
- I Am Groot seasons 1 and 2
- She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
- Werewolf By Night
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Secret Invasion
- Echo
More series are on the way soon, including Loki season 2 later this year.
How to download and watch Marvel movies
As we laid out above, most of the Marvel movies are available to stream on Disney Plus.
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However, you can also download the films from the service to watch on the go. Here's your step-by-step guide.
- Open your Disney Plus app (see how to download).
- At the home screen, search for the film you want to download to your device.
- Tap on the download arrow icon at the bottom menu of the Disney Plus app.
- To see and watch your downloaded titles, visit the “Downloads” tab on the app’s bottom menu.
You can download an unlimited number of movies from the Disney Plus mobile app. Your downloaded shows will only be able to watch so long as you’re a subscriber to the service.
You can also buy, rent and download each Marvel movie on Amazon (you do not need to be an Amazon Prime Video customer to do this).
Wondering what else you can watch on Disney Plus? Take a look at our best Disney Plus series guide or the best Disney Plus movies.
Best Marvel movies according to IMDb scores
Another factor that might help you decide which order to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies is their review scores, which have varied a little over the years.
We've ranked the franchise below according to their IMDb scores, decided by the consensus of a large number of fans, and it's little surprise to see the two most recent Avengers films come out on top.
- Avengers: Endgame (IMDb score: 8.4)
- Avengers: Infinity War (IMDb score: 8.4)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (IMDb score: 8.3)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (IMDb score: 8)
- Avengers Assemble (IMDb score: 8)
- Iron Man (IMDb score: 7.9)
- Thor: Ragnarok (IMDb score: 7.9)
- Captain America: Civil War (IMDb score: 7.8)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (IMDb score: 7.7)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (IMDb score: 7.6)
- Doctor Strange (IMDb score: 7.5)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (IMDb score 7.4)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (IMDb score: 7.4)
- Spider-Man: Far from Home (IMDb score: 7.4)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (IMDb score: 7.4)
- Black Panther (IMDb score: 7.3)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (IMDb score: 7.3)
- Ant-Man (IMDb score: 7.3)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (IMDb score: 7.1)
- Iron Man 3 (IMDb score: 7.1)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (IMDb score: 7)
- Thor (IMDb score: 7)
- Iron Man 2 (IMDb score: 6.9)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (IMDb score: 6.9)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (IMDb score: 6.9)
- Thor: The Dark World (IMDb score: 6.9)
- Captain Marvel (IMDb score: 6.8)
- Black Widow (IMDb score: 6.7)
- The Incredible Hulk (IMDb score: 6.6)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (IMDb score: 6.4)
- Eternals (IMDb score: 6.3)
- The Marvels (IMDb score: 5.6)
Naturally, this is a ranking that consistently changes as a result of votes.
At the moment it is neck and neck between epic crossover movies for Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War for the most popular with audiences, while The Marvels is now the least popular.
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Best Marvel movies according to Rotten Tomatoes score
Many will be wondering what are the most critically acclaimed Marvel movies, however.
So, according to critics' scores on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, here are all the Marvel movies in order of the percentage of reviews that rated the film "Fresh".
