How To Watch Marvel Movies In Order Of Release And Timeline?
Over the last decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen a huge expansion. The number of movies and TV shows revolving around the MCU is just insane. Being in touch with the universe is easy for people who are following the MCU from the very start by watching Marvel movies in order of release. However, things can get a bit confusing for a beginner.
If someone were to start watching Marvel movies now, then they would probably get frustrated thinking from where they should start. I mean, if you want to watch Marvel movies in order of story, then you have to start with Captain America: The First Avenger. However, if you’re going to watch all Marvel movies in order of release, then you’ve got to begin with 2008’s Iron Man.
I know it’s confusing, but no worries because, in this list, we have mentioned all Marvel movies in every order possible. Also, now with the launch of Disney Plus, you can start the Marvel movies marathon in order right now.
Marvel Movies In Order Of Release
Today, when we are very close to stepping into MCU Phase Four, it’s easy for fans to go back and watch all previous Marvel movies in order of timeline. However, nerds like me who followed MCU from the very start had no choice but to watch MCU movies in order of release. And if that’s how you want to start, then here’s the order of Marvel movies as per their release:
| S. No | MCU Phase One |
| 1 | Iron Man (2008) |
| Tony Stark, a billionaire weapon manufacturer, invents a weaponized suit to fight evil after being held captive in Afghanistan. | |
| 2 | The Incredible Hulk (2008) |
| Dr. Bruce Banner struggles to find a cure for his unique disease, which transforms him into a green giant whenever he is under emotional stress. | |
| 3 | Iron Man 2 (2010) |
| After revealing that he is the Iron Man, Tony Stark finds that the enemy, including the U.S. government, is after his suit’s technology. | |
| 4 | Thor (2011) |
| After being cast out of Asgard, the powerful Norse God, Thor, learns compassion and what it is meant to be a hero. | |
| 5 | Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) |
| Steve Rogers, a skinny and short U.S. Army soldier, goes through a scientific experiment to become super-powerful Captain America. | |
| 6 | Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) |
| Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D, brings together a team of remarkable superheroes to bring down Loki. | |
| MCU Phase Two | |
| 7 | Iron Man 3 (2013) |
| Tony Stark, looks at his entire world getting destroyed. So, he finds out those who are responsible to bring them to justice. | |
| 8 | Thor: The Dark World (2013) |
| Once again, Thor reunites with Jane Foster, to fight against the Dark Elves who want to push the world into darkness. | |
| 9 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) |
| Steve Rogers join hands with Black Widow to fight a new threat who also came from the past, The Winter Soldier. | |
| 10 | Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) |
| Space adventurer, Peter Quill, unknowingly sets on a journey with his new companions to fight Ronan, an evil Kree warlord. | |
| 11 | Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) |
| The mighty Marvel heroes once again unite to protect the world from a “peaceful” A.I., which was created by Tony Stark in the first place. | |
| 12 | Ant-Man (2015) |
| Scott Lang, a regular thief, turns his life around after finding a powerful suit that could alter his size down to an insect. | |
| MCU Phase Three | |
| 13 | Captain America: Civil War (2016) |
| Iron Man and Captain America play at the hands of the enemy by leading the Avengers against each other. | |
| 14 | Doctor Strange (2016) |
| After going through a terrible accident, Dr. Stephen Strange goes on a mysterious unknown journey to find a cure, however, he finds so much more. | |
| 15 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) |
| Peter Quill and the fellow guardians go against someone who holds a deep connection with Quill. | |
| 16 | Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) |
| Young Peter Parker is hell bound on becoming an Avenger, but first, he must learn how to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. | |
| 17 | Thor: Ragnarok (2017) |
| Thor finds himself working together with Hulk to stand a chance against all-powerful, Hela, who wants to destroy his home. | |
| 18 | Black Panther (2018) |
| After returning to Wakanda, T’Challa must fight against his own blood to take what rightfully belongs to him. | |
| 19 | Avengers: Infinity War (2018) |
