How to watch all the Marvel movies in order

How to watch the Marvel movies in order. It can be hard to keep track of the Marvel timeline. And things are getting more complicated as the multiverse continues to unravel with the new Disney Plus series, Loki season 2. So, we’ve decided to lend a helping hand.

We’re basically Marvel Cinematic Universe experts at this point, and there’s almost nothing we don’t know about the best superhero movies in town. So we’ve been through every film in the IP, from the Iron Man movies all the way to the Spider-Man movies, to bring you a comprehensive guide on how to watch every MCU film in chronological order (We’ve also included every Marvel series and special!).

But wait, there’s more. Below, we also break down how to watch these marvelous movies and shows in release order and cast our eye into the future to bring you everything you need to know about all the upcoming Marvel movies in Marvel’s Phase 5 and 6. So, if you’re sitting comfortably, here’s our exhaustive guide on the best ways to watch all the Marvel movies in order.

How to watch all the Marvel movies in order (chronologically)

If you already know a thing or two about the MCU and are looking to experience the story of Earth’s mightiest heroes in a new way, then we recommend watching them in chronological order.

Honestly, this is probably the most rewarding way to enjoy the Infinity Saga and beyond, mainly because it allows you to understand just how ambitious this cinematic universe really is.

Marvel movies and shows in chronological order:

1. Captain America: The First Avenger (1942-1943)
2. Agent Carter seasons 1-2 (1946)
3. Captain Marvel (1995)
4. Iron Man (2010)
5. Iron Man 2 (2011)
6. The Incredible Hulk (2011)
7. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (2011)
8. Thor (2011)
9. The Consultant (2011)
10. The Avengers (2012)
11. Item 47 (2012)
12. Iron Man 3 (2012)
13. All Hail The King (2013)
14. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
15. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
16. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
17. I Am Groot – Episode 1 (2014)
18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2014)
19. I Am Groot – Episodes 2-5 (2014)
20. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
21. Ant-Man (2015)
22. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
23. Black Widow (2017)
24. Black Panther (2017)
25. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016)
26. Doctor Strange (2016-2017)
27. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
28. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2017)
29. Avengers: Infinity War (2017)
30. Avengers: Endgame (2018-2023)
31. Loki (Sort of)
32. WandaVision (2023)
33. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings (2024)
34. What If…? (Technically set in the multiverse, but we’d place it here)
35. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2023)
36. Eternals (2024)
37. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2024)
38. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2024)
39. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2024)
40. Hawkeye (2024)
41. Moon Knight (2025)
42. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2025)
43. She-Hulk (2025)
44. Ms. Marvel (2025)
45. Thor: Love and Thunder (2025)
46. Werewolf By Night (2025)
47. Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2025)
48. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2025)
49. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2026)
50. Secret Invasion (2026)
51. Loki season 2 (2026)

How to watch all the Marvel movies in order of release

If you’re new to the whole saga, we recommend watching the films in release order. This is how fans initially experienced the films, and, to be frank, it’ll allow you to skip out on some of the weaker entries in the series.

Marvel’s Phase 1 movies in order:

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)

Marvel’s Phase 2 movies in order:

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)

Marvel’s Phase 3 movies in order:

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 (2017)
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)

Marvel’s Phase 4 movies and TV series in order:

24. WandaVision (2021)
25. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
26. Loki season 1 (2021)
27. Black Widow (2021)
28. What If…? (2021)
29. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
30. Eternals (2021)
31. Hawkeye (2021)
32. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
33. Moon Knight (2022)
34. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
35. Ms. Marvel (Disney Plus series, 2022)
36. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
37. I Am Groot (2022)
38. She-Hulk (2022)
39. Werewolf By Night (2022)
40. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
41. Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special (2022)

Marvel’s Phase 5 movies and TV series in order:

42. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
43. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023)
44. Secret Invasion (2023)
45. Loki season 2 (2023)

Upcoming Marvel movies and TV series

You didn’t think that was it for the MCU, did you? Oh no, there are plenty of new movies and TV series on the way. We’re entering the Multiverse Saga, which will culminate in Secret Wars, which has the potential to be one of the biggest and best movies in the franchise.

