All 33 MCU Movies in Order (& How To Watch Them Chronologically)

MCU is more than a movie franchise, since its inception, it’s become a phenomenon and the biggest and most lucrative cinematic universe to date. The MCU kicked off in 2008 with the release of ‘Iron Man,’ a film that not only introduced us to the genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist Tony Stark but also laid the foundation for a cinematic universe that would last for almost two decades, with no end in sight.

As Nick Fury uttered those famous words about the Avengers Initiative in the post-credits scene, little did we know that it was just the beginning of an unprecedented cinematic journey. Today, the MCU consists of 33 movies in total, and we’re going to tell you how to watch them in the correct order.

Editor’s Note: This watch order was updated in November 2023 with the release of ‘The Marvels.’

All 33 MCU movies in release date order

As we’ve mentioned, the MCU started with Iron Man’s standalone movie in 2008, and since then countless other superheroes got to tell their stories on-screen in standalone movies and Disney+ shows. The latest released movie is ‘The Marvels.’ It would take approximately 72 hours to watch all Marvel movies, the reason being the list is pretty long. Here are all MCU movies in the order of their respective release dates.

1. ‘Iron Man‘ (2008)
2. ‘The Incredible Hulk‘ (2008)
3. ‘Iron Man 2‘ (2010)
4. ‘Thor’ (2011)
5. ‘Captain America: The First Avenger‘ (2011)
6. ‘The Avengers‘ (2012)
7. ‘Iron Man 3‘ (2013)
8. ‘Thor: The Dark World‘ (2013)
9. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘ (2014)
10. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ (2014)
11. ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron‘ (2015)
12. ‘Ant-Man‘ (2015)
13. ‘Captain America: Civil War‘ (2016)
14. ‘Doctor Strange‘ (2016)
15. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘ (2017)
16. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘ (2017)
17. ‘Thor: Ragnarok‘ (2017)
18. ‘Black Panther‘ (2018)
19. ‘Avengers: Infinity War‘ (2018)
20. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp‘ (2018)
21. ‘Captain Marvel‘ (2019)
22. ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ (2019)
23. ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home‘ (2019)
24. ‘Black Widow‘ (2021)
25. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings‘ (2021)
26. ‘Eternals‘ (2021)
27. ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home‘ (2021)
28. ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ (2022)
29. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder‘ (2022)
30. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ (2022)
31. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘ (2023)
32. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ (2023)
33. ‘The Marvels’ (2023)

Are all MCU movies connected? What’s the best way to watch them?

All MCU movies are absolutely connected because the defining aspect of the MCU is its interconnected storytelling. From the very beginning, Marvel Studios wanted to create a shared universe where characters, events, and storylines would cross over between the films.

Even though some movies aren’t directly connected, for example, ‘Age of Ultron’ and ‘The Marvels,’ characters often make appearances in each other’s films, and events in one movie can have ripple effects throughout the entire universe. The interconnected nature of the MCU is not limited to the big screen only, as there are also Disney+ shows to take into account as well.

It’s important to note, however, that Marvel Studios noticed that fans are getting tired of watching hours upon hours of shows and movies with thin references to understand the upcoming projects, and this is why “Marvel Spotlight” has been created. Marvel Spotlight will feature standalone stories that don’t require previous knowledge of the MCU to watch them. So far ‘Echo’ is the first show under the “Marvel Spotlight’ banner, but we have no doubt that this trend will continue in the future as well.

When it comes to the best way to watch all MCU movies, if you’re new to the MCU, it’s probably best if you watch them in their release date order. However, if you’re familiar with the timeline, in that case, it would be a good idea to re-watch the franchise in chronological order.

