Are you a huge Marvel fan? Do you have a specific order you tell people to watch the series and movies in? It seems everyone has a reason why you should watch Marvel movies and TV shows in a particular way and in a particular order.

Do you do it in chronological order, by phases, by timeline, or do you just mix and match like an insane person? 


Today I wanted to go over all the options and see which one you prefer. Let's dive in. 

Let's Go Over the Marvel Movies in Order of Release (Chronological and Timeline)

In a brief history, Marvel was purchased by Disney with the express intent of seeing if these properties could become valuable. Producer Kevin Feige was entrusted to shepherd the entire operation, and they decided to start off with Iron Man, since he could be the perfect one-off if the story imploded and the audience didn't show up—two things that did not happen, obviously. 

We know Marvel as a behemoth today. It's crazy to think there was a time when it was a grand social experiment. Now there's no sign of them ever slowing down. So how should you watch their movies? 

The Marvel Movies in Phase Order 

After the stunning success of the first movie and the demand for more, a scheme was set into place. They would release movies in phases. They also sculpted how these characters would meet, team up, and the obstacles their alliances would face along the way. Each release schedule was called a "phase." Eventually, TV shows also fit into these phases. 

Many people want you to watch the Marvel movies in phase order. so what does that look like: 

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:

  • 7. Iron Man 3 (2013)
  • 8. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
  • 9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
  • 10. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
  • 11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  • 12. Ant-Man (2015)

Phase Three:

  • 13. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
  • 14. Doctor Strange (2016)
  • 15. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
  • 16. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
  • 17. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
  • 18. Black Panther (2017)
  • 19. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • 20. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
  • 21. Captain Marvel (2019)
  • 22. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
  • 23. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Phase Four:

  • 24. WandaVision (Disney+ series)
  • 25. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney Plus series)
  • 26. Loki, season 1 (Disney+ series)
  • 27. Black Widow (2021)
  • 28. What If...? (Disney+ series)
  • 29. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
  • 30. Eternals (2021)
  • 31. Hawkeye (2021)

Phase Four (and beyond):

  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17, 2021)
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6, 2022)
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8, 2022)
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11, 2022)
  • Moon Knight (2022, Disney+ series)
  • She-Hulk (2022, Disney+ series)
  • Ms. Marvel (2022, Disney+ series)
  • The Marvels (AKA Captain Marvel 2) (February 17, 2023)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023)
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (July 28, 2023)
  • Blade (TBA)
  • Captain America 4 (TBA)
  • Fantastic Four (TBA)
  • Untitled Mutants movie (TBA)

The Marvel Movies in Chronological Order 

Another popular way to watch Marvel movies in order is chronological. This takes the movies and lays them out according to their timeline. It starts in the 1940s and takes us all the way to the present. This is popular because it puts the series of events that created the Avengers in order and allows you to see all the moving pieces that had to happen for the team to get together and fight crime, aliens, Nazis, and anything that threatens Earth. 

Chronological

  • 1. Captain America: The First Avenger (1942-1943)
  • 2. Captain Marvel (1995)
  • 3. Iron Man (2010)
  • 4. Iron Man 2 (2011)
  • 5. The Incredible Hulk (2011)
  • 6. Thor (2011)
  • 7. The Avengers (2012)
  • 8. Iron Man 3 (2012)
  • 9. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
  • 10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
  • 11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
  • 12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2014)
  • 13. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  • 14. Ant-Man (2015)
  • 15. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
  • 16. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016)
  • 17. Doctor Strange (2016-2017)
  • 18. Black Widow (2017)
  • 19. Black Panther (2017)
  • 20. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
  • 21. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2017)
  • 22. Avengers: Infinity War (2017)
  • 23. Avengers: Endgame (2018-2023)
  • 24. Loki (outside of our conception of time, but somewhere in here)
  • 25. WandaVision (2023)
  • 26. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings (2023-2024)
  • 27. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2023-2024)
  • 28. Hawkeye (2023-2024)
  • 29. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2024)
  • 30. Eternals (2024)

The Disney Order of Marvel Movies 

The success of Disney allowed it to open its own app and streaming platform called Disney+, where most of the movies in the Marvel universe now reside. If you want to stream them in Disney order, that means watching them as they appear on the app.

This MCU release order is always changing as they add new titles to streaming. 

The Disney Order 

  • Iron Man
  • Thor
  • Iron Man 2
  • Captain America: The First Avenger
  • The Avengers
  • Iron Man 3
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Thor: The Dark World
  • 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
  • Captain Marvel
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp
  • Avengers: Endgame
  • WandaVision
  • Falcon and the Winter Soldier
  • Loki
  • Black Widow
  • What If...?
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
  • Hawkeye

Marvel Movies in Order of Release Summary 

The Marvel movies in order of release is a fun thing to debate. Everyone seems to have a way to do it that they like, and there are no wrong opinions. If you have a release order you want to endorse, let us know why we should pick that order. 

While many bemoan the state of cinema today, I think it's fun to see these tentpoles really make a mark on Hollywood, and it'll be interesting to see where they go and how we look back on them in the years to come. 

Let us know what you think in the comments.