Here’s How to Watch the Marvel Movies in Order 2023 (Chronologically and by Release Date)

You can choose between our two lists, which are presented in chronological sequence of events and release date, respectively.

There are presently 28 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there will soon be more. These films are all set in the same universe and share common characters, plots, and places. So it’s understandable if you’re not really sure how they all fit together or in what order to watch them. With 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers, Marvel established a new precedent by combining divergent heroes from their own separate films (Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, and Chris Harmsworth’s Thor) into one team-up film, before severing them again into their individual sequels. Of fact, this method of telling a tale had been used in comics, but serializing a story over a large number of films with various tones and characters was novel at the time, and it is still a rich source of interesting plots and characters.

But as the MCU has expanded in size, so has its complexity. While some movies are set in distant lands, happenings on Earth are also happening at the same time. And some movies are set in the distant past.

We provide information on how to view the Marvel movies chronologically. The Marvel movies are presented below in two different viewing options: the Marvel movies in chronological sequence of events, and the Marvel movies in order of the dates that each movie was released in theatres. If you’re in the mood to binge-watch a franchise, both are highly suggested and are the best ways to watch this one. The Marvel Disney Plus shows can be seen in the sequence listed below that.

The sequence of these lists is also greatly influenced by our own thorough MCU timeline, which delves into the specific timing of each event in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Marvel Movies in Order of Release

Here is a list of every Marvel Cinematic Universe film in chronological sequence, divided into the “phases” that Marvel Studios uses to designate distinct storylines within the overall MCU narrative.

Phase One

• Iron Man – May 2, 2008
• The Incredible Hulk – June 13, 2008
• Iron Man 2 – May 7, 2010
• Thor – May 6, 2011
• Captain America: The First Avenger – July 22, 2011
• Marvel’s The Avengers – May 4, 2012

Phase Two

• Iron Man 3 – May 3, 2013
• Thor: The Dark World – November 8, 2013
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier – April 4, 2014
• Guardians of the Galaxy – August 1, 2014
• Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1, 2015
• Ant-Man – July 17, 2015

Phase Three

• Captain America: Civil War – May 6, 2016
• Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016
• Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017
• Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7, 2017
• Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017
• Black Panther – February 16, 2018
• Avengers: Infinity War – April 27, 2018
• Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018
• Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019
• Avengers: Endgame – April 26, 2019
• Spider-Man: Far from Home – July 2, 2019

Phase Four

• Black Widow – July 9, 2021
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – September 3, 2021
• Eternals – November 5, 2021
• 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
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – February 17, 2023
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – May 5, 2023
• The Marvels (aka Captain Marvel 2) – July 28, 2023
• Fantastic Four – TBA

Past Phase Four

• Blade – TBA
• Untitled Deadpool Film – TBA
• Untitled Captain America Sequel – TBA
• Untitled Shang-Chi Sequel – TBA
• Untitled mutant film – TBA

Marvel Movies in Chronological Order of Events

1. Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger is the movie that is the most historically early in the MCU timeline. The origin tale of Steve Rogers starts in 1940 with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Steve (Evans) joining the military, and it concludes in 1945 with Steve’s plane crashing and him being paralysed for the next 50 years.

2. Captain Marvel

The next film is Captain Marvel, one of the most recent Marvel films, however its events take place before those in the regular MCU timeline. After crashing her plane in 1989, Brie Larson’s pilot character undergoes training to become a Kree before returning to Earth in 1995, the year in which the majority of Captain Marvel is set.

3. Iron Man

According to Marvel’s own timeline, the first movie in the canonical sequence, which comes in third, actually takes place in 2010 rather than 2008, when it was initially released.

4. The Incredible Hulk

The Hulk movie starring Edward Norton takes place shortly after Iron Man.

5. Iron Man 2

2011 is the year that the Iron Man sequel takes place.

6. Thor

Even though there are flashbacks to events that happened centuries ago, the events of Thor also happen in 2011, at the same time as the events in Iron Man 2.

7. The Avengers

In the year 2012, the collaboration actually happens.

8. Iron Man 3

The unappreciated Iron Man 3 takes place in 2012 and primarily explores Tony Starks’ PTSD following The Avengers’ events.

9. Thor: The Dark World

The forgettable continuation takes place in 2013.

10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The big demise of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes place in 2014, two years after the agency assisted in the formation of The Avengers.

11. Guardians of the Galaxy

The events of The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy both take place in 2014 at around the same time.

12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

A few months have passed since the events of the first Guardians movie.

13. Avengers: Age of Ultron

The second Avengers team-up movie is set in 2015, after S.H.I.E.L.D. has been disbanded.

14. Ant-Man

Scott Lang is busy in 2015 becoming Ant-Man while the Avengers battle old Ultron.

15. Captain America: Civil War

In 2016, the Captain America sequel, which is also sort of an Avengers film, introduces new characters to the mix in order to lay the groundwork for Infinity War and Endgame. However, it also includes flashbacks that occur between The First Avenger and Iron Man, illuminating the events of Tony Stark’s parents’ passing.

16. Black Widow

The Natasha Romanoff character played by Scarlett Johansson is on the run in the Captain America: Civil War sequel’s Black Widow. Before Avengers: Infinity War’s events start, it comes to an end.

17. Spider-Man: Homecoming

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is attempting to become his own hero in the first MCU Spider-Man film, which is set in the fall.

18. Black Panther

The MCU has a busy year because Black Panther takes place in Wakanda in 2016.

19. Doctor Strange

Considering that Stephen Strange’s metamorphosis into a superhero takes some time, Doctor Strange fills the time between 2016 and 2017.

