Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline How to watch every MCU movie and TV show in chronological order
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has now been rolling forward for over 10 years and as these movies including Avengers: Infinity War, Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel have gone on, theyve also become ever more interlinked, featuring regular cameos, references, and Easter Eggs to other instalments.
For newcomers to superhero movies — perhaps those who have become absorbed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe MCU following Black Panther — the amount of material to watch can be overwhelming. But for those wanting to persevere, there are two watching orders.
Really, you should probably watch these movies in release order, starting the journey with Iron Man and moving onto The Incredible Hulk, then Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, finishing Phase One with Avengers. This order works well in terms of the post credit scenes setting up the next movie, plus this gives the series the intended rhythm formed by producer Kevin Feige.
However, many fans have taken to watching the movies in chronological order. This might be a little convoluted, but that should not put you off: below is every piece of MCU viewing material mapped out in chronological order, including movies, Netflix shows, one shots those mini films you will find in the DVD extras , and other TV shows. In brackets are the years the films officially take place in, as confirmed by Marvel studios.
Captain America: The First Avenger 1943 1945
Agent Carter seasons one and two
Agent Carter one shot — Iron Man 3 DVD
Captain Marvel 1995
Iron Man 2010
Iron Man 2 2011
The Incredible Hulk 2011
The Consultant one shot — Thor DVD
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thors Hammer one shot — Captain America: First Avenger DVD
Thor 2011
Avengers 2012
Item 47 one shot — Avengers DVD
Summary: Where the Marvel Cinematic Universe all began. While Iron Man may have been the very first film released, the Second Word War set Captain America comes first on the timeline. The rest plays mainly out in release order, minus Brie Larsons Captain Marvel. Released as part of Phase Three, the film takes place in the mid Nineties when Nick Fury still had both eyes and therefore lands in the Phase One chronology.
Iron Man 3 2012
All Hail the King one shot – Thor: The Dark World
Agents of Shield season one: episodes 1 — 7
Thor: The Dark World 2013
Agents of Shield season one: episodes 8 — 16
Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2014
Agents of Shield season one: episodes 17 — 22
Guardians of the Galaxy 2014
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2014
Daredevil season one
Agents of Shield season two: episodes 1 — 19
Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015
Agents of Shield season two: episodes 20 — 22
Ant Man 2015
Jessica Jones season one
Daredevil season two
Agents of Shield season three: episodes 1 — 19
Summary: Phase Two also plays out almost exactly in release order, except Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which comes directly after the first Guardians like Captain Marvel, the film was released in Phase Three but actually takes place before then . Also of note, one shots were phased out during Phase Two as the Netflix shows and Agents of Shield were introduced. For those who do embark on watching Agents of Shield the second and third seasons are great , you should definitely watch along with the movies as their cinematic counterparts have major effects on the shows story.
Agents of Shield season three: episodes 20 — 22
Luke Cage season one
Agents of Shield season four: episodes 1 — 8
Agents of Shield: Slingshot web series
Agents of Shield season four: episodes 9 — 22
Iron Fist season one
The Defenders season one
Spider Man: Homecoming 2016
Doctor Strange 2016 2017
The Punisher season one
Runaways season one
Black Panther 2017
Agents of Shield season five, episodes 1 — 19
Cloak and Dagger season one
Jessica Jones season two
Inhumans season one
Luke Cage season two
Iron Fist season two
Daredevil season 3
Runaways season 2
The Punisher season 2
Thor: Ragnarok 2017
Ant Man and The Wasp 2017
Avengers Infinity War 2017
Agents of Shield season five, episodes 20 22
Avengers: Endgame 2019
Congratulations. If youve watched all of the above, youve processed over nine days worth of Marvel movies and television. Nine days! And theres still more to come, including: Spider Man: Far From Home, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Eternals, Doctor Strange 2, Jessica Jones season three, and New Warriors season one. Oh, and the upcoming Disney streaming service shows, focussing on Loki, Scarlett Witch and Vision, and one on Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Gallery: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, ranked from worst to best [Business Insider]