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There are now over thirty movies inDisney’slive-actionMarvelCinematic Universe (MCU for short), and there’s little sign that they’re going to stop anytime soon, with even the weakest movies in the bunch making hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets sales alone worldwide, not accounting for the vast array of available merchandise. With so many films having been released since 2008’s game-changingIron Manfilm, it can be confusing as to order the films should be viewed in.
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From release order to chronological order, finding the best path to experience this one-of-a-kind cinematic universe can be a tall order. Here’s how people can best watch every MCU movie from front to back.
Release Order
The first and simplest method of watching the MCU films is to watch them in order of release. With few exceptions, most of the MCU’s overarching plot is chronological, meaning the story is mostly a forward-progressing plot from the first Iron Man up toAvengersEndgame and beyond. Here’s the release date order of every MCU film from oldest to most recent.
Release Date
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Thor Ragnarok
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Captain Marvel
Avengers: Endgame
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Black Widow
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Thor: Love and Thunder
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
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This basic order does not account for the time skips, prequels, and flashbacks that take place at various points throughout the MCU, but in no way proves too confusing for the average viewer to follow along with and understand.
Chronological Order
A Chronological watch order for the Marvel Cinematic Universe does not make too many alterations to the order of films, mostly re-arranging films set prior to Iron Man in 2008 ahead of that movie to show the groundwork being laid for the Avengers. Starting in the ancient past and leading up to the present day, the MCU has a storied history of heroes and villains that will inform and influence future events.
Eternals starts off thousands of years before the current MCU timeline and then takes us to the “post-snap” era. The movie showcases the arrival of Eternals and Deviants on Earth and concludes their years-old fight on the planet.
5000 BC - Present
Directed By
Chloé Zhao
Where To Watch
Disney Plus
Captain America: The First Avengers shows the origin story of Steve Rogers, the guy who becomes the American hero after defeating the Hydra. It begins the journey of one of the most powerful and influential members of the Avengers.
Joe Johnston
Captain Marvel is set in the third Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it features the journey of Carol Danvers. In the movie, Carol discovers her origin after arriving on Earth and meeting Nick Fury, who, in fact, learns about superpowered beings after meeting Carol.
Anna Boden, Nia DaCosta, Ryan Fleck
The movie that started it all - Iron Man, begins the journey of Tony Snark, the millionaire who got abducted in Afghanistan. The events in Afghanistan motivated Tony to build the marvelous Iron Man suit, thus beginning his journey as an Avenger.
Jon Favreau
Bruce Banner resurfaces as The Hulk, defeating the newly reborn Abomination and drawing the world’s attention to modern genetic testing being done off the record. Bruce goes into hiding and falls into a deep depression.
Louis Leterrier
Tony Stark’s publicly known dual identity causes public strife and strains his abilities to the breaking point, and James Rhodes acquires the War Machine suit publicly, and the military begins coaching him to become a government-sanctioned asset.
Thor, son of Odin, arrives on earth to learn humility at his father’s demand. He and Loki learn of earth, and Thor decides to stay as one of its protectors while Loki plots an invasion of the earth for the Cosmic Cube.
Kenneth Branagh
The Avengers are assembled by Nick Fury to combat an alien invasion by Loki, and the world at large is exposed to advanced alien life. Loki is defeated and imprisoned, and the assembled heroes dedicate themselves to safeguarding humanity from fantastical threats.
Joss Whedon
Tony Stark faces a final burden that comes from having his alternate persona as Iron Man be public knowledge. With the Mandarin leading a terror campaign against the United States and the introduction of Iron Patriot, piloted by James Rhodes, humanity’s tech industry begins to see a new wave of rapid advancements.
Shane Black
A rare cosmic event aligns the nine realms, and destructive forces are coming to earth as a result. Returning to earth, Thor stands in defense of the planet and the people he’s come to love, and the world is introduced to another form of advanced life not native to earth, this time being extra-dimensional beings from other realms.
Alan Taylor
A decades-long conspiracy within SHIELD and the US government by Hydra is put into action, threatening US democracy. Meanwhile, Bucky is revealed to be alive, brainwashed into being a now-former Soviet assassin that Captain America has to fight, eventually breaking some of Bucky’s conditioning, while SHIELD is dissolved in the aftermath of the failed Hydra coup attempt.
Anthony & Joe Russo
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Kidnapped child Peter Quill has grown up to be a star-traversing pirate and mercenary. Imprisoned alongside a group of other misfits, they form their own team to combat existential threats and solve people’s problems for a price.
James Gunn
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Peter’s father is revealed to be a god-like being that manipulates Peter to drain his essence as the final stage in a long-awaited ritual. The Guardians resolve their personable issues with each other, and Peter makes up with his surrogate father, Yondu, prior to his death.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
The Avengers make a mistake, as an AI program created by Tony Stark, called Ultron, decides that humanity must die to safeguard the planet itself. The nation of Sokovia is all but destroyed, alongside many of its residents, while a new program to counter Ultron, Vision, joins the Avengers alongside the Scarlet Witch.
