The MCU is now in its fifteenth year, and during that time there have been an incredible number of movies, TV shows, web series, and one-shots. The universe has expanded in size, and even for the most ardent Marvel fans, it’s a serious challenge to watch it all and keep your head on the timeline.
We’ve put together a timeline of Marvel movies, shows, and more, so you know what order to watch Marvel movies and shows in – and what phases they all fall into. Alternatively, if you prefer to watch them in the order they are released, we have also implemented a release date order for all shows and movies.
Marvel has also released its own official timeline for the films in the book Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years, which does its best to give specific years for the filming of the various films (up to, but not including, Captain Marvel & Avengers: Endgame):
- 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: strange doctor
- 2017: Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp
For reference, we are now in Phase 5, which is the second segment of the multiverse saga. It started with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – you can find out when that’s available to stream here.
We also have a similar article for watching all of the Spider-Man movies in order. You can also find out what the next Marvel movie will be and how She-Hulk is preparing for Daredevil’s future in the MCU.
How to watch Marvel movies and TV shows in chronological order
There are a few disclaimers in our list below. First of all, the timeline gets more complex as you go, so it gets harder to order the movies perfectly. For example, Doctor Strange starts just before Captain America: Civil War, but takes a time jump and ends well after, while Black Panther starts shortly after Civil War, but the whole story probably takes place before the major. part of Doctor Strange.
It doesn’t help that Marvel broke its own timeline. There are a few small inconsistencies scattered throughout the place, but the most glaring is Spider-Man: Homecoming, which claims to take place eight years after the attack on New York in the first Avengers. That would put the movie in 2020 – two or three years after Avengers: Infinity War, which Marvel itself claims is set in 2017 despite plenty of evidence that the Snap took place in the spring of 2018.
It’s a pretty minor blunder in the scheme of things, but it’s a reminder not to take the MCU’s chronological timeline. Also seriously – even Marvel itself can’t keep everything straight, so as long as you look at things in the right order, you’ll be fine.
If you want the cliff visual notes, Marvel has now released every post-credit scene up to Endgame (including Captain Marvel’s) in order to so you can rewatch every little tease as they built the MCU.
Disney+ also has its own chronological order. However, we’ve only used it to inform shows in the Phase Four section, as some parts of the list conflict with previous ones from Marvel Studios. For example, he claims that Thor: The Dark World takes place before Iron Man 3, which would place that movie in 2013, not 2012 as previous sources have stated.
We’ve broken everything down into “phases” of Marvel, but there are a few gray areas: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was made during Phase Three, but takes place almost immediately after its predecessor; Captain Marvel was one of the last Phase Three films, but takes place before most of Phase One, and some of the TV shows fall awkwardly between the different phases of the film.
Also, while Marvel says Spider-Man: Far From Home is the last film in Phase Three, it takes place after the first two Disney+ shows – so we’ve adjusted the order to reflect that.
Without further ado, here’s our chronological order of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it currently stands. Movies are bold, TV shows are not. You can watch the majority of movies and shows by signing up to Disney Plus, except for the Spider-Man movies and a few other titles – those are marked with an asterisk. You can also find the full list in our complete guide to Marvel on Disney Plus.
You can also buy all-phase sets from HMV and Amazon in the UK, and Walmart and Amazon in the US.
