Marvel movies in order: every MCU film by phase, timeline order and what’s next

Want to watch the Marvel movies in order? There are now 38 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), split into six “phases” and two “sagas”, plus dozens of Disney+ series. This guide lists every film in release order, gives Marvel’s official chronological (story) order, explains what the phases mean, and sets out what is coming next, including Avengers: Doomsday in December 2026. Current as of October 2026.

By Editorial Team

The short answer

• Release order starts with Iron Man (2008) and is the easiest way in for first-timers.
• Chronological order starts with Captain America: The First Avenger, set in the 1940s, then Captain Marvel, set in the 1990s.
• Phases are Marvel Studios’ groupings of releases. Phases One to Three make up the “Infinity Saga”, ending with Avengers: Endgame; Phases Four to Six are the “Multiverse Saga”.
• Next up: Avengers: Doomsday on 18 December 2026, then Avengers: Secret Wars on 17 December 2027, which is due to end Phase Six.

Marvel movies in order of release

These are the MCU films as grouped by Marvel Studios, with US release years.

That is 23 films in the Infinity Saga and, so far, 15 in the Multiverse Saga. Phase Four was also the first to include Disney+ series as part of the official phases, starting with WandaVision in 2021.

Marvel movies in chronological order

Marvel’s own complete MCU timeline, published on 2 June 2026 and mirrored on Disney+, puts the films in this story order (series and short films removed):

• The early years: Captain America: The First Avenger; Captain Marvel; Iron Man; Iron Man 2; The Incredible Hulk; Thor; The Avengers.
• Building to Infinity War: Thor: The Dark World; Iron Man 3; Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Guardians of the Galaxy; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; Avengers: Age of Ultron; Ant-Man; Captain America: Civil War; Black Widow; Black Panther; Spider-Man: Homecoming; Doctor Strange; Thor: Ragnarok; Ant-Man and the Wasp; Avengers: Infinity War; Avengers: Endgame.
• After Endgame: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Spider-Man: Far From Home; Eternals; Spider-Man: No Way Home; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; Thor: Love and Thunder; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; The Marvels; Deadpool & Wolverine; Captain America: Brave New World; Thunderbolts*; The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

If you want the Marvel movies in order of the story, a few quirks are worth knowing. Iron Man 2 sits before The Incredible Hulk in Marvel’s list, even though it was released later. Black Widow, a 2021 film, slots between Civil War and Infinity War. And The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in 1964 on a separate Earth, so its place at the end of the list is about when it connects to the main story, not when it happens. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, released after the timeline was published, was not on it.

Release order or chronological order?

There is no single right way to watch the Marvel movies in order, but this rule of thumb helps.

• First time: watch in release order. Films were written to be seen that way, and later ones assume you know what came before. Post-credits scenes often tease the film that came out next, not the one set next.
• Rewatch: chronological order is fun once you know the story, and the Disney+ timeline makes it easy.
• Short on time: the four Avengers films plus Captain America: Civil War cover the main Infinity Saga arc, though you will miss plenty of context.

Do I need to watch the Disney+ series?

Not for the films to make sense, but they increasingly matter. Loki introduced the Time Variance Authority and multiverse ideas that later films build on, and Marvel’s timeline mixes series between films: WandaVision, for example, sits right after Endgame. Avengers: Doomsday brings back many actors from earlier Marvel projects. Recent and upcoming series in Phase Six include Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again season two (both released in 2026) and VisionQuest, reported to run until late November 2026, according to Wikipedia’s Phase Six summary of official announcements.

What is not part of the MCU

Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man spin-offs, such as the Venom films, are not counted by Marvel Studios as MCU films, and neither are the older X-Men films from 20th Century Fox or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, even though characters from them have since crossed into the MCU. The Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland are MCU films co-produced by Marvel Studios and Sony, which is why Spider-Man: Brand New Day was released by Sony rather than Disney.

What is coming next

• Avengers: Doomsday (18 December 2026): directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with Robert Downey Jr., formerly Iron Man, returning as the villain Doctor Doom. The film was moved from May to December 2026, and Avengers: Endgame got a cinema re-release this year with extra footage linking it to Doomsday (see our report on Avengers: Endgame Encore at the box office).
• Avengers: Secret Wars (17 December 2027): set to close Phase Six and the Multiverse Saga, according to Marvel.

Release dates can move, as these two already have. Before booking a marathon, check reviews with our guide to Rotten Tomatoes scores, and for how Marvel’s takings are reported, see box office numbers explained.

What to watch

Expect more Avengers: Doomsday marketing through the autumn, and an updated official timeline once Brand New Day and Doomsday reach Disney+. More in Movies & TV and International Entertainment.

Photo credits: featured image, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman at the Deadpool & Wolverine panel, San Diego Comic-Con 2024, by Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; in-article image by Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sources

• Marvel: See the complete MCU timeline on Disney+ (2 June 2026)
• Marvel: Avengers: Secret Wars
• Disney: Avengers: Doomsday
• Screen Daily: Disney moves Avengers 5 and 6 to December
• Wikipedia: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Six
• Wikipedia: List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films