Thief and con man Scott Lang is entrusted with the size-changing suit technology of Hank Pym and has to combat another size-changing threat, Yellow Jacket, while also learning to be a better father for his estranged daughter. Yellow Jacket is dealt with, and Scott holds onto the suit and works alongside Hank to further study and implement this technology for the greater good.
Peyton Reed
The Sokovia Accords is passed in the UN, rendering super-powered beings as assets to be dictated by the government. The Avengers fall into an internal conflict that turns ugly, with Tony working to near-death and distrusting Steve, while Rhodes is left partially crippled. In the midst of this, Stark recruits a young Spider-Man to help in the fighting, giving him an advanced suit and taking him as a protege. Captain America’s team goes off the grid to avoid capture.
A world-famous doctor finds a new path in life while seeking treatment for his broken hands. Steven Strange finds himself mastering the mystic arts and combating ancient evils that are being summoned into the world, assuming the role of earth’s protector against magic and reality-warping entities and groups.
Scott Derrickson
Black Widow is on the run after the events of the Civil War and now has to face old demons from her past as a conditioned and trained Russian agent. Romanov gets involved in a plot to free the other agents that she was trained alongside and is ultimately gifted a Quinjet to rescue the Avengers captured amidst the fallout of the Civil War.
Cate Shortland
The ancient African nation of Wakanda comes out of hiding and makes its presence known to the wider world, including the hyper-advanced technologies their ancestors developed from the mineral Vibranium that seemingly exists only within their borders. When one of their own, Killmonger, attempts to seize the throne and incite a worldwide revolution, T’challa steps up to the plate as Wakanda’s proper leader after his own father’s death and stops Killmonger, avoiding catastrophe.
Ryan Coogler
Spider-Man’s rogues' gallery is growing, and he’s conflicted about how much he should be Spider-Man and how much he should be Peter Parker. With the Vulture on his tail and his Stark-tech suit confiscated, Peter realizes more of his potential and overcomes the odds, defeats Vulture, and realizes he is more than a suit or a symbol.
Asgard is destroyed during an invasion by Hela, with the Hulk being retrieved from exile to help Thor and Loki evacuate the surviving Asgardians onboard a starship to resettle elsewhere. Their ship is overtaken and besieged by Thanos' army.
Taika Waititi
Ant-Man And The Wasp
Hank Pym’s wife is rescued from the Quantum realm while Scott’s house arrest nears its end for helping Captain America. While trapped in the realm during an experiment, Scott is trapped as the others outside are dusted by Thanos.
Avengers Infinity War
Thanos' army arrives at earth to collect the Infinity Stones, and the Avengers reconvene to fight back. Thanos succeeds and uses the stones to wipe away half of all life in the universe, leaving billions gone, including a number of the Avengers and Guardians. The world is left broken and scarred in the aftermath.
Avengers Endgame
The Avengers use Tony’s technology to construct a crude time machine, acquiring the Infinity Stones in the past to undo Thano’s snap. In the new timeline, Thanos and his army are defeated, the missing half of the universe is brought back to life, Sam Wilson is handed the Captain America shield, and Tony Stark is killed.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Shang-Chi is forced to confront his father, the head of an ancient organization that has long been plotting to release an ancient evil into the world as a weapon of conquest. Shang-Chi meets with Wong, who recruits Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers to study the rings and their origins.
Destin Daniel Cretton
Spider-Man Far From Home
In the aftermath of the Snap being undone, Peter’s class takes a trip to Italy. Peter is tricked into surrendering his access to Stark Tech to Mysterio, a manipulative con artist, to create fictional monsters to become a hero in the public’s eyes. Peter defeats Mysterio, who reveals Peter’s identity to the world with a recorded message.
Spider-Man No Way Home
Peter messes up a wish Dr. Strange casts to wipe the world’s memory of his identity, tearing a fabric into reality and bringing other Spider-Men and their villains into the world. With the three of them working together, the tear in reality, is patched. All the world’s memory of Peter Parker’s existence is wiped, and Aunt May is killed. Peter is now on his own and builds a new suit.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Dr. Strange teams up with the Illuminati to stop Scarlet Witch, who has been driven mad and threatens multiple realities. Scarlet Witch is talked down from her madness, and she disappears, while Strange is approached by a stranger and brought into the Dark Dimension.
T’challa dies from an onset illness, and Shuri assumes the role of the Black Panther to help Wakanda from an incursion by Namor and his underwater society. Namor is beaten into a peace treaty, while Shuri surrenders the Black Panther role to help strengthen bonds between Namor’s people and Wakanda.
Thor Love And Thunder
Thor and Jane have to fight Gorr, who seeks to slaughter the gods, while Jane is dying of cancer. She succumbs to her illness while Gorr is defeated, and Thor adopts a rescued child as his own daughter to join him on his quests.
