Need to know how to watch the Marvel movies in order? If you include the Disney Plus shows in the equation, it becomes an even trickier task. But with an Avengers: Endgame trailer no-show only adding to the hype with six months to go, it feels like the perfect time to dive back into the MCU and watch it all from start to finish.
To help you stay afloat amid the tidal wave of movies, TV shows and specials in the MCU, we have the complete guide on the best way to watch the Marvel movies and shows in order in 2026. That includes the straightforward release date order from Iron Man to Punisher: One Last Kill and a more convoluted (but no less rewarding) chronological order for Marvel Studios veterans.
For more on the latest MCU releases, be sure to check out our guides to Marvel Phase 6 and upcoming Marvel movies.
How to watch the Marvel movies in order – release order
The Marvel release date order is the best way for MCU newcomers and those who want to keep things simple and straightforward in their rewatches. We'll kick things off with 2008's Iron Man, and will cover every single phase in the Infinity Saga (phases 1-4) and the ongoing Multiverse Saga (phases 5-6).
Here is how to watch the Marvel movies and shows in release date order.
Marvel Phase 1
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
Marvel Phase 2
- 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)
Marvel Phase 3
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Black Panther (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Marvel Phase 4
- WandaVision (2021) [Disney Plus]
- Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) [Disney Plus]
- Loki season 1 (2021) [Disney Plus]
- Black Widow (2021)
- What If...? (2021) [Disney Plus]
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Eternals (2021)
- Hawkeye (2021) [Disney Plus]
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- Moon Knight (2022) [Disney Plus]
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
- Ms. Marvel (2022) [Disney Plus]
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- I Am Groot (2022) [Disney Plus]
- She-Hulk (2022) [Disney Plus]
- Werewolf By Night (2022) [Disney Plus]
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special (2022) [Disney Plus]
Marvel Phase 5
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023)
- Secret Invasion (2023) [Disney Plus]
- Loki season 2 (2023) [Disney Plus]
- The Marvels (2023)
- What If...? season 2 (2023) [Disney Plus]
- Echo (2024) [Disney Plus]
- Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- Agatha All Along (2024) [Disney Plus]
- What If...? season 3 (2024) [Disney Plus]
- Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
- Daredevil: Born Again season 1 (2025) [Disney Plus]
- Thunderbolts (2025)
- Ironheart (2025) [Disney Plus]
Marvel Phase 6
- Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
- Eyes of Wakanda (2025) [Disney Plus]
- Marvel Zombies (2025) [Disney Plus]
- Wonder Man (2026) [Disney Plus]
- Daredevil: Born Again season 2 (2026) [Disney Plus]
- The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026) [Disney Plus]
Need more context on watching the Marvel movies and shows in order? The MCU is split into Phases, with the end of a Phase typically indicating a natural end to a story arc. The beginning of a Phase, therefore, signals the introduction of new, important characters.
Phases 1-3 are often referred to as the Infinity Saga and feature the assembling of the OG Avengers, including Captain America, Hulk, and Iron Man.
Phases 4-5, meanwhile, form part of the new Multiverse Saga and are punctuated by the arrival of fresh characters, X-Men teases, and more experimental works.
Phase 6 has also now kicked off, with the alternate-earth Fantastic Four rocking up and more focus on the Defenders being brought into the MCU.
As shown by the Thunderbolts ending, it's all leading to Phase 6's date with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
If you want to check out the best deals for the Disney streaming service, head over to our Disney+, Hulu bundles page.
How to watch the Marvel movies in chronological order
Below, you'll find the best way to watch the Marvel movies in chronological order.
For this list, we use Marvel's own 'Official Timeline' book as well as its own updated chronological order on the Marvel website and on Disney Plus. Both have eased many of our temporal-based headaches.
Better yet, this MCU chronological list will make you see the Marvel Studios releases in a different light, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger in the 1940s and working your way up to the MCU present day in (roughly) 2027. That now includes Netflix's Marvel shows and Marvel's One-Shots for the full picture. But feel free to ignore those if you aren't in a completionist mood.
