Marvel movies and television shows are based on Marvel comic books, which represent decades worth of lore, ret-cons, spin-off series, and alternate universes. The bigger a comic book story becomes, the more confusing the timeline can be. There are now so many movies and TV shows that newbies may struggle to determine the correct viewing order. This guide will help you figure out where to start your Marvel marathon and in what order to watch the films and series. Even seasoned Marvel fans might discover some shows or movies they missed.
Marvel Cinematic Universe logo; Image credit: Marvel Studios
Where to Watch the MCU
All the movies and shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) timeline are on the streaming platform, Disney+. The only exception is the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tom Holland, which isn’t always available to stream on Disney+. This might be the most convenient way to watch the films, but many people feel a nostalgic pull toward collecting physical media, so that’s always an option too.
Navigating Different MCU Watch Orders
There’s no “right” way to watch the MCU, but there are a few orders and paths that will make the most sense out of the timeline or give you the best experience. You could watch everything in the order it was released. This is the purist’s way to watch the movies and shows, and it’s what the original fans who kept up to date with each offering experienced.
The original release schedule is not completely chronological, though. If you want to do a chronological watch, you’ll have to jump around the Marvel Phases a little bit. Phases refer to story arcs that encompass certain movies and shows.
The Old Timeline and the “Sacred Timeline”
Netflix produced several Marvel shows before Disney+ launched and became the home of Marvel. These shows included Agents of Shield, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist, The Defenders, Luke Cage, and The Punisher. It seems that although the shows are canon, Marvel’s official canon doesn’t consider them a part of the timeline anymore. The timeline becomes a plot point in the Loki TV show and in films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This is detailed in a book called The Marvel Universe: An Official Timeline, which extensively recaps everything that occurred in the first four Marvel phases. Fans began to define the timeline listed in the book as the “Sacred Timeline.” Many people consider these shows to take place in a different timeline.
The Marvel Universe: An Official Timeline; Image credit: Marvel Studios
With all this in mind, let’s explore some watchlists for different orders and canons.
Watching Marvel Movies in Release Order
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- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- One Shot: The Consultant
- One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer
- The Avengers
- One Shot: Item 47
- Iron Man 3
- One Shot: Agent Carter
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 1
- Thor: The Dark World
- One Shot: All Hail the King
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 2
- Agent Carter, Season 1
- Daredevil, Season 1
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 3
- Jessica Jones, Season 1
- Agent Carter, Season 2
- Daredevil, Season 2
- Captain America: Civil War
- One Shot: Team Thor
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 4
- Luke Cage, Season 1
- Doctor Strange
- One Shot: Team Thor, Part 2
- Iron Fist, Season 1
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- The Defenders, Season 1
- Inhumans, Season 1
- Thor: Ragnarok
- The Punisher, Season 1
- Runaways, Season 1
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 5
- Black Panther
- One Shot: Team Darryl
- Jessica Jones, Season 2
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Cloak & Dagger, Season 1
- Luke Cage, Season 2
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Iron Fist, Season 2
- Daredevil, Season 3
- Runaways, Season 2
- The Punisher, Season 2
- Captain Marvel
- Cloak & Dagger, Season 2
- Avengers: Endgame
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 6
- Jessica Jones, Season 3
- Spider-Man: Far from Home
- Runaways, Season 3
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 7
- WandaVision, Season 1
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Season 1
- Loki, Season 1
- What If…? Season 1
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Hawkeye, Season 1
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Moon Knight, Season 1
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Marvel, Season 1
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- I am Groot, Season 1
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Season 1
- Werewolf by Night
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Secret Invasion, Season 1
- I am Groot, Season 2
- Loki, Season 2
- The Marvels
- What If…? Season 2
- Echo, Season 1
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Agatha All Along, Season 1
- What If…? Season 3
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1
- Thunderbolts
- Ironheart, Season 1
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Eyes of Wakanda, Season 1
- Marvel Zombies Miniseries
Marvel Cinematic Universe Chronological Order
MCU; Image credit: Marvel Comics
Now, let’s put all these films, shows, and shorts in order of story chronology.
