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Marvel Cinematic Universe Films in Viewing Order

Writer: Anastasia Shelton
Anastasia Shelton
Apr 4, 2018
4 min read

Updated: Sep 7


**Last updated: September 2026**


When I first made this list in 2018, the goal was simple: get caught up before Avengers: Infinity War. Well...a lot has happened in the MCU since then.


There are a lot more movies, a lot more characters and a whole lot more timeline to keep track of. So, this post was definitely overdue for an update.


If you want to watch the Marvel movies as they were released, start with the first list. If you’d rather follow the story chronologically, I've got that too.


Should You Watch the Marvel Movies in Release Order or Timeline Order?


If this is your first time watching the MCU, I recommend release order.


You get the introductions, reveals and post-credit scenes in the order audiences originally experienced them. It also keeps some things from being spoiled before you're supposed to know about them.


If you've already seen the movies and you're doing a rewatch, timeline order is a fun way to switch things up and see how everything fits together.


Now, let's get into this very long list.


Marvel Movies in Release Order

Phase One

  1. Iron Man (2008)

  2. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

  3. Iron Man 2 (2010)

  4. Thor (2011)

  5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

  6. The Avengers (2012)

Phase Two

  1. Iron Man 3 (2013)

  2. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

  3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

  4. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

  5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

  6. Ant-Man (2015)

Phase Three

  1. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

  2. Doctor Strange (2016)

  3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

  4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

  5. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

  6. Black Panther (2018)

  7. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

  8. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

  9. Captain Marvel (2019)

  10. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  11. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Phase Four

  1. Black Widow (2021)

  2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

  3. Eternals (2021)

  4. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

  5. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

  6. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

  7. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Phase Five

  1. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

  2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

  3. The Marvels (2023)

  4. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

  5. Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

  6. Thunderbolts* (2025)

Phase Six

  1. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

  2. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

  3. Avengers: Doomsday (2026) — coming December 18


Marvel currently lists Avengers: Secret Wars for December 17, 2027, so that will eventually be another addition to this list.

Marvel Movies in Timeline Order

This is where things get a little more complicated.


The MCU isn't one perfectly straight timeline anymore. Once we get into the Multiverse Saga, we have alternate universes, time travel and characters literally jumping between universes. Marvel even has an official MCU timeline dedicated to sorting out when and where everything happens.


So rather than pretending every movie fits perfectly into one straight line, this is the order I would use for a movie-only chronological rewatch:


  1. Captain America: The First Avenger

  2. Captain Marvel

  3. Iron Man

  4. Iron Man 2

  5. The Incredible Hulk

  6. Thor

  7. The Avengers

  8. Thor: The Dark World

  9. Iron Man 3

  10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  11. Guardians of the Galaxy

  12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

  13. Avengers: Age of Ultron

  14. Ant-Man

  15. Captain America: Civil War

  16. Black Widow

  17. Black Panther

  18. Spider-Man: Homecoming

  19. Doctor Strange

  20. Thor: Ragnarok

  21. Ant-Man and the Wasp

  22. Avengers: Infinity War

  23. Avengers: Endgame

  24. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

  25. Eternals

  26. Spider-Man: Far From Home

  27. Spider-Man: No Way Home

  28. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

  29. Thor: Love and Thunder

  30. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

  31. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

  32. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

  33. The Marvels

  34. Captain America: Brave New World

  35. Thunderbolts*


And then we have the movies that make a simple timeline...not so simple.


What About Deadpool & Wolverine and The Fantastic Four?

This is where the multiverse enters the chat.


Deadpool & Wolverine involves multiple timelines and universes, so I wouldn't try to squeeze it into a specific point in the main MCU timeline. For a rewatch, I'd watch it after The Marvels and before moving into the newest movies.


The Fantastic Four: First Steps is also intentionally set apart from the main MCU timeline. Marvel describes the movie as taking place in its own 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, and Marvel has confirmed that this version of the Fantastic Four is being brought into the larger MCU story.


I'd watch:

  1. Deadpool & Wolverine

  2. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  3. Spider-Man: Brand New Day


And then we'll see exactly how everything comes together in:


  1. Avengers: Doomsday


Which Marvel Viewing Order Do I Recommend?


For your first watch, go with release order.


I know chronological order sounds like it should make everything easier, but some of the fun of the MCU is watching everything unfold the way it originally did. There are reveals and connections that work better when you don't already have information from a movie that was released years later.

For a rewatch? Go chronological.


You've already seen everything, so you might as well have some fun with it.


And if you're planning to watch every movie and every Disney+ series in order...that's a completely different list.


Maybe I need to make that one next.


Did I miss anything? What's your favorite MCU movie? Let me know in the comments.


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