Upcoming Marvel Phase 5 movies and TV series:

• Loki season 2 – October 9, 2023 (Disney Plus series)
• The Marvels – November 10, 2023
• Echo – November 29, 2023 (Disney Plus series)
• Ironheart – TBC 2024 (Disney Plus series)
• Agatha: Coven of Chaos – TBC 2024 (Disney Plus series)
• Daredevil: Born Again – Spring 2024 (Disney Plus series)
• Deadpool 3 – May 3, 2024
• Captain America: Brave New World – July 26, 2024
• Thunderbolts – December 20, 2024
• Blade – February 14, 2025

Upcoming Marvel Phase 6 movies and TV series:

• Fantastic Four – May 2, 2025
• Avengers: The Kang Dynasty – May 1, 2026
• Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7, 2027
• Shang-Chi 2 – TBA
• Nova – TBA
• Armor Wars – TBA
• Wakanda/Okoye spin-off – TBA (Disney Plus series)
• Wonder Man – TBA (Disney Plus series)
• What If…? season 2 – TBA (Disney Plus series)
• Spider-Man: Freshman Year – TBA (Disney Plus series)
• Spider-Man: Sophomore Year – TBA (Disney Plus series)
• Marvel Zombies – TBA (Disney Plus series)

The MCU timeline explained

Captain America: The First Avenger

The First Avenger introduces Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, the Red Skull, Agent Carter, and the rest of the Captain America cast in a war movie that sees the Star-Spangled Man with a plan trying to stop the Nazis from harnessing the power of the Tesseract (Which will be revealed to be an Infinity Stone) for nefarious purposes.

The film is set during the events of WWII, between the years of 1943 and 1945. We’re sure nobody involved quite understood what they were helping kick-off, but the lively energy here makes a perfect way to start the universe.

Agent Carter seasons 1 and 2

In the first season of Agent Carter, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy), and Howard Stark (Dominic West) investigate a possible Soviet terrorist attack.

The two seasons follow the aftermath of WWII and Steve’s sacrifice, and together, they help flesh out the post-Steve Rogers, pre-Tony Stark world.

Captain Marvel

The birth of the Avengers Initiative, or at least what inspired Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to start putting it together. As a stopgap between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel is a throwback to the mid-’90s, setting up the shapeshifting Skrulls while also lining up some new heroes. We can’t wait to see how Captain Marvel fares in the modern day when The Marvels arrives.

Iron Man

The Marvel film that started it all, Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, takes the MCU into the 21st century. What more can be said about Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in the Iron Man cast and the eccentric world his fortune bankrolled? Even now, when Nick Fury pops up in that post-credits scene, it’s spine-tingling stuff.

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is set just one year after the events of the first film, but it takes the MCU into interesting new places. Seeing Mickey Rourke in a superhero movie is a novelty, of course, and let’s not forget Don Cheadle taking up the mantle of James ‘War Machine’ Rhodes from Terrence Howard.

The Incredible Hulk

William Hurt’s Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross is just about all that still ties this to the MCU as a whole, originally happening around the same time as Iron Man 2.

Studio politics mean we may never see Mark Ruffalo get to lead a Hulk movie like Edward Norton did here, which is a shame, and any further significance has been downplayed since this came out, although a few familiar faces are set to pop up in the future.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor’s Hammer

Set right before the events of Thor, this short shows Agent Phil Coulson stopping two thieves who make the stupid decision to rob a fast station while Phil’s filling up his car.

A fun little featurette, the clip was first released on the Captain America Blu-ray and was meant to show off a new side to Phil Coulson.

Thor

Like Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor does a lot of work in setting up the overall mythology of the MCU, jumping in right when Iron Man 2 and Incredible Hulk are occurring.

We get the Tesseract, multiple dimensions, and, of course, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, the latter becoming an early fan-favorite. It doesn’t hurt that Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, and Kat Dennings are involved as Thor characters, either.

The Consultant

Another Coulson short, this time SHIELD’s most dedicated field agent is on a mission to sabotage plans to put Emil Blonsky, aka The Abomination, on The Avengers. To do so, they bring in a consultant, Tony Stark himself, who irritates General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross into abandoning his plans for The Abomination.