- Black Panther (Rotten Tomatoes score 96%)
- Avengers: Endgame (Rotten Tomatoes score 94%)
- Iron Man (Rotten Tomatoes score 94%)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (Rotten Tomatoes score 94%)
- Thor: Ragnarok (Rotten Tomatoes score 93%)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (Rotten Tomatoes score 92%)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (Rotten Tomatoes score 92%)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Rotten Tomatoes score 91%)
- Avengers Assemble (Rotten Tomatoes score 91%)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (Rotten Tomatoes score 90%)
- Captain America: Civil War ((Rotten Tomatoes score 90%)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Rotten Tomatoes score 90%)
- Doctor Strange (Rotten Tomatoes score 89%)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (Rotten Tomatoes score 87%)
- Avengers: Infinity War (Rotten Tomatoes score 85%)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Rotten Tomatoes score 85%)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Rotten Tomatoes score 84%)
- Ant-Man (Rotten Tomatoes score 83%)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Rotten Tomatoes score 82%)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (Rotten Tomatoes score 80%)
- Captain Marvel (Rotten Tomatoes score 79%)
- Black Widow (Rotten Tomatoes score 79%)
- Iron Man 3 (Rotten Tomatoes score 79%)
- Thor (Rotten Tomatoes score 77%)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (Rotten Tomatoes score 76%)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Rotten Tomatoes score 74%)
- Iron Man 2 (Rotten Tomatoes score 72%)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (Rotten Tomatoes score 67%)
- The Incredible Hulk (Rotten Tomatoes score 67%)
- Thor: The Dark World (Rotten Tomatoes score 66%)
- The Marvels (Rotten Tomatoes score 62%)
- Eternals (Rotten Tomatoes score 47%)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Rotten Tomatoes score 47%)
According to the current Rotten Tomatoes ratings - which are also consistently changing, Black Panther is the most critically acclaimed MCU film while Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania rank as the least critically acclaimed and is the only MCU film to be marked as "Rotten".
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What is the highest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe movie?
All 33 Marvel Cinematic Universe films can be found below with their box office profits at this time of writing.
Avengers: Endgame is the highest-grossing MCU film of all time, while The Marvels ranks as the lowest-grossing for the franchise.
- Avengers: Endgame - $2,797,800,564
- Avengers: Infinity War - $2,048,359,754
- Spider-Man: No Way Home - $1,901,232,550
- Avengers Assemble - $1,518,815,515
- Avengers: Age of Ultron - $1,402,805,868
- Black Panther - $1,347,280,161
- Iron Man 3 - $1,214,811,252
- Captain America: Civil War - $1,153,296,293
- Spider-Man: Far From Home - $1,131,927,996
- Captain Marvel - $1,128,275,263
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - $954,821,198
- Spider-Man: Homecoming - $880,166,924
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - $858,852,377
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - $863,756,051
- Thor: Ragnarok - $853,977,126
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - $835,724,752
- Guardians of the Galaxy - $773,350,147
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier - $714,421,503
- Thor: Love and Thunder - $698,864,051
- Doctor Strange - $677,718,395
- Thor: The Dark World - $644,783,140
- Iron Man 2 -$623,933,331
- Ant-Man and the Wasp - $622,674,139
- Iron Man - $585,796,247
- Ant-Man - $519,311,965
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - $475,967,449
- Thor - $449,326,618
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - $432,243,292
- Eternals - $402,064,899
- Black Widow - $379,751,655
- Captain America: The First Avenger - $370,569,774
- The Incredible Hulk - $264,770,996
- The Marvels - $206,112,973
More information on box office performance can be found on Box Office Mojo and Guinness World Records.
Marvel movies in order of runtime
The following Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are in order from shortlist to longest in runtime.
- The Marvels - 1 hour 45 minutes
- The Incredible Hulk – 1 hour 52 minutes
- Thor: The Dark World – 1 hour 52 minutes
- Doctor Strange – 1 hour 55 minutes
- Thor – 1 hour 55 minutes
- Ant-Man – 1 hour 57 minutes
- Ant-Man and The Wasp – 1 hour 58 minutes
- Thor: Love and Thunder -1 hour 59 minutes
- Guardians of the Galaxy – 2 hours 2 minutes
- Captain America: The First Avenger – 2 hours 4 minutes
- Captain Marvel – 2 hours 4 minutes
- Iron Man 2 – 2 hours 4 minutes
- Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania – 2 hours and 5 minutes
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 2 hours 6 minutes
- Iron Man – 2 hours 6 minutes
- Spider-Man: Far From Home – 2 hours 9 minutes
- Iron Man 3 – 2 hours 10 minutes
- Thor: Ragnarok – 2 hours 10 minutes
- Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings – 2 hours 12 minutes
- Spider-Man: Homecoming – 2 hours 13 minutes
- Black Panther – 2 hours 14 minutes
- Black Widow – 2 hours 14 minutes
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier – 2 hours 16 minutes
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – 2 hours 17 minutes
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – 2 hours 21 minutes
- The Avengers – 2 hours 23 minutes
- Captain America: Civil War – 2 hours 27 minutes
- Spider-Man: No Way Home – 2 hours 28 minutes
- Avengers: Infinity War – 2 hours 29 minutes
- Eternals – 2 hours 36 minutes
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 2 hours 41 minutes
- Avengers: Endgame – 3 hours 1 minute
So, it'll take some beating to defeat Avengers: Endgame as the longest MCU film!