- Eyes of Wakanda (1260 BC-1896 AD)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (1943-1945)
- One Shot: Agent Carter (1946)
- Fantastic Four: First Steps (1960s - alternate universe)
- Captain Marvel (1995)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- The Incredible Hulk (2010)
- One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (2010)
- Thor (2010)
- One Shot: The Consultant (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
- One Shot: Item 47 (2012)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- One Shot: All Hail the King (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2014)
- I Am Groot seasons 1-2 (2014)
- Daredevil season 1 (2014)
- Jessica Jones season 1 (2015)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Daredevil season 2 (2015)
- Luke Cage season 1 (2015)
- Iron Fist season 1 (2016)
- Marvel's Defenders (2016)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Black Widow (2016)
- Black Panther (2016)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016)
- The Punisher season 1 (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016-17)
- Jessica Jones season 2 (2017)
- Luke Cage season 2 (2017)
- Iron Fist season 2 (2017)
- Daredevil season 3 (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- The Punisher season 2 (2017)
- Jessica Jones season 3 (2017)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2018-2023)
- Loki (outside of our conception of time, but around here!)
- Loki season 2 (also outside of our conception of time!)
- What If...? (multiverse)
- WandaVision (2023)
- Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings (2024)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2024)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2024)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2024)
- Eternals (2024)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2024)
- Hawkeye (Christmas 2024)
- Moon Knight (2025)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2025)
- Echo (2025)
- She-Hulk (2025)
- Ms. Marvel (2025)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2025)
- Ironheart (2025)
- Werewolf By Night (2025)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2025)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2026)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2026)
- Secret Invasion (2026)
- The Marvels (2026)
- Deadpool and Wolverine (2026)
- Agatha All Along (2026)
- Daredevil: Born Again (2027)
- Captain America: Brave New World (2027)
- Thunderbolts (2027)
- Wonder Man (ends in 2027)
- The Punisher: One Last Kill (2027)
- Daredevil: Born Again season 2 (2027)
As you can imagine, this chronological order is a little less straightforward than the prior release date list. But we now have official confirmation of where most of the MCU stands.
Eyes of Wakanda is now the first MCU project chronologically, snaking through the centuries everywhere from the Bronze Age to the tail-end of the 19th Century in its anthology series.
The 20th Century side of the Marvel timeline only features Captain America's WW2 exploits, Captain Carter's post-war adventures, and Captain Marvel's blockbuster-era '90s origins. If you want to count Fantastic Four's retro-futuristic take on the 1960s on Earth-828, we won't say no. To wrap your head around it further, we've got a brief guide on where Fantastic Four takes place on the Marvel timeline.
From there, Iron Man takes place in 2008 before 'Fury's Big Week' in 2010, a bizarre period of time that sees several Marvel movies taking place in the same week. Other major milestones include 2012's Battle of New York (as seen in The Avengers), The Snap in 2018, and the Endgame time skip up to 2023.
We've now reached 2026 and 2027, with a handful of steps back in time in entries such as Deadpool and Wolverine (which takes place first in 2018) and the Steve Rogers teaser for Avengers: Doomsday (which appears to be set in the late 1940s or early 1950s). The most recent project chronologically is Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which appears to end in 2027.
Upon its release, Avengers: Doomsday will be the most recent entry in terms of MCU chronology.
Marvel has also revealed the exact months or rough windows of when things happened in the MCU, but honestly, that doesn't specifically matter if you're just planning to sit down and consume them without doing what amounts to homework.
All you need to know is everything is now officially correct above if you want to watch the Marvel movies in chronological order, even if Marvel Studios doesn't always take the best care with its timeline. Our advice? Try not to think too hard about it.
Upcoming Marvel movies and shows
What's next in the MCU? On the big screen, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is swinging our way soon, coming to cinemas in July. Amazon Prime members will be able to watch it two days early at select screenings, however.
Below, there's a taste of the confirmed Marvel movies and shows coming out over the next few years; it's the perfect way to futureproof your upcoming MCU binge-watches.
Marvel Phase 6
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day – July 31, 2026
- VisionQuest – October 14, 2026
- Avengers: Doomsday – December 18, 2026
- Daredevil: Born Again season 3 - TBC (2027)
- Avengers: Secret Wars – December 17, 2027
- Untitled Marvel Movie – 2028
TBA (unreleased):
- Armor Wars – TBA
- Black Panther 3 – TBA
- Shang-Chi 2 – TBA
- X-Men – TBA
Can I watch the Marvel movies in order on Disney Plus?