The Avengers

Maybe the most important blockbuster this century? Certainly not far off. Watching the heroes come together for the invasion of New York does everything you expect it to, turning everyone into household names in the process, matching the release year in 2012, on the heels of the previous phase of movies.

The changing of leadership from Stark to Rogers starts here, and the upcoming Loki spin-off draws from these events. The 360-degree shot of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, and Black Widow rallying together for the first time still absolutely rules, and we get our first look at Thanos in the post-credits scene. Cinema.

Item 47

Set after the events of the Battle of New York, this short features a couple, Bennie and Claire, who discover a discarded Chitauri weapon and use it to go on a crime spree. This short basically served as a backdoor pilot for the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Iron Man 3

The end of Tony Stark’s trilogy is contentious among the fanbase, but it’s a crucial piece of character work in the shadow of The Avengers that separates Tony from the suit.

Indeed, the guilt and resentment that would lead Tony astray in later movies are established, and we get some great action scenes.

All Hail The King

Set right after Iron Man 3, this goofy short features everyone’s favorite football hooligan, Trevor Slattery, aka The (fake) Mandarin. Since being arrested, Trevor’s been having a great time, but things change when the real Mandarin strikes. For years, this seemed like a one-off joke, but it all paid off when Shang-Chi was released.

Thor: The Dark World

Right after Tony’s existential crisis is Thor’s second outing, which sits beside The Incredible Hulk as the least consequential MCU movie.

The reveal of the Reality Stone and Benicio Del Toro’s first appearance as The Collector give it some substance, but on the whole, the Thor cast fails to add much to the wider world here.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Bucky returns as The Winter Soldier in the MCU sequel that reshapes the universe as we know it just two years after the events in New York City.

SHIELD turns out to be Hydra, which is then dismantled by Steve, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, this was a turning point for Marvel Studios, and in proper order, it still ramps up the action.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Next, we take to the stars for a space-bound team of misfits, lowlifes, and thieves who’d become crucial in the war against Thanos, taking place around the same time as The Winter Soldier. It’s hard to pick favorites, of course, but Groot (Vin Diesel) and Drax (Dave Bautista) do have a tendency to steal the show.

We get another Infinity Stone and Josh Brolin’s first appearance as Thanos, who’s the adopted father of Gamora (Zoe Saldana). We are Groot.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Sticking to space, James Gunn’s follow-up is right on the trot of the previous film, and it has Kurt Russell as Ego, The Living Planet, so you know it’s good.

The second volume contains more personal drama than the first, and the familial conflict between two of the best Marvel characters ever, Gamora and Nebula, directly ties into the oncoming face-off against Thanos. In the post-credits scenes, we learn cosmic Marvel hero Adam Warlock is on the way from the gold-skinned Sovereign race – exciting times ahead.

I Am Groot

There’s some debate over whether I Am Groot is canon. Basically, Marvel says it is, but Gunn says it isn’t. We’ve decided it is based on how cute Baby Groot is (sorry, James).

Anyway, the fact it’s Baby Groot and not Teen Groot proves these specials take place relatively soon after the events of Guardians 2.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Back down to Earth for the team’s fight against Ultron in 2015 and the start of their unraveling. Tony Stark makes it clear he’s looking for a way out of the avenging business, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff join the fray, and Vision is born via the Mind Stone. Very much a setup for the third phase of the universe.

Ant-Man

Away from the planet-threatening stakes of the Avengers is Ant-Man, led by Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, right after Age of Ultron. Some of the 70-odd year gap between The First Avenger and now is explored, showing Hank Pym’s separation from SHIELD and the tech market away from the shadow of Stark Industries.

Not all superhero stories need to be about the end of the world, and Lang’s story of a dad trying to do right by his daughter grounds the franchise before we head into even grander territory.

Captain America: Civil War

The rift between Stark and Rogers tears the Avengers apart in the months after the events of the Age of Ultron. Bucky’s dark past as the Winter Soldier is exposed, and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland and Black Panther are introduced. Civil War covers a lot of ground and delivers on the action to boot.