| The Avengers stand together to fight the most powerful they’ve ever seen, Thanos, a Mad-Titan who wants to save the universe by wiping out half the life. | |
| 20 | Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) |
| Scott Lang, who gave up the Ant-Man suit for the love of his daughter, is once again approached by the same life to fight alongside Wasp. | |
| 21 | Captain Marvel (2019) |
| Carol Danvers, returns back to Earth as a Kree warrior to fight off the shapeshifting Skrulls, but in this journey, she also learns about her past. | |
| 22 | Avengers: Endgame (2019) |
| The fight with Thanos to save the world continues as the Avengers do everything in their power to bring the Titan to his knees. | |
| 23 | Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) |
| Peter Parker’s Europe trip takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself fighting against four elemental creatures that came from another dimension. |
MCU Timeline: Marvel Movies In Order Of Story
When it comes to MCU movies, understanding the timeline isn’t easy. To understand the MCU timeline, the best thing one can do is to watch all Marvel movies in chronological order. That way, you’ll follow the linear storyline and understand everything that’s happening in MCU. So, if you’re on a Marvel movie marathon and want to follow a linear timeline, then here are the MCU movies in order of story:
| S. No | Marvel Movies | Timeline |
| 1 | Captain America: The First Avenger | During World War 2 |
| 2 | Captain Marvel | 1995 |
| 3 | Iron Man | 2010 |
| 4 | Iron Man 2 | 2011 |
| 5 | The Incredible Hulk | 2011 (Along with the events in Iron Man 2 and Thor) |
| 6 | Thor | 2011(six months before The Avengers) |
| 7 | The Avengers | 2012 |
| 8 | Iron Man 3 | Six months after The Avengers |
| 9 | Thor: Dark World | 2013 |
| 10 | Captain America: Winter Soldier | 2014 |
| 11 | Guardians of the Galaxy | 2014 |
| 12 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | 2014 |
| 13 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | 2015 |
| 14 | Ant-Man | 2015 |
| 15 | Captain America: Civil War | 2016 |
| 16 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | 2016 (2 months after the Civil War) |
| 17 | Doctor Strange | 2016-2017 |
| 18 | Black Panther | 2017 |
| 19 | Thor: Ragnarok | 2017 |
| 20 | Avengers: Infinity War | 2017 (Just after the events of Thor: Ragnarok) |
| 21 | Ant-Man and The Wasp | 2017 |
| 22 | Avengers: Endgame | 2017-2022 |
| 23 | Spider-Man: Far From Home | 2022 (After the events of Avengers: Endgame) |
Upcoming Marvel Movies: Marvel Phase 4
If you’re done watching all 23 Marvel Movies, then you must know that they are a lot of Marvel Phase 4 movies that have been already announced. The first one in the upcoming Marvel movies list is Black Widow, which was set to release on May 1, 2020. But, unfortunately, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the release date has been pushed to November 6, 2020.
Here’s the full list of Upcoming Marvel Movies:
| S. No | Marvel Phase 4 Movies | Release Date |
| 1 | Black Widow | November 6, 2020 |
| 2 | The Eternals | February 12, 2021 |
| 3 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | May 7, 2021 |
| 4 | Untitled third Spider-Man movie | July 16, 2021 |
| 5 | Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | November 5, 2021 |
| 6 | Thor: Love and Thunder | February 18, 2022 |
Future Marvel Movies
Apart from the already announced Marvel Phase 4 movies, there are other movies as well in the studio’s pipeline. Most of these projects are the sequels of the existing Marvel movies. However, there are some new projects announced by Marvel as well. Here are all the future Marvel movies you could expect to see in the near future:
| S. No | Future Marvel Movies | Release Date |
| 1 | Black Panther 2 | May 6, 2022 |
| 2 | Captain Marvel 2 | July 8, 2022 |
| 3 | Ant-Man 3 | TBA 2022 |
| 4 | Blade | TBD |
| 5 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | TBD |
| 6 | Fantastic Four Movie(Untitled) | TBD |
Watching Marvel Movies In Order: Should You Watch Every Movie In The List?
Now that you know the order of Marvel movies, then you should also be aware that not every Marvel movie is worth watching. It’s perfectly okay if you skip disasters like The Incredible Hulk (no offence to Hulk fans!). That being said, there are a few Marvel movies, such as Captain America: The Civil War, that you have to watch to follow the MCU storyline.
However, if you’re okay with skipping some worst MCU movies, then you can decide which Marvel movies are worth watching by referring to their IMDb rating.
