The best order to watch the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (and we mean *all* of it)

It’s been more than a decade since Iron Man first premiered and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was born. Since then, dozens of films and shows plus hundreds more hours of MCU content have been created and more is on the way. But there’s one question that every new Marvel fan needs to ask themselves when they finally decide to join in on the fun: What’s the best order to watch them all in? And how do you even pick an order??

Well, whether you’re looking to go in Marvel release order, chronological order, or the ultimate order that includes every single show, one-shot, and film, we’ve got you totally covered. Get ready to sit down with a massive bucket of popcorn because it’ll take you a while to get through it all—but trust us, it’s worth it.

Here are the best ways to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in order.

Best Marvel Movie option #1: How to watch in order chronologically

Lucky for you, Disney+ has made it super easy to watch all things Marvel in chronological order. Editorially, the timeline gets a little wild (especially as new characters are introduced), but don’t worry, you can still easily follow along if you’re determined to do it chronologically.

Last note: Almost all the films are available on Disney+ except for the most recent Marvel releases, the Spider-Man films, and The Incredible Hulk. Otherwise, you can find the Marvel movies in chronological order below:

• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Captain Marvel
• Iron Man
• The Incredible Hulk
• Iron Man 2
• Thor
• Avengers
• 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 Panther
• Spider-Man: Homecoming
• Black Widow
• Doctor Strange
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Avengers: 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
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (currently in theaters)

Best Marvel Movie option #2: How to watch in order by release date

If you want to know exactly how the audience pieced everything together over the years, then you can always watch the Marvel movies in release order.

It’s pretty easy to follow along! Most movies fall into Marvel “phase” groups that were announced at the same time. Here’s the Marvel release order:

Phase 1:

• Iron Man
• Iron Man 2
• Thor
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Avengers

Phase 2:

• Iron Man 3
• Thor: The Dark World
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Ant-Man

Phase 3:

• Captain America: Civil War
• Doctor Strange
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Spider-Man: Homecoming
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Black Panther
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Captain Marvel
• Avengers: Endgame
• Spider-Man: Far From Home

Phase 4:

• Black Widow
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Eternals
• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (currently in theaters)

Best Marvel option #3: How to watch the movies *and* TV shows in timeline order

Listen. This kind of watch is not for the faint of heart. But if you’re a Marvel superfan and looking for basically everything MCU, then you’re going to want to take a look at this combined TV and movie list. Not only does it include the MCU films, but it also features every single show that takes place in the Marvel universe (and some alternate ones) and the iconic Marvel One-Shots included in some of the DVD/Blu-ray releases of the earlier titles.

This particular Marvel order requires jumping between some shows mid-season. Marvel TV shows are conveniently available on either Disney+ or Hulu.

Check out the best Marvel timeline order for movies and TV shows:

• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Agent Carter (Marvel One-Shot)
• Agent Carter season 1
• Agent Carter season 2
• Captain Marvel
• Iron Man
• The Incredible Hulk
• Iron Man 2
• The Consultant (Marvel One-Shot)
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (Marvel One-Shot)
• Thor
• Avengers
• Item 47 (Marvel One-Shot)
• Iron Man 3
• All Hail the King (Marvel One-Shot)
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, episodes 1 to 7
• Thor: The Dark World
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, episodes 8 to 16
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, episodes 17 to 22
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Daredevil season 1
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, episodes 1 to 19
• Jessica Jones season 1
• Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, episodes 20 to 22
• Daredevil season 2
• Luke Cage season 1
• Ant-Man
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3, episodes 1 to 14
• Cloak and Dagger season 1
• Iron Fist season 1
• Cloak and Dagger season 2
• The Defenders season 1
• Runaways season 1
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3, episodes 15 to 19
• The Punisher season 1
• Captain America: Civil War
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3, episodes 20 to 22
• Black Panther
• Black Widow
• Runaways season 2
• Inhumans season 1
• Jessica Jones season 2
• Runaways season 3
• Spider-Man: Homecoming
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot season 1
• Luke Cage season 2
• Doctor Strange
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4, episodes 1 to 8
• Iron Fist season 2
• Daredevil season 3
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4, episodes 9 to 22
• The Punisher season 2
• Jessica Jones season 3
• Thor: Ragnarok
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5, episodes 1 to 19
• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5, episodes 20 to 22
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 7
• Avengers: Endgame
• WandaVision season 1
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier season 1
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Spider-Man: Far From Home
• Eternals
• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Hawkeye
• What If…? season 1 (alternate timelines)
• Loki season 1 (alternate timeline)
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
• Moon Knight
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
• Ms. Marvel
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Werewolf by Night
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

If this particular list seems longer than expected, that’s because Marvel has had several different TV shows and shorts come out over recent years. The most important ones are only those that have been released in theaters and on Disney+ Hotstar.

No matter what order you decide to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in, just make sure to have a good time and enjoy the ride. After all, isn’t that the point?