Best Marvel series on Disney Plus (IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes)
We can also see the IMDb scores for each of the series released as part of the MCU's Phase Four and were released on Disney Plus.
- Loki season 1 (IMDb score 8.2)
- WandaVision (IMDb score 7.9)
- Hawkeye (IMDb score 7.5)
- What If...? (IMDb score 7.4)
- Moon Knight (IMDb score 7.3)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (IMDb score 7.1)
- Ms Marvel (IMDb score 6.2)
- Echo (IMDb score 6.1)
- Secret Invasion (IMDb score 6.0)
- She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (IMDb score 5.2)
Meanwhile, the Rotten Tomatoes scores for each series by critics' ratings are as follows.
- Ms Marvel (Rotten Tomatoes score 98%)
- What If...? (Rotten Tomatoes score 94%)
- Loki (Rotten Tomatoes score 92%)
- Hawkeye (Rotten Tomatoes score 92%)
- WandaVision (Rotten Tomatoes score 91%)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Rotten Tomatoes score 89%)
- Moon Knight (Rotten Tomatoes score 87%)
- She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (Rotten Tomatoes score 85%)
- Echo (Rotten Tomatoes score 62%)
- Secret Invasion (Rotten Tomatoes score 54%)
It is worth noting that we are only including the series that count as part of the MCU Phases and not including the Marvel Netflix series or ABC and Hulu shows.
Marvel Studios' Netflix series according to their IMDb ratings can be found below.
- Daredevil (IMDb score 8.6)
- The Punisher (IMDb score 8.5)
- Jessica Jones (IMDb score 7.9)
- Luke Cage (IMDb score 7.3)
- The Defenders (IMDb score 7.3)
- Iron Fist (IMDb score 6.4)
We think it's safe to say that Iron Fist is the least popular of these shows, while Daredevil clearly comes out on top!
What's the best way to watch the Marvel movies in order?
While the choice is yours entirely, we'd recommend just watching in plain ol' release order – it's the order in which the films were produced and so, ultimately, the order in which they are best viewed.... at least if you're an MCU newbie, with post-credits scenes, Easter eggs and so on all making the most sense viewed in this order.
We would advise against using the chronological order if you're a total newcomer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the method sounds appealing in theory, there are several reasons why it could actually hamper your overall experience of the MCU.
First off: you may struggle to remember the background of certain characters. Captain Marvel, for instance, will be introduced in the second film in the list, but won't be mentioned again until more than 40 screen hours later.
Also, making Captain Marvel your second MCU movie means you miss out on the in-jokes and references established over 17 preceding entries.
However, there is something to be said for ardent Marvel fans revisiting the saga chronologically, as this will give more depth to the backstory of some key characters and brings a new understanding of the MCU timeline (e.g. many don't realise that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and 2 are set mere months apart).
- Read More: How to watch all the DC Extended Universe movies in order
- Read More: How to watch all of the Star Wars movies in order
Check out more of our Movies coverage or visit our TV guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For Marvel merch, head to our guide to the best Marvel gifts.
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