How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in order
How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in order
Stream the adventures of Captain America, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and the rest of the MCU’s biggest heroes with our viewing guide.
It’s been almost 20 years since the first “Iron Man” film arrived in theaters, launching a multi-billion dollar cinematic universe that has dominated the box office and culture conversation ever since.
Disney’s purchase of Marvel properties in 2009 infused the studio with the cash to craft a startling number of summer tentpoles, movies devoted to lesser-known heroes, and TV series that have become a centerpiece of the Disney+ library. The MCU now has more than 60 titles, so if you’re planning a binge-watch your way through all of them, you have plenty of material to stay occupied with. But with 18 years’ worth of content and counting to sort through, it can be hard to know where to start!
But just like the heroes in the of Marvel lore, our experts are here to help. Use our master watchlists below to stream the MCU from start to finish, hop in where you want, or even go backwards if you prefer! Scroll through the lists and see how to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in order.
While what is and is not considered MCU canon gets a little fuzzy when it comes to the TV shows, we have included all Marvel titles released since the premiere of “Iron Man,” since corporate maneuvering has brought them all under the big Disney tent and onto Disney+.
How to watch the MCU in order
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Option 1: Chronological Order
While not exactly an officially recommended watch order, Marvel does provide an official, chronological order of every show and movie in the MCU. The list organizes its chronological order based on the linear timeline of in-universe events.
Since the animated series “Eyes of Wakanda” takes place before the 1940s in the MCU’s Earth-616 universe, it’s first on the list. This allows viewers to experience the MCU in the same chronological sequence in which the characters live it out on screen.
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Marvel’s Agent Carter
- Captain Marvel
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 2
- The Incredible Hulk
- Thor
- The Avengers
- Thor: The Dark World
- Iron Man 3
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- I Am Groot
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Marvel’s Daredevil
- Marvel’s Jessica Jones
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
- Marvel’s Luke Cage
- Marvel’s Iron Fist
- Marvel’s The Defenders
- Captain America: Civil War
- Black Widow
- Black Panther
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Marvel’s The Punisher
- Doctor Strange
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Loki
- What If…?
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Hawkeye
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Moon Knight
- Black Panther II
- She-Hulk
- Ms. Marvel
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Werewolf by Night
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Ant-Man 3
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Secret Invasion
- Echo
- Captain Marvel 2
- Deadpool 3
- Agatha All Along
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Captain America 4
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Thunderbolts
- Ironheart
- The Fantastic Four
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Marvel Zombies
- Wonder Man
Option 2: Release Order
For many people, including one of the people writing this article, they believe that the best way to view any franchise or series is by watching titles in the order that they were released. Even though the events might be chronologically out of order, every new movie or show is built on the events, knowledge, and characters of what came before it. So, just because something is a prequel to previous titles, that doesn’t mean that watching it doesn’t rely on the emotions and knowledge that viewers have already developed for characters and events for it to make its impact.
- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers
- Iron Man 3
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Thor: The Dark World
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Marvel’s Agent Carter
- Marvel’s Daredevil
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
- Marvel’s Jessica Jones
- Captain America: Civil War
- Marvel’s Luke Cage
- Doctor Strange
- Marvel’s Iron Fist
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Marvel’s The Defenders
- Marvel’s Inhumans
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Marvel’s The Punisher
- Marvel’s Runaways
- Black Panther
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Endgame
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Helstrom
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Loki
- Black Widow
- What If…?
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Ms. Marvel
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- I Am Groot
- She-Hulk
- Werewolf by Night
- Black Panther II
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Ant-Man 3
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Secret Invasion
- Captain Marvel 2
- Echo
- Deadpool 3
- Agatha All Along
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Captain America 4
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Thunderbolts
- Ironheart
- The Fantastic Four
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Marvel Zombies
- Wonder Man
Option 3: Hybrid Order
While there are a million fan-curated ways to watch the MCU, the most prevalent one offers a hybrid viewing order that sticks closer to the real-world release cadence of titles in the universe. However, it groups Marvel TV shows into thematic blocks alongside specific movies that directly relate to them in a major way. T
his hybrid order also integrates titles like “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” without getting in the way of the films’ narrative flow.
- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers
- Iron Man 3
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Thor: The Dark World
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Marvel’s Agent Carter
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Marvel’s Daredevil
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
- Marvel’s Jessica Jones
- Captain America: Civil War
- Marvel’s Luke Cage
- Doctor Strange
- Marvel’s Iron Fist
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- I Am Groot
- Marvel’s The Defenders
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Marvel’s Inhumans
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Marvel’s The Punisher
- Marvel’s Runaways
- Black Panther
- Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Endgame
- Helstrom
- Black Widow
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Loki
- What If…?
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Ms. Marvel
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- She-Hulk
- Werewolf by Night
- Black Panther II
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Ant-Man 3
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Secret Invasion
- Captain Marvel 2
- Echo
- Deadpool 3
- Agatha All Along
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Captain America 4
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Thunderbolts
- Ironheart
- The Fantastic Four
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Marvel Zombies
- Wonder Man
Option 4: Just the movies
Now, if you are looking at the lists above and saying there is no way I will ever get through all of those titles, especially since the TV shows have multiple seasons, sticking just to the MCU films is an incredibly valid way to make your way through this cosmic universe.
These are presented in release order, but you can adapt the movie list to fit whichever method tickles your fancy most.
- Iron Man
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- 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
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Black Panther
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Endgame
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Black Widow
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Eternals
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Werewolf by Night
- Black Panther II
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- Ant-Man 3
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Captain Marvel 2
- Deadpool 3
- Captain America 4
- Thunderbolts
- The Fantastic Four
Option 5: Just the TV shows
The Marvel television shows, some considered canon and some not, offer an incredibly varied journey through the MCU. From the gritty Netflix series to a variety of animation styles to comedies to thrillers, there is a little bit of something for everyone.
Again, these are organized in release order, but in some cases, they overlap, so if you want to truly dig down deep and watch each episode in the order it came out, figuring out the order is on you!
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Marvel’s Agent Carter
- Marvel’s Daredevil
- Marvel’s Jessica Jones
- Marvel’s Luke Cage
- Marvel’s Iron Fist
- Marvel’s The Defenders
- Marvel’s Inhumans
- Marvel’s The Punisher
- Marvel’s Runaways
- Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger
- Helstrom
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Loki
- What If…?
- Hawkeye
- Moon Knight
- Ms. Marvel
- I Am Groot
- She-Hulk
- Secret Invasion
- Echo
- Agatha All Along
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Daredevil: Born Again
- Ironheart
- Eyes of Wakanda
- Marvel Zombies
- Wonder Man
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”