All 33 MCU movies in chronological order

MCU has a franchise that is more complicated than most due to its sheer size, and not all movies were released in their proper chronological order. Some movies that were additionally released serve as prequels to some earlier movies; we’re going to explain the timeline in more detail, but for now, here’s a chronological list of all MCU movies so far:

1. ‘Captain America: The First Avenger‘ (2011) 
2. ‘Captain Marvel‘ (2019)
3. ‘Iron Man‘ (2008)
4. ‘Iron Man 2‘ (2010) 
5. ‘The Incredible Hulk‘ (2008)
6. ‘Thor‘ (2011)
7. ‘The Avengers‘ (2012)
8. ‘Iron Man 3‘ (2013)
9. ‘Thor: The Dark World‘ (2013)
10. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘ (2014)
11. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ (2014)
12. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘ (2017)
13. ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron‘ (2015)
14. ‘Ant-Man‘ (2015)
15. ‘Captain America: Civil War‘ (2016)
16. ‘Spider-Man: Home Coming‘ (2017)
17. ‘Doctor Strange‘ (2016)
18. ‘Black Panther‘ (2018)
19. ‘Thor: Ragnarok‘ (2017)
20. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp‘ (2018)
21. ‘Black Widow‘ (2021)
22. ‘Avengers: Infinity War‘ (2018)
23. ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ (2019)
24. ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home‘ (2019)
25. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ (2021)
26. ‘Eternals‘ (2021) 
27. ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home ‘(2021)
28. ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ (2022)
29. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder‘ (2022)
30. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ (2022)
31. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘ (2023)
32. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ (2023)
33. ‘The Marvels’ (2023)

For those wanting a more linear narrative experience, we recommend following the chronological watch order of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are notable disparities between the release date and chronological order, primarily concerning easter eggs and post-credits scenes. Some may seem out of context, as later films reference earlier ones.

Furthermore, the evolution of production and special effects quality varies from the early to later phases. Watching chronologically may mean encountering movies with dated special effects later in the timeline, potentially affecting the viewing experience.

The chronological MCU timeline remains generally consistent, with a few inconsistencies. Starting with ‘Captain America’ in the 1940s, events unfold in chronological order. ‘Captain Marvel’ follows in the 1990s, and the early 2010s see ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Iron Man 2,’ ‘Incredible Hulk,’ and ‘Thor.’ ‘Avengers’ and ‘Iron Man 3’ unfold in 2012, with ‘Thor: The Dark World’ in 2013. However, the timeline became confusing in 2016, revealing several inconsistencies.

In ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ Vision mentions Tony Stark revealing he was Iron Man eight years ago, conflicting with ‘Iron Man’s’ 2010 setting, suggesting 2008. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ set four months after Civil War, introduces an “8 years later” tag after a 2012 scene, placing the film in 2020. ‘Doctor Strange’ spans 2016-2017, and ‘Black Panther,’ despite claiming to occur a week after Civil War, is set in 2017, creating ambiguity.

By addressing these timeline discrepancies, we present a comprehensive chronological watch order of all MCU movies released to date. Note that ‘Eternals,’ with scenes set in 5000 B.C., technically begins the timeline, though our approach considers the entire movie rather than isolated scenes or post-credit scenes.

The latest released movie ‘The Marvels’ takes place in the current-day MCU after the events of ‘Ms. Marvel’ & ‘Secret Invasion’ Disney+ shows.

Where to watch all MCU movies?

All MCU movies can be watched on Disney+ since it’s considered to be home to Marvel Studios content. ‘The Marvels’ however can only be watched in cinemas currently, but it’s only a matter of time before it gets released on Disney+ as well.

Will there be more movies set in the MCU?

MCU has tons of movies scheduled to be released in the next few years. The first movie we’re likely going to watch in 2024 will be ‘Blade,’ followed by ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ and ‘Deadpool 3,’ which are scheduled to be released in May and July 2024, respectively. Fans can also look forward to ‘Thunderbolts,’ ‘Kraven the Hunter,’ ‘Fantastic Four,’ Avengers: Kang Dynasty’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ but those release dates are more mysterious, so we really don’t want to speculate on it.

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