Spidey takes on Captain America, The Falcon tests Vision’s accuracy, and Iron Man and War Machine have to wrangle Giant-Man in the central hero-on-hero fight. The big second act tragedy heading into Thanos showing up.

Black Widow

Black Widow is comfortably after Civil War, though safely before Infinity War as well, and by order of elimination, that places it in 2017. Coming out of Civil War, Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross is on the hunt for Natasha after she and Steve went off the grid as wanted fugitives.

Natasha’s sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) reappears, and together they take down the Red Room, with a little help from mom Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and dad, Alexei ‘Red Guardian’ Shostakov (David Harbour). Worth noting the post-credits scene is later, post-Avengers: Endgame. It will be fascinating to see how this movie leads into the Thunderbolts. Check out our Black Widow review here.

Black Panther

We’ll be honest; things get a little fuzzy around here. The Ryan Coogler-directed Black Panther seems to shortly after Civil War, but the director states it was in 2017. We’ll just call it around 2016 and 2017.

Newly crowned King T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, reckons with Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) challenging him for the throne. The vibrant kingdom of Wakanda, now a crucial region of the MCU, is brought to life in all its glory.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Fresh from web-slinging through Civil War, Holland, the MCU’s Peter Parker, gets his own Spider-Man movie set in the same year. Everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, hellbent on becoming an Avenger, learns balancing heroism with being a decent student isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Vulture’s plan may be thwarted by the webhead, but Michael Keaton’s performance as the working-class crook gives Holland a real run for his money.

Doctor Strange

We can surmise that Civil War, Far From Home, and Doctor Strange all have considerable overlap with each other in 2016. After getting an offhand mention in The Winter Soldier, Doctor Strange finally enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The film shows his complete origin story, from world-famous surgeon to master of the mystic arts, and, like Guardians of the Galaxy, it widens the palette for Marvel Studios productions.

Characters flow in and out of cascading realities, and physics becomes a kaleidoscope controlled by those who have done the appropriate training. The Time Stone is revealed, and Strange takes his place in New York’s Sanctum Sanctorum as a protector of Earth.

Thor: Ragnarok

Taika Waititi’s threequel for the God of Thunder pushes us forward towards the end of 2017 and into 2018, leading straight into Infinity War. The breezy energy is best exemplified by Thor exclaiming, “He’s a friend from work!” when he finds Hulk is his challenger for space gladiatorial combat.

Silly, madcap, eccentric, and thrilling, Thor: Ragnarok’s burning of Asgard is the cosmic equivalent of Civil War, throwing characters to the wind for the burgeoning showdown. Appearances by Doctor Strange, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) only add to the spectacle.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

The second Scott Lang adventure pairs him up with Ant-Man character Hope Pym, the titular Wasp, against the elusive Ghost literally on the cusp of Infinity War.

Some very comic-book-y science is deployed to explain the Quantum Realm, a microscopic layer of reality that Hope’s mother vanished into, and more of SHIELD’s shady underbelly is exposed. By the end, the Pym family is reunited, but just before Thanos’ snap vanishes, everyone except Lang.

Avengers: Infinity War

The first of a massive two-parter brings many of the hanging threads together in 2018. Thor, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Hulk, and Captain America join Wakanda against an invasion of Thanos’ Black Order, while Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy challenge Thanos himself on his ruined homeworld, Titan.

Ultimately, it’s all for naught when the Mad Titan manages to gather all the Infinity Stones, ripping the last from Vision’s head, and performs the Snap, removing half of all life in the Universe.

Avengers: Endgame

The climax to the MCU’s three-phase journey features our heroes in 2023 learning to cope with a world in which they lost. Some moved on, like Tony Stark. Others, like Hawkeye or Thor, not so much. Building a second gauntlet out of Infinity Stones gathered from throughout time allows those lost in the snap to be brought back for the final showdown, a fists-in-the-air battle that gives everyone a second to shine. One that’s always worth a fresh bag of popcorn.

Loki

This can go a couple of different places in the MCU timeline, but the easiest is right after Avengers: Endgame in 2023.

