Captain America Movies in Order

By Rafael Ortega · Updated October 21, 2026

The first three follow Steve Rogers, the last two follow Sam Wilson as he takes up the shield. Release order and story order match, so the list below works either way.

Captain America movies in order, at a glance

Five titles, two heroes, one shield. The big gap between Civil War and the series is where the Avengers films do their work, which we cover further down.

Two Captains, one shield

The Captain America line is really two character arcs stitched together. Steve Rogers carries the trilogy from a skinny volunteer in the 1940s to a fugitive who refuses to sign away the team's independence. Sam Wilson, introduced as a supporting player in The Winter Soldier, inherits the role and has to decide whether he wants it at all.

That handoff is why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sits on this list even though it is a series rather than a film. Skip it and Brave New World opens with a Captain America you have not seen earn the title.

The trilogy, film by film

Captain America: The First Avenger is a period adventure. It sets up Bucky Barnes, Peggy Carter, HYDRA and the Tesseract, and it ends with a jump that drops Steve into the modern world.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a tight spy thriller that many fans rank among the best entries in the whole franchise. It changes S.H.I.E.L.D. forever, brings Sam Wilson into Steve's life and returns Bucky in a form Steve barely recognizes.

Captain America: Civil War plays almost like an Avengers film. Governments want oversight of the team, Steve and Tony Stark end up on opposite sides, and the fallout carries straight into Infinity War. It also introduces Black Panther and this era's Spider-Man.

Sam Wilson's chapter

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier picks up after Endgame. Sam is uneasy about the shield, Bucky is trying to live with his past, and the government names its own replacement. The show asks what the symbol means and who gets to carry it.

Captain America: Brave New World puts Sam in the suit full time. It leans on two older threads: Isaiah Bradley from the series, and characters from The Incredible Hulk, a Phase 1 film many people skipped. A quick rewatch of that one helps more than you might expect.

What is the timeline of Captain America?

Steve's story covers more ground than any other hero's in the MCU. It starts during the Second World War, when he volunteers for the super-soldier program, and jumps to the present day after he spends decades frozen in ice. From there it runs through the Avengers films until Endgame, where his arc closes and the shield passes to Sam.

Sam's timeline starts in the modern era. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set after Endgame, and Brave New World follows it. Because both heroes' stories move forward in a straight line, the story order and release order for these five titles are the same. To see how they sit among every other film and series, check our MCU chronological order.

Short route, full route and time

The short route is the five titles on this page. The four films run roughly two to two and a half hours each, and the series takes a few evenings. Call it a week of casual viewing.

For the full route, add the team-ups where Steve plays a lead role. In order:

1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. The Avengers
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron
5. Captain America: Civil War
6. Avengers: Infinity War
7. Avengers: Endgame
8. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
9. Captain America: Brave New World

Steve's story really ends in Endgame, and his final scenes there mean far more if you have followed him since the first film. To place everything else correctly, use our list of all Marvel movies in order, or let the Marvel marathon plan turn the route into a schedule.

Which route suits you

Mainly interested in Sam Wilson? Start with The Winter Soldier, where he first appears, then go to Endgame, the series and Brave New World. You will miss Steve's origin, but Sam's arc stays clear from start to finish.

If Steve is the reason you are here, take the full nine-title route. His bonds with Bucky, Peggy and Tony build slowly across those films, and the payoff only works if you have watched them grow.

Mistakes people make with this order

Stopping at Civil War. Steve's arc does not close until Endgame, so treat the Avengers films as part of the Captain America story.

Treating the series as optional. Brave New World assumes you know Sam's choices and Isaiah's history.

Watching Civil War before Age of Ultron. The Sokovia Accords exist because of the Ultron disaster, so the debate in Civil War loses its weight if you skip that setup.

Forgetting Bucky. The Winter Soldier, Civil War and the series together tell Bucky's story too. Watching them in sequence makes his journey from enemy to ally far easier to follow.