Marvel Movies in Order: The Complete MCU Watch Order

By Kenji Arata · Updated October 21, 2026

You can sort it by story or by release date, see which 22 titles are essential and which are safe to skip, and tick each one off as you go. The full list starts right below this guide.

How to use this MCU watch order

Start by picking a route at the top of the page. "I am new to Marvel" shows the complete story from beginning to end. "Recommended route" keeps the essentials plus the titles that add the most to them. "Essentials only" is the fast track, with nothing but the films and series you cannot skip.

Next, choose how the list is sorted. Chronological order follows the story, release order follows premiere dates, and the era, phase and importance views group the same titles in other handy ways. You can also switch between a poster grid and a compact list, depending on how much you want to see at once.

Every title opens into its own page. There you will find where it falls in the story, what to watch before it, how long it runs, a trailer and where to stream it in your country. If a film leans on an earlier one, the page says so plainly, so you never have to guess what comes next.

Marvel movies in order, with the shows on the same list

Plenty of guides list the films and stop there. That leaves out a big part of the story, because the Disney+ series now carry characters and plot threads that the films pick up later. Our list mixes everything together: theatrical films, live-action series, animated shows and the short specials, each placed where it belongs.

If you only want the films, our list of all Marvel movies in order strips the series out. For the opposite approach, the guide to Marvel TV shows in order lines up every series with notes on which ones the films build on. Most people end up somewhere in between, and that is exactly what the importance labels are for.

Chronological order or release order?

These are the two classic ways to watch, and both are valid.

Chronological order follows events as they happen inside the universe. It opens during the Second World War with Captain America: The First Avenger, jumps to the 1990s for Captain Marvel and then moves into the modern era. A handful of placements are tricky, since some stories overlap or happen years after their neighbors, and our MCU chronological order page explains each of those calls.

Release order follows premiere dates and begins with Iron Man. This is how audiences met the MCU, so every reveal, cameo and post-credits tease lands in the sequence it was designed for. The Marvel release order guide walks through it phase by phase.

A quick side-by-side:

You see the same titles either way. Only the sequence changes.

Should I watch the MCU in chronological or release order?

For a first watch, release order is the safer pick. Marvel built its films to be seen as they came out, and some origin stories, Captain Marvel in particular, hint at things that make more sense once you already know the characters. Chronological order shines on a second pass, when half the fun is seeing how the pieces fit along one timeline.

Still torn? Do not overthink it. The gap between the two orders is smaller than online debates suggest, and either one gets you to the big crossovers with the context you need.

More ways to sort: eras, phases and importance

Beyond the two classic orders, the list offers three more views.

• By era splits the story into five stretches: Origins, The Rise, The Great War, Multiverse, and Now and Beyond. It is a friendly way to see where you are without memorizing phase numbers.
• By phase follows Marvel's own grouping. Phases 1 to 3 form the Infinity Saga, and Phases 4 to 6 make up the Multiverse Saga.
• By importance puts the essentials on top, so you can see at a glance what the story cannot do without.

The two sagas at a glance

The MCU is told in two large arcs. The Infinity Saga in order covers Phases 1 to 3 and follows Thanos and the Infinity Stones, from Iron Man to Spider-Man: Far From Home. The Multiverse Saga in order picks up after Avengers: Endgame and runs through Phases 4 to 6, ending with Avengers: Secret Wars.

Series and specials fall between those films, which is why the phase view on our list looks longer than this table.

Essential, recommended and optional

Every title carries one of three labels, and they power the routes at the top of the page.

• Essential: 22 titles drive the main story. Their events come up again and again later, so skipping one leaves a visible gap.
• Recommended: these add real depth to characters you will meet in the crossovers. The plot still holds without them, but the payoffs hit harder with them.
• Optional: side stories, specials and spin-offs that widen the universe without changing the main line. Watch them because they look fun to you, not out of duty.

The labels are judgment calls, and we explain each one on the title's own page. For the shortest path laid out title by title, the list of essential Marvel movies and shows gives the reasoning behind all 22.

How to watch the MCU in order without burning out

More than seventy titles is a lot of viewing. A little planning keeps it fun.

1. Pick a route first. Decide whether you want everything, the recommended core or just the essentials. That one choice changes the size of the project more than anything else.
2. Set a weekly budget. Tell the Marvel marathon plan how many hours a week you can spare, and it estimates your finish date.
3. Stop at natural breaks. The Avengers, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home each close a chapter. A week off after any of them will not leave you lost.
4. Stay for the credits. Many films hide mid-credits or post-credits scenes, and some of them set up the next title directly.
5. Pair the two-parters. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are one story told in two films, so watch them close together.

Brand new to all of this? The Marvel watch order for beginners trims the list into a gentler first pass that still covers the main story.

The MCU watch order with shows: which series matter most

Series are where many viewers fall behind, because each one takes several evenings. You do not need every show, but a few carry real weight. Loki explains how the multiverse works and sets up threads that later films pull on. WandaVision follows Wanda Maximoff toward the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows Sam Wilson taking up the shield before Captain America: Brave New World.

The older Netflix series sit on our list too. Daredevil and its companions are darker and longer than the Disney+ shows, and they matter mostly if you plan to watch Daredevil: Born Again. Our guide to Marvel Netflix shows in order explains how they connect and where each one fits.

Animated series such as What If...? play with alternate realities. Check each show's label before you commit, since some are close to the main story and others are pure bonus material.

What is coming next

Two titles on the list are still ahead. Avengers: Doomsday comes next, and Avengers: Secret Wars follows it as the finale of the Multiverse Saga. Our guide on what to watch before Avengers: Doomsday names the two films that lead straight into it and adds a longer catch-up for anyone who has fallen behind.

Release dates can move. When the studio changes one, the list changes with it, so the order you see here is always the current one.

Following one hero or team

Not everyone wants the whole universe. If the team-ups are what you care about, the Avengers movies in order guide shows all six Avengers films and the solo titles worth slotting between them. Spider-Man fans can follow Tom Holland's run, including the films where Peter turns up as a guest, in our Spider-Man movies in order list.

For any single hero or villain, the Marvel character pages collect every title that character appears in, in watch order. It is the quickest way to answer "which films is she in?" before a new release.

Tracking your progress

Press Watched on any title and the counters at the top update: total titles, how many you have seen, how many remain, how many essentials are left and roughly how many hours of viewing are still ahead. On a phone, swipe left to mark a title watched or swipe right to remove it from your list. Hidden titles can be brought back whenever you like.

Those counters double as a reality check before a new release. One glance at the essentials left tells you whether you can catch up in time or should switch to a shorter route for now and fill in the rest afterward.

Without an account, progress lives only in the browser you are using. Sign up and it follows you to any device, together with your ratings and a private note on each title. Title pages also have comments, with a spoiler tag for anything that gives the plot away.

Common mistakes with the MCU watch order

Treating every title as homework. The optional label exists for a reason. Skipping a side story you are not excited about beats stalling halfway through the list.

Starting a series on the eve of a new film. Shows take far longer than a movie night, so build them into your plan early.

Reading spoilers while you catch up. Comment threads and video thumbnails give away big moments. Our guides and title summaries stay spoiler-free, so you can check what comes next without risk.

Worrying too much about the "right" order. Story order and release order both work. Pick one, press play and adjust as you go.