The Marvel Studios MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) 🎥 is one of the most beloved American franchises 🌟, regarding its multiple phases and epically intertwined complex plots based on superheroes 🦸♂️, villains 🦹♀️, and epic battles ⚔️. With so many Marvel movies in order, it can get confusing for new and seasoned fans to figure out the right order to watch these movies.
In this resource, we will support you in understanding what’s the right way to watch Marvel Movies in Order—either to follow the storyline chronologically 📅 or as they were released 🎬. We will also explore what’s up next in the MCU 🚀!
Table of Content
- What is the Correct Order of the MCU?
- MCU Timeline: How to Watch the MCU in Chronological Order
- How to Watch Marvel Movies in Release Order
- Upcoming MCU Movies and TV Shows
What is the Correct Order of the MCU?
The MCU is an expansive, interconnected universe 🌌 of more than 30 movies 🎥 with several TV shows 📺 that all dovetail into a single narrative. The two ways to watch the entire set of these movies in order are release order or chronological order.
- Release Order: This is the order of the movies and shows released in theaters 🍿and online. This is how most viewers will consume, with each movie feeding off of what preceded it.
- Chronological Order: In chronological order📅, this places the movies in the timeline of events within the MCU. It starts during World War II🪖 when Captain America’s origins are revealed up to the present day. It will keep your storyline flowing chronologically but would miss some of the surprise plot twists🔀 and reveals released in chronological order.
MCU Timeline: How to Watch the MCU in Chronological Order
The first way to watch Marvel Movies in order is for those who are interested in the timeline of events unfolding within the Marvel Universe🌌, here are all the ways to watch Marvel Movies in order of chronological:
1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 🪖: Based on World War II, the film introduces Steve Rogers as he becomes Captain America.
2. Captain Marvel (2019)✨: Taking place in 1995, we see how Carol Danvers becomes Captain Marvel and Nick Fury becomes familiar with superheroes.
3. Iron Man (2008)🛠️: Tony Stark’s origin story takes place in 2010, thus launching the modern MCU era.
4. Iron Man 2 (2010): Picking up where Iron Man left off, this film continues the journey of Tony Stark.
5. The Incredible Hulk (2008)🟢: This was pretty much a parallel storyline while Bruce Banner transformed into the Hulk.
6. Thor (2011)🔨: This movie is a film that moves in an alternate timeline from both Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk. The entire feature is based upon the exiled Thor to Earth.
7. Avengers (2012)🦸♀️: The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes come together to stop Loki’s invasion. It is the end of Phase 1.
8. Iron Man 3 (2013): After the Battle of New York, catching up with dealing with the afterlife effects that run in The Avengers🤖.
9. Thor: The Dark World (2013): Thor⚡️ fights to protect his Nine Realms from the emerging dark threat.
10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014): Steve Rogers teams up with Black Widow to discover a conspiracy within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization.
11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)🌌: A group of intergalactic misfits have to come together and defeat a powerful bad guy.
12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)🌌: Several months after the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): After Avengers, comes a new threat in Ultron: a rogue artificial intelligence🤖 program.
14. Ant-Man (2015)🕷️: Meet Scott Lang as Ant-Man. We enter the world of a new hero.
15. Captain America: Civil War (2016): The Avengers split the ideological lines with the Sokovia Accords⚖️.
16. Black Widow (2021)🖤: Before Infinity War and during the intervening period between Civil War and Infinity War, this one reveals the background of Natasha Romanoff
17. Black Panther (2018)🦸♂️: After the Civil War, T’Challa returns to reclaim his throne in Wakanda.
18. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): High school life and normal teenage balance out Peter Parker, as well as Spider-Man🕷️ following the aftereffects of the Civil War.
19. Doctor Strange (2016): Introduces Stephen Strange and the world of mystic arts🔮.
20. Thor: Ragnarok (2017): Thor joins up with Hulk and other heroes to save Asgard from Hela⚔️.
21. Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018): Set before the events of Infinity War, exploring the Quantum Realm
22. Avengers: Infinity War (2018): The Avengers must stop Thanos from collecting all six Infinity Stones💎.
23. Avengers: Endgame (2019): Survivors from Infinity War try to undo the snap and defeat Thanos🌍.
24. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): The sequel dealing with the aftermath of Endgame.
25. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021): A movie after Endgame with the new character Shang-Chi🥋 and the hidden world of Ta Lo.
26. Eternals (2021): A tale about eternal beings guarding Earth for thousands of years🌌.
27. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): Multiverse mayhem erupts as Peter turns to Doctor Strange.
28. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 🤯(2022): Explores the aftermath of interference in the multiverse.
29. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022): Thor leaves for another journey, with a savage foe at his side❤️.
30: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022): Addresses T’Challa’s passing💔.
31. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023): Entry into Quantum Realm and preparation for future battles⚛️.
32. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023): The Guardians will truly have to face what’s new for them, discover their pasts, and face new villainy🚀.
33. The Marvels (2023): The sequel to Captain Marvel, which shall have Carol Danvers teaming up with Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau🌟.
34. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024): The return of Deadpool with Wolverine and a new flavor for the MCU🦸♂️.
How to Watch Marvel Movies in Release Order
Here are brief descriptions of each of the phases of the MCU, along with how to watch Marvel Movies in order of release:
MCU’s Phase 1:
This phase is considered to be the foundational phase of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe series. It keeps track of the introduction of the main heroes🦸♂️🦸♀️ and also places the groundwork for the Avengers. It begins with the intro of the leading characters and ends with bringing them together to make the Avengers team.
- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers
MCU’s Phase 2:
As we continue to Marvel Movies in order, in this phase, the heroes are further built on from the previous part. It also moves into the aftermath of the consequences of their endeavors⚔️. These lead to new alliances and deeper threats.
- Iron Man 3
- Thor: The Dark World
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
MCU’s Phase 3:
It expands the universe to a large extent, but along with watching Marvel Movies in order, this brings more new faces and story arcs. It focuses on the challenges that the Avengers face, fail at times, and then that all leads up to the grand finale to reshape the entire landscape 🌍⚔️of the MCU.
- 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
MCU’s Phase 4:
This phase majorly focuses on character development and the exploitation of legacy themes. It brings in several new heroes🦸♂️ and delves into the aftermath of the previous phases. It includes a mix of both films and television series, thus extending the narrative even further📺🎬.
Films:
- Black Widow
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
TV Series:
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
- Loki
- What If…?
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Ms. Marvel
- I Am Groot
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
MCU’s Phase 5:
As we watch Marvel Movies in order we come off to the events of Phase 4, this phase continues to develop more storylines while introducing new characters👥 and settings to forge forward into building toward massive future happenings in the MCU, setting the stage for even more stories to come📅.
Films:
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- The Marvels
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Thunderbolts
TV Series:
- Secret Invasion
- I Am Groot
- Loki
- What If…?
- Echo
- Agatha All Along
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Marvel Zombies
Upcoming MCU Movies and TV Shows
1. Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
Director: Matt Shakman
Writers: Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Josh Friedman, Cameron Squires, Eric Pearson, and Peter Cameron
This film will be the reboot of Marvel’s superhero team, the Fantastic Four🦸♂️🦸♀️🦸♂️🦸♀️. It is looking for an origin story about their initial steps as a superhero team. The project is much-awaited since the previous adaptations of the team didn’t go so well with the critics❌.
2. Blade (2025)
Directed by: To be announced
Writers: Eric Pearson
Blade is a revival of the franchise. It will bring the role of vampire hunter🧛♂️ into a new version of the film again since it has been Wesley Snipes’ role originally. Mahershala Ali is going to be Blade and carry on fighting vampires and other supernatural beings in the Marvel world🌌.
3. Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
Directed By: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writers: Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely
This film will feature Avengers 💪when the team is confronted with an unseen kind of threat, which might be part of the “Doomsday” story in Marvel Comics📚. The Russo brothers, the filmmakers responsible for some successful Avengers films, will return to that franchise. News like this surely lifts the hope of many in terms of direction and which characters might be on board🙌.