Loki becomes part of the Time Variance Authority to track down other variants of himself, leading to a confrontation with the time-consuming Alioth, and Kang the Conqueror. By the end, the multiverse is descending into madness.

WandaVision

The first of the Marvel Disney Plus shows is WandaVision, which is a continuation of Endgame. A broadly surrealist piece of sci-fi, the six episodes show more of Wanda’s backstory and her struggle with Vision’s death.

More than a couple of new faces are brought into the universe, as well as some welcome returns, and a foreboding future is teased at the end.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

After the fake-out in Iron Man 3, Shang-Chi gives us the actual Mandarin and introduces the Ten Rings. The plot doesn’t have a fixed point, but all the mentions of the Snap put it safely around the same time as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The Abomination returns to the universe, and we get a swathe of Asian mythology to add to Marvel’s cinematic tapestry. Destin Daniel Cretton directs Simu Liu as the lead martial artist who, without spoiling anything, definitely has a future in the franchise. Check out our Shang-Chi review here.

What If…?

OK, let’s address the elephant in the room. What If…? isn’t actually set in the MCU, so it doesn’t really have a place on this timeline, but we can’t leave it out, can we?

We’ve put it here for now, but it can be watched at any point, really, once you’ve finished Endgame.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) takes up the mantle of Captain America in this quasi-buddy cop action series that starts six months after Endgame. Wilson’s forced to work with Bucky to stop a mysterious terrorist cell, all the while contending with John Walker, a US Government-appointed replacement for Steve Rogers.

Amid all of this, Wilson learns of the racially unjust history of the Captain America moniker, vowing to do better by what it stands for. This series will lead directly into the Captain America 4 release date.

Eternals

Around the same time as the webhead is dealing with Spider-Man villain Mysterio, we have Eternals, featuring Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Kumail Nanjiani, and more as the cosmic team in their battle against the evil Deviants.

The history of Eternals goes back millennia, but the important part is that Chloé Zhao’s film takes place around eight months after the second snap, placing it concurrently with Spidey’s second big MCU feature in early 2024. We’re still waiting on an Eternals 2 release date, and we could be waiting for a while. Check out our Eternals review here.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man sequel takes the MCU out of Phase 3, some eight months after the Avengers fought Thanos. He tries to win over MJ’s heart but gets interrupted by Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio.

The death of Tony Stark looms large in more ways than one, forcing Peter to create resources of his own to outwit the baddies that confront him. An affirmation of a bright future, and one that’s still full of surprises, if a certain last-minute cameo’s anything to go by.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Soon after dealing with Mysterio, Peter Parker gets himself in more trouble, shattering the multiverse with Doctor Strange. Spider-Man: No Way Home is set around the autumn of 2024, further delving into a post-Snap universe that has plenty more oddities to deal with. Here’s our No Way Home review for more.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The second Doctor Strange movie is set after the events of No Way Home in 2025. As the last Spider-Man movie and Hawkeye both end around the Christmas period, we can guess then that Doctor Strange 2 is in the spring of the following year.

This film has the Bleeker Street magician go on a dimension-jumping adventure that sees him come face to face with one of the greatest threats the multiverse has ever faced, and there’s a tonne of Doctor Strange 2 cameos to sink your teeth into, too. The film deals with the fallout of WandaVision, so make sure you’ve seen that before watching this movie. Check out our full Doctor Strange 2 review here, or find out why we still don’t know if Doctor Strange 2 was bad.

Hawkeye

Kate Bishop comes to the MCU in Hawkeye, Clint Barton’s headline project, set during the holiday period of 2024. Their Christmas misadventure has Kate find out in no uncertain terms that being an Avenger is a tough business without many friends.

That is, except for Lucky the Pizza Dog and heroes like Clint. The Marvel TV series also introduces Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin into the MCU officially, which will have big implications for Daredevil season 4 and for when the Marvel Echo release date rolls around.

Moon Knight

We don’t get an exact point in time for Moon Knight, but we know it’s after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Disney Plus has it after Hawkeye. Vague, but we’re sure there’ll be clarification eventually.

Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) can’t tell the difference between waking life and dreams and soon discovers that he is, in fact, Marc Spector, AKA Moon Knight, a mercenary with several different identities. His adversary is Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), a religious zealot. Check out our full Moon Knight review here.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

The second Black Panther movie is more or less a bridging point between Thor 4 and Ant-Man 3, and the reference to Scott Lang’s book would put it around the same time as Quantumania.

The conflict between Wakanda and Talokan might not ripple much further into the universe at large, but having a new Black Panther certainly will. Check out our Black Panther 2 review for more, and dive into what we know about a Black Panther 3 release date.

She-Hulk

The adventures of Jennifer Walters, aka the savage She-Hulk, happen between the events of Moon Knight and Ms Marvel in 2025. We’ve put it after Doctor Strange, as the show has a fun summer vibe to it, although that might be because it’s set in LA.

Ms. Marvel

Kamala Khan’s grand induction to the MCU, starring Iman Vellani, also takes place in 2025. She lives in a world that celebrates the Avengers, where their accomplishments are well remembered and commodified.

Marvel has been reluctant to put an exact date on it, but we surmise this happens around the same time as Multiverse of Madness. For more, give our Ms. Marvel review a read.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Another one that’s sketchy to narrow down, Thor: Love and Thunder, would logically fit in around 2025 to 2026. This leaves enough time for the eight years since Thor last saw Jane and for his questing with the Guardians of the Galaxy cast.

Still, we might have to wait until Thor 5 to learn more about where this Chris Hemsworth movie fits in. Be sure to check out our Thor: Love and Thunder review for our thoughts on this one.

Werewolf by Night

The black (and white) sheep of the MCU, Werewolf by Night, is difficult to place in the Marvel timeline, but it probably takes place after the events of Love and Thunder. Anyway, to be honest, it doesn’t really matter.

The whole Halloween special was clearly meant to stand alone, although we wouldn’t say no to seeing more of Jack Russell and Man-Thing in the future.

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

It’s difficult to place this exactly. We just know it happens at some point before the events of Guardians 3, but after the events of Black Panther 2 seems about right to us, considering that’s when it came out in the real world.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Scott, Hope, Cassie, and their family’s excursion to the Quantum Realm is mostly self-contained, but Scott’s book tour means it happens near enough concurrent to Wakanda Forever.

The events of Quantumania likely take place over the course of about a day, so they won’t disrupt the timeline too much otherwise. This also sees Kang the Conqueror introduced to the Ant-Man cast for his big-screen debut. Here is our Ant-Man 3 review for more.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

The third and final James Gunn movie in the MCU takes place long after the events of the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies and picks up with the team in their new headquarters on Knowhere.

There’s no real mention of the wider Marvel universe here, so as long as you watch it after Avengers: Endgame, it would still make perfect sense. Find out what we make of this effort with our Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 review.

Secret Invasion

Around the same time, Peter Quill and his merry team are having their swansong, Nick Fury’s tackling the Skrull invasion of Earth. A cell of the shapeshifters wants to completely take over Earth, but luckily, Nick Fury’s here to defend us.

Unfortunately, Secret Invasion should have been an Avengers movie.

Non-MCU Marvel movies in order

Thanks to the little nerd from Earth-199999 breaking the multiverse, we now have to consider where Sony’s Marvel movies fall in the MCU timeline. Now don’t worry if you haven’t seen these films. You don’t need to watch them to understand the unwieldy MCU storyline. They just give greater context to films like Spider-Man: No Way Home.

1. Spider-Man (2002)
2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
6. Venom (2018)
7. Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
8. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
9. Morbius (2022)
10. Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

It looks like Deadpool 3’s going to further complicate things as well by bringing in the Fox Marvel continuity (We never thought we’d add Elektra to this list), but as we haven’t seen that film yet, we’re ignoring what it means for continuity for now.

Every Marvel movie in order of Rotten Tomato score

If you’ve zero interest in following a coherent story and just want to watch the creme de la creme of the MCU, we’ve also put together a list explaining how to watch every Marvel movie (and TV series) in order of Rotten Tomato score.

Honestly, this is probably the most chaotic way to enjoy the MCU, and we’re here for it, so we’ve even included a few shows of dubious canonicity like Jessica Jones (give her back to us, Feige).