Yes, you can now watch the vast majority of the MCU on Disney Plus.
Up until very recently, multiple Marvel movies and shows (including the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies) weren't on the Disney streaming service. But that's received a major recent boon with the arrival of No Way Home in the US as of April 2026.
Things got even better when Netflix's Defenders series, including Daredevil, were also added to Disney Plus. On top of that, the most recent Marvel movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps, is also streaming on Disney Plus.
- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Thor
- Iron Man 2
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers
- Iron Man 3
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Thor: The Dark World
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- 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
- Captain Marvel
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Avengers: Endgame
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Loki
- Black Widow
- What If...? seasons 1-3
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Ms. Marvel
- She-Hulk
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Werewolf By Night
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Secret Invasion
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3
- Loki season 2
- Echo
- The Marvels
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Agatha All Along
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Thunderbolts
- Ironheart
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Marvel Zombies
- Fantastic Four: The First Steps
- Wonder Man
- Daredevil: Born Again season 2
- The Punisher: One Last Kill
Are Spider-Man, X-Men, and Daredevil canon in the MCU?
Then there's the complicated question of how X-Men, Spider-Man, and Netflix's Defenders series (Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones) fit into the Sacred Timeline.
As of 2026, the Marvel Netflix shows are officially canon. Daredevil: Born Again season 2 and The Punisher: One Last Kill are the latest entries. They continue the stories of Charlie Cox's Man Without Fear and Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle.
- Daredevil season 1
- Jessica Jones season 1
- Daredevil season 2
- Luke Cage season 1
- Iron Fist season 1
- The Defenders
- The Punisher season 1
- Jessica Jones season 2
- Luke Cage season 2
- Iron Fist season 2
- Daredevil season 3
- The Punisher season 2
- Jessica Jones season 3
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (non-Defenders Saga movie)
- Hawkeye (non-Defenders Saga show)
- She-Hulk episode 8 (non-Defenders Saga show)
- Echo (non-Defenders Saga show)
- Daredevil: Born Again season 1
- Daredevil: Born Again season 2
- Punisher: One Last Kill
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day (non-Defenders Saga movie)
X-Men, meanwhile, exist completely outside of the MCU as part of (formerly) Fox's X-Men cinematic universe on Earth-10005. But things are getting complicated when it comes to mutants, thanks to Hugh Jackman’s recent return as Wolverine, as well as if the events of The Marvels post-credits scene head where we think they're heading.
Deadpool and Wolverine firmly places the Fox X-Men movies outside of the MCU – but only after we see how they directly affect the Sacred Timeline and how the TVA is aware of their existence. A Deadpool and Wolverine deleted scene has also made reference to the Sacred Timeline being the universe to focus on in the MCU. That (confusingly) makes those X-Men movies canon in the wider multiverse of the MCU before removing them as a concern entirely. To complicate matters further, several X-Men legacy actors will return in Avengers: Doomsday, though presumably their appearances will fall outside of the mainline MCU.
- X-Men
- X2: X-Men United
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- X-Men: First Class
- The Wolverine
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Deadpool
- X-Men: Apocalypse
- Logan
- Deadpool 2
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix
- New Mutants
- Deadpool & Wolverine
Finally, how does Spider-Man fit into the Marvel movies order? The simple answer is only Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are in the MCU, as well as Tom Holland's appearances in other Marvel films such as Avengers: Infinity War.
Spider-Man-centric properties such as the Venom trilogy or Kraven are part of Sony's Spider-Man universe and should be treated as a separate entity, even if there is some occasional crossover.
Now we're getting to the confusing bit: the multiverse. Thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home, we have had various Spider-Man villains from throughout the multiverse travel into the MCU. To fully understand everyone's motives and intentions in No Way Home, you need to have watched a fair few older Spider-Man movies.
For a full deep dive into watching these movies, then check out our guide to how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.
Need more? Here are the best movies on Disney Plus and the best shows on Disney Plus. For more watch guides, be sure to dive into how to watch Demon Slayer in order and how to watch Jujutsu Kaisen in order.