4. Avengers: Secret Wars (2027)
Directed By: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writers: Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely
This movie should continue the iconic Marvel Comics storyline in which different heroes and villains are taken to a strange planet🌌 to fight each other for a cosmic war. The “Secret Wars” storyline might join many characters from various universes in the Marvel universe, which were already represented in previous films and television shows🎥, offering the largest possibility for a crossover event.
These are films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, further continuing the expansions of their storylines📖 and arcs for its characters.
5. Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Director: Julius Onah
Writers: Malcolm Spellman Dalan Musson Matthew Orton
This will be the first solo film of Sam Wilson as Captain America after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 🦅. The story will find Sam struggling to survive under the mantle in a world divided by one hand through politics and power. Harrison Ford will enter the scene for the first time as Thunderbolt Ross ⚡, thus making the situation tense since now it is Ross in a substantial leadership role. The new movie promises much in the way of very intense conflicts ⚔️, new allies, and a new direction for the future of the Avengers 🛡️.
6. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2024)
Director: Stu Livingston
Writer: Christos Gage
The next Spider-Man 🕷️ film will follow the escapades of Peter Parker after the truth has come out in Spider-Man: No Way Home 🏠. Nobody will know who he is anymore. This sets up a new life for Peter Parker, college 🎓, and saving the world from evil. Street heroes may be seen, and rumors suggest figures like Daredevil will have this franchise go low to the ground.
7. Eyes of Wakanda (2024)
Director: Todd Harris
Writer: TBA
It comes from the Black Panther 🐾 series, which explores the espionage side of Wakanda. Expected to focus on the aspect of Dora Milaje 🗡️ and Okoye or Nakia. Exploring international conflicts, political thrillers 🕵️, and secret threats concerning Wakanda that establish its dominance beyond African borders.
8. Daredevil: Born Again (2025)
Director: Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, David Boyd, and Benson and Moorhead
Writer: Dario Scardapane
Matt Murdock returns to Hell’s Kitchen 🍽️ for this long-awaited reboot. Following his role in She-Hulk 🟢, Daredevil is in even more challenging circumstances as both an attorney ⚖️ and vigilante 🕶️. Here he finds old nemesis Kingpin 👑, in the mold of Vincent D’Onofrio, and the struggle continues in a gritty fashion, much like the original show on Netflix 📺.
9. Marvel Zombies (2024-2025)
Director: Bryan Andrews
Writer: Zeb Wells
This series is spun off from What If…?. This will take an alternative universe in which the world’s heroes have become zombies 🧟. The survivors are trying to navigate an evil nightmarish world 🌑 in which zombies run a fair share of the Avengers and villains. It is going to go into darker tones 🌘, so it should fit perfectly for mature audiences 🎬 and push the animation projects of Marvel to its limits 🛠️.
10. Red Hulk
Director: TBA
Writers: TBA
What this movie should center around is Thunderbolt Ross, the man becoming the destructive Red Hulk 💥. Since Harrison Ford will now join the cast as Ross, the movie needs to be linked with what happens in Captain America: Brave New World 🗺️. In that way, the movie would look into how powers like those of the Hulk can and have been utilized by the government 🏢 and raise questions about control, morality ⚖️, and consequences 🌀.
Conclusion
To watch Marvel Movies in order that shows all the transitions as it goes from the beginning of Iron Man 🦾 to the epic conclusion in Avengers: Endgame, thus expressing on a timeline ⏳ how interconnected storytelling and character development with innovations in filmmaking 🎥 captured the hearts of audiences all over the world 🌍.
With new characters and stories within the MCU 🌟, only goes ahead to become an entity within the culture, holding open doors 🚪 to new adventures 🗺️ and efforts taken to keep fans excited and abreast. The MCU not only redefined the superhero genre but also created a rich, shared universe that will surely inspire and entertain for generations to come. The given ways to watch Marvel Movies in order are the best strategies and both of them will give you a better experience.