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- Eyes of Wakanda, Season 1
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- One Shot: Agent Carter
- Agent Carter, Seasons 1 and 2
- Captain Marvel
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 2
- The Incredible Hulk
- One Shot: The Consultant
- One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer
- Thor
- The Avengers
- One Shot: Item 47
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 1, Episodes 1–7
- Thor: The Dark World
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 1, Episodes 8–16
- Iron Man 3
- One Shot: All Hail the King
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 1, Episodes 17–22
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- I am Groot, Seasons 1 and 2
- Daredevil, Season 1
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 2, Episodes 1–10
- Jessica Jones, Season 1
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 2, Episodes 11–19
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 2, Episodes 20–22
- Daredevil, Season 2, Episodes 1–4
- Luke Cage, Season 1, Episodes 5–8
- Daredevil, Season 2, Episodes 5–11
- Luke Cage, Season 1, Episodes 5–8
- Daredevil, Season 2, Episodes 12–13
- Luke Cage, Season 1, Episodes 9–13
- Ant-Man
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 3, Episodes 1–19
- Iron Fist, Season 1
- Captain America: Civil War
- One Shot: Team Thor
- One Shot: Team Thor, Part 2
- Black Widow
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 3, Episodes 20–22
- The Defenders, Season 1
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 4, Episodes 1–6
- Doctor Strange
- Black Panther
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 4, Episodes 7–22
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Thor: Ragnarok
- One Shot: Team Daryll
- Inhumans, Season 1
- The Punisher, Season 1
- Runaways, Season 1
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 5, Episodes 1–10
- Jessica Jones, Season 2
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 5, Episodes 11–18
- Cloak & Dagger, Seasons 1 and 2
- Luke Cage, Season 2
- Iron Fist, Season 2
- Daredevil, Season 3
- Runaways, Season 2
- The Punisher, Season 2
- Jessica Jones, Season 3
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 5, Episodes 19–22
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Seasons 6 and 7
- Runaways, Season 3
- Avengers: Endgame
- Loki, Seasons 1 and 2
- What If…? Seasons 1–3
- Marvel Zombies
- WandaVision
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Eternals
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Echo
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
- Marvel
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Ironheart, Season 1
- Werewolf by Night
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Secret Invasion
- The Marvels
- Agatha All Along
- Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Thunderbolts
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Marvel “Sacred Timeline”
This is the watch order that appears in the previously mentioned book, The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline. The book mainly follows release order with some skips or tweaks. Note that this timeline ends at the time of publication in the winter of 2025. The book is a phase behind, but you can follow the release order watchlist to complete it.
The Marvel Universe: An Official Timeline, pages 30 and 31; Image credit: Marvel Studios
June 1943 to March 1945: Captain America: The First Avenger (he was defrosted in 2011)
Summer 1995: Captain Marvel
Spring 2008: Iron Man
Spring 2010: Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor
Spring 2012: The Avengers
Autumn 2013: Thor: The Dark World
December 2013: Iron Man 3
Spring 2014: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Summer 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy
Autumn 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Spring 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Summer 2015: Ant-Man
Spring 2016: Captain America: Civil War
Spring to Summer 2016: Black Widow
Summer 2016: Black Panther
Autumn 2016: Spider-Man: Homecoming
2017: Doctor Strange (he had a car accident in Feb. 2016 and arrived at Kamar-Taj in autumn 2016)
Autumn 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
Spring 2018: Ant-Man and The Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War
Autumn 2023: Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision
Spring 2024: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spring to Summer 2024: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Summer 2024: Spider-Man: Far From Home
Summer to Autumn 2024: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Autumn 2024: Eternals (starts in 5000 BC), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Winter 2024: Hawkeye
Spring to Autumn 2025: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (she gains her powers in autumn 2024)
Spring 2025: Moon Knight, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (T’Challa died in spring 2024)
Autumn 2025: Ms. Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder, Werewolf By Night
Winter 2025: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
The Marvel Universe: An Official Timeline, pages 138 and 139; Image credit: Marvel Studios
See more:
- All Current Marvel Comics Series A–Z
- Here Are All the Movies and TV Shows Coming From Marvel and DC Studios in 2025
- 10 Marvel Characters That Probably Won’t Get Their Own Movie
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