Infinity Saga in Order (Phases 1–3)

By Elif Aras · Updated October 21, 2026

In release order it runs from Iron Man to the same Spider-Man film. Either way, the spine of the saga is Thanos and the six Infinity Stones, which makes it the most self-contained stretch of the MCU.

What holds the saga together

Phases 1, 2 and 3 were built as one long arc. Solo films introduce heroes, team-ups bring them together, and almost every chapter drops a hint about the stones or the figure collecting them. That steady build is why Infinity War and Endgame hit so hard: the films spent years putting the pieces on the board.

It is also the easiest part of the MCU to watch on its own. You need no television, no prior knowledge and no guesswork about what comes next, because the saga has a clear beginning, middle and end.

The MCU Infinity Saga order to watch, phase by phase

Marvel groups the 23 films into three phases. Here they are as they premiered, which is the simplest way to see how the saga was built.

Phase 1 gathers the founding team. Phase 2 raises the stakes: The Winter Soldier dismantles S.H.I.E.L.D., Guardians of the Galaxy opens up space, and Age of Ultron shows how quickly good intentions can backfire. Phase 3 is the payoff. Civil War splits the Avengers, new heroes like Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man arrive, and Infinity War and Endgame bring it all to a close. Far From Home then works as an epilogue about the world after Endgame.

Story order: what moves and why

Our list follows the in-universe timeline instead, so it opens in the 1940s and jumps to the 1990s for Captain Marvel before reaching Tony Stark. Only a few films change places:

• Captain America: The First Avenger moves to the front, since it is set during World War II.
• Captain Marvel leaps from late Phase 3 to the start of the timeline, right behind The First Avenger.
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 moves up to sit right after the first Guardians film, before Age of Ultron.
• Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming come before Doctor Strange, whose story stretches over a longer period.

Everything else stays close to where it premiered. If you would rather see the films as audiences did, use the Marvel release order; it keeps every reveal and post-credits tease in its intended sequence.

Follow the stones

A useful way to watch the saga is to track where each Infinity Stone surfaces. It turns a long list into a treasure hunt.

• Space Stone: the Tesseract, first seen in Captain America: The First Avenger and central to The Avengers.
• Mind Stone: inside Loki's scepter in The Avengers, later part of Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
• Reality Stone: the Aether in Thor: The Dark World.
• Power Stone: the orb everyone chases in Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Time Stone: the Eye of Agamotto in Doctor Strange.
• Soul Stone: hidden until Avengers: Infinity War.

Thor: The Dark World is often called skippable, and story-wise it is the weakest link. Still, it is the only film that explains the Reality Stone, so stone-trackers should keep it.

Short route and full route

The full saga takes around 50 hours at roughly two hours per film. Spread out at a film a night, it fills about a month.

For a shorter run, keep the Avengers films, the three Captain America films, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel. That core of 12 films gets you through the main conflicts. Add Ant-Man and the Wasp if you want the Quantum Realm explained before Endgame uses it. The essential Marvel movies and shows list uses the same thinking and extends it past Endgame, and the marathon plan can turn either version into a calendar.

Who should start here

The Infinity Saga is the natural first stop for almost everyone. It is finished, it is consistent in tone, and nearly every later Marvel title assumes you know at least its big moments. Rewatchers get the most out of story order, while first-timers usually enjoy release order more. If you finish and want to keep going, the full list of Marvel movies in order picks up right where Far From Home leaves off.

Mistakes to avoid

Stopping at Endgame. Spider-Man: Far From Home is officially the last film of the Infinity Saga and shows how the world copes afterward.

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 after Civil War in a story-order run. On the timeline it sits right after the first Guardians film, before Age of Ultron, and that is where this list puts it.

Skipping the post-credits scene of The Avengers. It is the first real look at the villain behind the whole saga.

Leaving a long gap between Infinity War and Endgame. They were made as two halves of one story, so watch them within a day or two of each other.