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- Confused by the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Here’s How to Watch Every MCU Movie and Show
Confused by the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Here’s How to Watch Every MCU Movie and Show
by
amanda prahl
Everett Collection / null
It’s hard to believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for almost 15 years. No one could have guessed when “Iron Man” was first released in May 2008 that a studio that didn’t even have the rights to Marvel’s most iconic characters would build the biggest shared universe in modern pop culture. More than a decade later, we have a sprawling universe full of incredible characters, interweaving movies and TV shows, and the bonding experience of sharing wild theories across the internet.
There are numerous movies and TV shows in the Marvel family, with many more on the horizon as it moves into Phase 5 and Phase 6. With so many great stories, it can be tricky to keep track of all of them – especially the ones which involve time travel, flashbacks, and the multiverse. Here’s a handy list so you can decide on the “correct” watch order (either by release date or in-universe chronology) for your Marvel faves. While some movies and shows on this list involve significant scenes set in the past (e.g., prologues or interspersed flashbacks), we’ve organized each movie based on when the majority of the plot takes place.
With the Marvel universe continuing to grow, you definitely want to bookmark this list!
Related: Every Major MCU Couple, Ranked
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
MCU Movies in Chronological Order
- “Captain America: The First Avenger”
- “Captain Marvel”
- “Iron Man”
- “The Incredible Hulk”
- “Iron Man 2”
- “Thor”
- “The Avengers”
- “Iron Man 3”
- “Thor: The Dark World”
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron”
- “Ant-Man”
- “Captain America: Civil War”
- “Black Widow”
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
- “Black Panther“
- “Doctor Strange”
- “Thor: Ragnarok”
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp”
- “Avengers: Infinity War”
- “Avengers: Endgame”
- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
- “Spider-Man: Far From Home”
- “Eternals”
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
- “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”
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
MCU Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Iron Man” (2008)
- “The Incredible Hulk” (2008)
- “Iron Man 2” (2010)
- “Thor” (2011)
- “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
- “The Avengers” (2012)
- “Iron Man 3” (2013)
- “Thor: The Dark World” (2013)
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
- “Ant-Man” (2015)
- “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)
- “Doctor Strange” (2016)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)
- “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
- “Black Panther” (2018)
- “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)
- “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
- “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019)
- “Black Widow” (2021)
- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021)
- “Eternals” (2021)
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021)
- “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022)
- “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022)
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023)
Everett Collection / ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
MCU Shows in Chronological Order
- “Agent Carter”
- “Agents of SHIELD”
- “Daredevil”
- “Jessica Jones”
- “Luke Cage”
- “Iron Fist”
- “The Defenders”
- “The Punisher”
- “Inhumans”
- “Runaways”
- “Cloak & Dagger”
- “WandaVision“
- “Loki”
- “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
- “Hawkeye”
- “What If?”
- “Moon Knight”
- “Ms. Marvel”
- “She-Hulk”
Everett Collection / Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection
MCU Shows in Release-Date Order
- “Agents of SHIELD” (2013-2020)
- “Agent Carter” (2015-2016)
- “Daredevil” (2015-2018)
- “Jessica Jones” (2015-2019)
- “Luke Cage” (2016-2018)
- “Iron Fist” (2017-2018)
- “The Defenders” (2017)
- “The Punisher” (2017-2019)
- “Inhumans” (2017)
- “Runaways” (2017-2019)
- “Cloak & Dagger” (2018-2019)
- “WandaVision” (2021)
- “Loki” (2021-)
- “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021)
- “Hawkeye” (2021)
- “What If?” (2021-)
- “Moon Knight” (2022)
- “Ms. Marvel” (2022)
- “She-Hulk” (2022)
Everett Collection / Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection
MCU Shows and Movies in Chronological Order
- “Captain America: The First Avenger”
- “Agent Carter”
- “Captain Marvel”
- “Iron Man”
- “The Incredible Hulk”
- “Iron Man 2”
- “Thor”
- “The Avengers”
- “Iron Man 3”
- “Thor: The Dark World”
- “Agents of SHIELD”
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”
- “Daredevil”
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron”
- “Ant-Man”
- “Jessica Jones”
- “Luke Cage”
- “Captain America: Civil War”
- “Black Widow”
- “Iron Fist”
- “The Defenders”
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
- “Black Panther“
- “The Punisher”
- “Doctor Strange”
- “Inhumans”
- “Runaways”
- “Cloak & Dagger”
- “Thor: Ragnarok”
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp”
- “Avengers: Infinity War”
- “Avengers: Endgame”
- “WandaVision“
- “Loki”
- “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
- “Spider-Man: Far From Home”
- “Eternals”
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
- “Hawkeye”
- “What If?”
- “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
- “Moon Knight”
- “Thor: Love and Thunder”
- “Ms. Marvel”
- “She-Hulk”
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Everett Collection / Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection
MCU Shows and Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Iron Man” (2008)
- “The Incredible Hulk” (2008)
- “Iron Man 2” (2010)
- “Thor” (2011)
- “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
- “The Avengers” (2012)
- “Iron Man 3” (2013)
- “Agents of SHIELD” (2013-2020)
- “Thor: The Dark World” (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)
- “Doctor Strange” (2016)
- “Luke Cage” (2016-2018)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)
- “Iron Fist” (2017-2018)
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)
- “The Defenders” (2017)
- “Inhumans” (2017)
- “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
- “The Punisher” (2017-2019)
- “Cloak & Dagger” (2018-2019)
- “Black Panther” (2018)
- “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)
- “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
- “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019)
- “Black Widow” (2021)
- “WandaVision” (2021)
- “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021)
- “Loki” (2021-)
- “What If?” (2021-)
- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021)
- “Eternals” (2021)
- “Hawkeye” (2021)
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021)
- “Moon Knight” (2022)
- “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022)
- “Ms. Marvel” (2022)
- “Thor: Love and Thunder”(2022)
- “She-Hulk” (2022)
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023)
Everett Collection / null
Avengers Movies in Chronological Order
- “The Avengers”
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron”
- “Avengers: Infinity War”
- “Avengers: Endgame”
Everett Collection / null
Avengers Movies in Release-Date Order
- “The Avengers” (2012)
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
- “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
- “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
Everett Collection / Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Iron Man Movies in Chronological Order
- “Iron Man”
- “Iron Man 2”
- “Iron Man 3”
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Iron Man Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Iron Man” (2008)
- “Iron Man 2” (2010)
- “Iron Man 3” (2013)
Everett Collection / Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Thor Movies in Chronological Order
- “Thor”
- “Thor: The Dark World”
- “Thor: Ragnarok”
- “Thor: Love and Thunder”
Everett Collection / null
Thor Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Thor” (2011)
- “Thor: The Dark World” (2013)
- “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
- “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022)
Everett Collection / Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Captain America Movies in Chronological Order
- “Captain America: The First Avenger”
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
- “Captain America: Civil War”
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Captain America Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
- “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Guardians of the Galaxy Movies in Chronological Order
- “Guardians of the Galaxy”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Guardians of the Galaxy Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023)
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Ant-Man Movies in Chronological Order
- “Ant-Man”
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp”
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
Everett Collection / Ben Rothstein
Ant-Man Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Ant-Man” (2015)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023)
Everett Collection / Chuck Zlotnick
Spider-Man Movies in Chronological Order
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
- “Spider-Man: Far From Home”
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
Everett Collection / Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Spider-Man Movies in Release-Date Order
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)
- “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019)
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021)
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Doctor Strange Movies in Chronological Order
- “Doctor Strange”
- “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