Marvel movies and TV series ranked by Rotten Tomato score:

1. Ms. Marvel (2022) – 98%
2. Black Panther (2018) 96%
3. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013) – 95%
4. Avengers: Endgame (2019) 94%
5. Iron Man (2008) 94%
6. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) 93%
7. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) 93%
8. Loki (2021) – 92%
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) 92%
10. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 92%
11. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) 92%
12. Marvel’s Daredevil (2015) – 92%
13. Hawkeye (2021) – 92%
14. WandaVision (2021) – 91%
15. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) 91%
16. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) 90%
17. Captain America: Civil War (2016) 90%
18. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) 90%
19. Doctor Strange (2016) 89%
20. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) 87%
21. Marvel’s Luke Cage (2016) – 87%
22. Moon Knight (2022) – 86%
23. Marvel’s Agent Carter (2015) – 86%
24. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) 85%
25. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) 85%
26. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) – 85%
27. Marvel – Jessica Jones (2015) – 83%
28. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) 83%
29. Ant-Man (2015) 83%
30. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) 81%
31. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 80%
32. Captain Marvel (2019) 79%
33. Black Widow (2021) 79%
34. Iron Man 3 (2013) 79%
35. Marvel’s The Defenders (2017) – 78%
36. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) – 77%
37. Thor (2011) 77%
38. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 76%
39. Iron Man 2 (2010) 71%
40. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) 74%
41. The Incredible Hulk (2008) 67%
42. Thor: The Dark World (2013) 66%
43. Marvel’s The Punisher (2017) – 64%
44. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) 63%
45. Eternals (2021) 47%
46. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) 45%
47. Secret Invasion (2023) – 54%
48. Marvel’s Iron Fist (2017) – 37%
49. The Inhumans – 11%

Every Marvel movie in order of IMDb score

Rotten Tomatoes isn’t the only review aggregator in town. IMDb also allows its users to rank films and TV series out of 10. So we’ve put together a list of all the Marvel movies and shows so you can pick out the best of the best for your viewing pleasure.

Marvel movies and TV series ranked by IMDb score:

• Avengers Endgame – 8.4
• Infinity War – 8.4
• Loki – 8.2
• Spider-Man: No Way Home – 8.2
• Avengers Assemble – 8
• Guardians of the Galaxy – 8
• Thor: Ragnarok – 7.9
• WandaVision – 7.9
• Iron Man – 7.9
• Captain America Winter Soldier – 7.8
• Agent Carter – 7.8
• Captain America: Civil War – 7.8
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 – 7.6
• Doctor Strange – 7.5
• Hawkeye – 7.5
• Spider-Man: Far From Home – 7.4
• Shang-Chi – 7.4
• Spider-Man Homecoming – 7.4
• Black Panther – 7.3
• Avengers: Age of Ultron – 7.3
• Luke Cage – 7.3
• Ant-Man – 7.3
• Moon Knight – 7.3
• The Defenders – 7.2
• Werewolf by Night – 7.2
• Iron Man 3 – 7.1
• Falcon and the Winter Soldier – 7.1
• Thor – 7
• Ant-Man and the Wasp – 7
• Captain America – 6.9
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 6.9
• Iron Man 2 – 6.9
• The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special – 6.9
• Captain Marvel – 6.8
• Thor: The Dark World – 6.8
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 6.7
• Black Widow – 6.7
• I am Groot – 6.7
• The Incredible Hulk – 6.6
• Iron Fist – 6.4
• Eternals – 6.3
• Ms. Marvel – 6.3
• Thor Love and Thunder – 6.2
• Secret Invasion – 6
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – 6.1
• She-Hulk – 5.3
• Inhumans – 4.9

And that’s everything we know about the Marvel timeline right now. Fun fact if you do sit down and watch every Marvel movie in order, it’ll take you about four and a half days, which is pretty crazy. Speaking of Marvel, if you want to know more, we’ve got lists of the best Marvel villains and all the Marvel films ranked.

We’ve also got a feature explaining why Spider-Man’s most horrifying villain will never appear in the MCU, and we’ve tried to answer who’s stronger, Kang or Thanos.