20. Thor: Ragnarok

Thor visits Doctor Strange on Earth in Thor: Ragnarok to try to find his father, which takes place in 2017 not long after the events of Doctor Strange.

21. Ant-Man and the Wasp

The events in Ant-Man and the Wasp take place in 2018 just before Thanos comes on Earth, despite being released after Avengers: Infinity War, and the movie closes with the notorious Thanos Snap. Although there are flashbacks to Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) in the late 1980s.

22. Avengers: Infinity War

Just 24 to 48 hours pass between the events of Avengers: Infinity War taking place in 2018.

23. Avengers: Endgame

The second chapter of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline starts soon after Thanos’ snap in 2018, but after Thor chops off Thanos’ head, the scene rushes forward to 2023, with some of the protagonists also going back in time to events in the years 1970, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

24. Spider-Man: Far from Home

The events of Spider-Man: Far from Home occur shortly after those of Avengers: Endgame.

25. Thor: Love and Thunder

Even though it was released after Multiverse of Madness, the fourth Thor film seems to take place in 2024. Based on the fact that Jane and Thor split up before Thor left Earth in late 2015 or early 2016, we can estimate this. Thor corrects Jane in Love and Thunder by stating that their relationship has been over for eight years, seven months, and six days. Jane estimates that it has only been three or four years, but given that she vanished following the blip, the time gap makes sense. We won’t know for sure where this film stands until Love and Thunder premieres on Disney+.

26. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The majority of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set in the year 2023, not too long after the events of Avengers: Endgame, despite the prologue’s significant use of flashbacks to the year 1996 and its beginning in the distant past.

27. Eternals

Although the Eternals have lived on Earth for more than 7,000 years, the major conflict of the film takes place roughly eight months after Shang-Chi, or sometime after the events of Endgame.

28. Spider-Man: No Way Home

The timeframes will undoubtedly be a little off once we explore the multiverse (and because of COVID). Although the publication dates must be changed, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is technically supposed to take place before Spider-Man: No Way Home. Time in the MCU is no longer parallel to our own universe as No Way Home takes place in the second half of 2024 as a result of the snap.

29. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Even though there are sporadic Spider-Man references, it’s obvious that this story was meant to take place before No Way Home. Even though the official timeline might place this now just after No Way Home in the spring of 2025, consider this one a given. If you want to spend some time in the multiverse reality where this film came out first, feel free to flip this and Spider-Man around.

Marvel Disney Plus Shows in Order of Release Date

• WandaVision – Premiered January 15, 2021
• The Falcon & The Winter Soldier – Premiered March 19, 2021
• Loki – Premiered June 9, 2021
• Marvel’s What If… – Premiered August 11, 2021
• Hawkeye – Premiered November 24, 2021
• Moon Knight – Premiered March 30, 2022
• Ms. Marvel – Premieres June 8, 2022

Marvel Disney Plus Shows in Chronological Order

Since time travel and several universes have been introduced, it can be challenging to determine the precise chronological chronology of the Marvel live-action Disney Plus series, all of which have so far taken place after the events of Avengers: Endgame.

1. Loki

Loki, which takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame but picks up with the alt-Loki who obtained the tesseract and fled, is the best illustration yet of how convoluted the timeline is becoming. As a result, Loki actually begins in 2012, following The Avengers’ Battle of New York. However, once the TVA becomes involved, Loki occurs at many times in time, from the distant past to the near future, and while inside the TVA’s boundaries, even outside of space and time.

2. WandaVision

Despite giving the impression that it does, WandaVision’s timeline is actually considerably more definite. The series takes place in 2023, just a few years after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The series follows the characters’ numerous adventures from the moment the blipped returned until almost a month later. In other words, the series takes place eight months after the events of Endgame but before Spider-Man: Far From Home.

3. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

Similar to Endgame and Far from Home, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier also takes place in 2023, though a little later than WandaVision. Director Kari Skogland indicated that the show takes place roughly six months after the events of Endgame when we chatted with her.

4. Marvel’s What If…?

The animated series Marvel’s What If…? isn’t exactly set within the official timeline of the MCU, but beside it, ranging from the events of Captain America: The First Avenger through Guardians of the Galaxy and beyond. It is set in several alternate realities of the multiverse.

5. Hawkeye

Hawkeye is set firmly in the 2024 holiday season and occurs some time after Endgame. The members of Clint’s family are unflappable and having a good time in the city. Although there is no crossover between the two films, both contain characters from the Daredevil series, with Vincent D’Onofrio appearing in Hawkeye and Charlie Cox appearing in Spider-Man. Theoretically, this chronology should actually align with Spider-Man No Way Home.

6. Moon Knight

Given that London doesn’t appear to be particularly chilly, we can assume that the events of Moon Knight took place after Hawkeye and that the winter season has likely passed. Sometime in 2025 is when the series takes place.

7. Ms. Marvel

It’s easy to presume that Ms. Marvel follows Moon Knight, but what’s more significant is that it makes the most of the superhero following that has developed after Endgame. There are plenty of allusions to the main fight to support this, and there are indications of it all over the Avengers Con that Kamala attends. Although the exact year of Ms. Marvel is unknown, it most likely occurs around 2025.

Where to Watch the Marvel Movies Online

Currently, Disney+ offers streaming access to all of the following Marvel films:

• Iron Man
• Iron Man 2
• Thor
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Marvel’s The Avengers
• Iron Man 3
• Thor: The Dark World
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• 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
• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Captain Marvel
• Avengers: Endgame
• Black Widow
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Eternals
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

excluding Disney+

• The Incredible Hulk (HBO Max)
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (Starz)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (Hulu Premium Subscription)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (Prime Video)

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