How to Watch All 34 Marvel Movies in Order
From Iron Man to Deadpool & Wolverine, there’s (technically) only one correct way to watch every MCU film.
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It’s hard to recall a time before superheroes dominated our screens. In the early 2000s, also known as BMCU (Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe), we barely knew anything about the Hulk—let alone Smart Hulk, She-Hulk, and Hulk Jr. Now, 16 years and 34 films into the MCU, we’re educated about all the Hulks, the Spider-Men, and even the variants of the multiverse. We know Alligator Loki, we love Baby Groot, and we’re still questioning why no one has said a thing about the giant Eternals statue sticking halfway out of the planet.
But all this MCU mumbo jumbo isn’t easy to commit to memory. It takes dedicated watching and tons of hours in front of the TV. Often it’s more than worth it. Spider-Man: Homecoming was a beloved retelling of a well-known hero’s story, Black Panther was a cultural phenomenon that extended past the screen, and Avengers: Infinity War once threatened to dethrone Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time.
If you have the energy to immerse yourself in the MCU, we’ve crafted a guide to aid you on your journey. Keep in mind: You won't find Deadpool or Deadpool 2 in here, or any of the 20th Century Fox X-Men films. But if The Marvels post-credits scene is anything to follow, I’d expect more of those characters to cross over soon. Beginning with 2008’s Iron Man and ending with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, below is the best way to watch every Marvel film in order.*
*Every film is available on Disney+ unless otherwise indicated.
Iron Man (2008)
The one that started it all, where a rich guy builds a superhero suit and spawns likely decades of blockbuster franchise filmmaking.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
In the MCU’s second outing, the Hulk gets another telling of his origin story. Sure, The Incredible Hulk is a bit of a strange watch in the 2020s, with Mark Ruffalo having long replaced Ed Norton. But we’ll see the Abomination again soon, so that’s worth a throwback to Norton’s take.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 2 got a little too superhero for its own good, but the second outing from Tony Stark is still a fun one, Elon Musk cameo be damned.
Thor (2011)
Thor refused to let us know how funny Chris Hemsworth could actually be under that golden-blond wig, but it did give us a brilliantly Shakespearean intro to the God of Thunder.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger gave America’s ass a proper intro to the world—and a compelling look at WWII in the process.
The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers did the unthinkable, bringing heroes from separate movies—wow!—all together for one adventure. We were so young.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
The underrated Iron Man 3 bravely shows the effects of PTSD on Tony Stark, ending the Iron Man trilogy on a sweet note—and during the holidays, no less.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor: The Dark World, where Thor battles the Dark Elves, is the subpar MCU entry we don’t really talk about.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
In what is one of the best MCU outings, Captain America: The Winter Soldier links Cap and Black Widow up for the espionage drama of our dreams.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy somehow made a group of ragtag antiheroes into fan favorites. Guess that’s the power of ’80s music.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron made good on its title, pitting the Avengers against Mr. Robot for two and a half hours. That’s how long the age of the titular Ultron lasted. And we’re okay with that.
Ant-Man (2015)
In Ant-Man, Paul Rudd plays a good-bad dude who gets his hands on a shrinking suit. Frankly, the relatively small stakes (ha!) in this romp are refreshing.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Captain America: Civil War, gasp, turned our heroes against one another. Well, at least until they forgive each other so they can fight the bad guy.
Doctor Strange (2016)
Doctor Strange shows the journey of surgeon Stephen Strange into one of the MCU’s wisest heroes. We’ll see how he fares when the multiverse explodes in the sequel.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 wasn’t quiet the good-time romp its predecessor was, but more time with Rocket Raccoon and (teenage) Groot is never a bad thing.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
At long last: Spider-Man: Homecoming gave us the baby-faced Peter Parker from the comics, offering a faithful and sweet tale of the Queens native’s coming of age.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok enlisted the wild, weird, and wonderful Taika Waititi as its director. The result? A rock ’n’ rollin’, planet-hopping Thor adventure.
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther, which tells the story of a young king learning how to truly become a leader, was a landmark film for diversity in Hollywood.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War marked the beginning of the most epic superhero team-up in the genre’s history. Even if we knew Endgame would leave our heroes on top, you have to give Avengers: Infinity War credit for the gut punch of letting Thanos win.
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
We’ll never get tired of the visual gags in the Ant-Man and the Wasp series, even if the action doesn’t always have an impact on the larger MCU.
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