First phase
Phase two
- Item 47 (one-shot — Avengers DVD/Blu-ray)*
- iron man 3
- All Hail the King (one-shot – Thor: The Dark World DVD/Blu-ray)*
- Agents of Shield (Season 1: Episodes 1-7)
- Thor: The Dark World
- Agents of Shield (Season 1: Episodes 8-16)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Agents of Shield (Season 1: Episodes 17-22)
- guardians of the galaxy
- I am Groot (episode 1)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- I am Groot (episodes 2-5)
- Daredevil (season 1)
- Agents of Shield (Season 2: Episodes 1-19)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Agents of Shield (Season 2: Episodes 20-22)
- The ant Man
- Jessica Jones (season 1)
- Daredevil (season 2)
- Agents of Shield (Season 3: Episodes 1-19)
Phase three
- Captain America: Civil War
- Black Widow
- Agents of Shield (Season 3: Episodes 20-22)
- Luke Cage (season 1)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Agents of Shield (Season Four: Episodes 1-8)
- strange doctor
- Agents of Shield: Slingshot (web series)*
- Agents of Shield (Season Four: Episodes 9-22)
- Black Panther
- Iron Fist (season 1)
- The Defenders (Season 1)
- Inhumans
- The Punisher (season 1)
- Runaways (season one and two)
- Jessica Jones (season 2)
- Cloak and Dagger (season 1)*
- Luke Cage (season 2)
- Iron Fist (season 2)
- Daredevil (season 3)
- The Punisher (season 2)
- Jessica Jones (season 3)
- Cloak and Dagger (season 2)*
- Runaways (season 3)
- Agents of Shield (season five, episodes 1-19)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Agents of Shield (season five, episodes 20–22)
- Agents of Shield (season 6)
- Agents of Shield (season seven)
- Avengers: Endgame
Phase four
- Loki (read below)
- What if…? (Read below)
- Wanda Vision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Spider-Man: No Coming Home*
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Hawk Eye
- Moon Knight
- She-Hulk
- Ms. Marvel
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- night werewolf
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Stage Five
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania*
* – not available on Disney Plus
It should be noted that Loki takes place in his own branch of time. Technically, the first episode picks up in 2012 in the Battle of New York. However, given that the scene Loki time travels from is in Avengers: Endgame, the show makes a lot more sense in the context of all the other movies as it deals with topics like the Infinity Stones. .
What if…? also features stories scattered across the MCU timeline. Again, the show needs the context of the previous films to make sense.
Finally, Spider-Man: No Way Home draws inspiration from other films in the Spider-Man universe, but we haven’t included them in the official MCU timeline.
How to watch Marvel movies and TV series in release date order
If you prefer to watch movies and series in the order of their release, it’s much less complicated. We’ve listed everything that’s been released so far in the MCU below. For the TV series, we have indicated the date from which the first episode took place and for how long the show aired.
We haven’t included the DVD shorts here – you’ll be able to find them with each of the films or on Disney+. As with the list above, movies are marked in bold.
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Agents of the Shield (2013-2020)
- Thor 2 (2013)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Agent Carter (2015-2016)
- Daredevil (2015-2018)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Jessica Jones (2015-2019)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Luke Cage (2016-2018)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Iron Fist (2017–2018)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II (2017)
- Spiderman: Homecoming (2017)
- The Defenders (2017)
- Inhumans (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- The Punisher (2017-2019)
- Runaways (2017-2019)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Cloak and Dagger (2018-2019)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spiderman: Far From Home (2019)
- Wanda Vision (2021)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
- Loki (2021)
- Black Widow (2021)
- What if…? (2021)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Eternals (2021)
- Hawkeye (2021)
- Spider-Man: No Coming Home (2021)
- Moon Knight (2022)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
- Ms. Marvel (2022)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- I Am Groot (2022)
- She Hulk (2022)
- Night Werewolf (2022)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
All Upcoming Marvel Movies and TV Shows
Marvel has outlined the release order for most Phase Five projects, as well as a few Phase Six films. These three phases will make up what Marvel calls the Multiverse Saga. Take a look at what’s in store below:
Stage 5
- What if…? season 2 (early 2023)
- Secret Invasion (Spring 2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (theatrical release on May 5, 2023)
- Echo (Summer 2023)
- Loki season 2 (summer 2023)
- Les Merveilles (theatrical release on July 28, 2023)
- Heart of Iron (Fall 2023)
- X-Men ’97 (Fall 2023)
- Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Winter 2023)
- Daredevil: Born Again (Spring 2024)
- Captain America: New World Order (May 3, 2024)
- Love at first sight (July 26, 2024)
- Blade (theatrical release September 6, 2024)
- Spider-Man: Year One (2024)
- Marvel Zombies (date to be confirmed)
- Armor Wars (date to be confirmed)
Phase 6
- Deadpool 3 (theatrical release on November 8, 2024)
- Fantastic Four (theatrical release February 14, 2025)
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (theatrical release May 2, 2025)
- Avengers: Secret Wars (theatrical release May 1, 2026)
These dates are based on what Marvel has already announced, but this release could potentially change. The Hollywood Reporter claims that Disney may be reducing its content production and that the only two TV series confirmed for 2023 are Secret Invasion and Loki season 2. However, this has not been officially confirmed.
Read next: How to watch Star Wars in order
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