Your Guide To The MCU
Different ways to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its future
The Marvel Cinematic Universe currently does not include the X-Men movies.
March 9, 2021
The weekly installments of the WandaVision TV show have resulted in the flocking of new fans to the Disney+ app, and old fans revisiting their favorite superhero franchise. We all love a good slow burn, and this show is the definition of a slow burn.
Whether you’re a new Marvel fan or a long-time stan, it’s always fun to watch new things in new ways. If you are in the mood for a huge Marvel marathon (20+ movies & TV shows), these are the best ways to go about it.
Release Order (Major Entities)
If this is your first time marathoning all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) installations, this is the best way to view all of the separate entities. Though there are time jumps in between the progression of movies, it is pretty easy to understand where each movie fits, in the overarching chronology of the MCU. This will also make sure that you don’t get any major spoilers, because you get to watch it all as it was originally intended.
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avenger (2012)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- WandaVision (TV) (2021)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Chronological Order (Major Entities)
If you have watched all or most of the MCU entities, then this is a really fun way to watch the MCU. Because you already know most of the main plot points of the overarching MCU story, there is not any chance of getting spoiled. When you watch all of the plots unfold over the span of 20+ movies, the last two Avengers movies feel so much more cathartic. Watching the movies (and TV shows) in this order is a sure way to feel the expansive universe of the MCU.
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of The Galaxy (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man Far From Home (2019)
- WandaVision (TV) (2021)
Future Productions
Legends
One feature series that has already begun releasing content on Disney+ is Legends. This show is for new MCU fans, or ones who want to brush up on their character history as new shows and movies come out. Each Legends episode provides a brief backstory and history on the character throughout their appearances in the MCU.
Unreleased
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Series- March 19, 2021)
- Black Widow (May 7, 2021)
- Loki (Series- June 11, 2021)
- What If…? (S1- 2021)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings (July 9, 2021)
- Eternals (November 5, 2021)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17, 2021)
- Ms. Marvel (S1- 2021)
- Hawkeye (S1- 2021)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (March 25, 2022)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (May 6, 2022)
- Black Panther 2 (July 8, 2022)
- Captain Marvel 2 (November 11, 2022)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)
- Blade (TBA)
- Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (TBA)
- Fantastic Four (TBA)
- She-Hulk (S1- TBA)
- Moon Knight (S1- TBA)
- Secret Invasion (S1- TBA)
- Ironheart (S1- TBA)
- Armor Wars (S1- TBA)
- I Am Groot (S1- TBA)
- Unnamed Wakanda Series (S1- TBA)
Happy watching! And make sure to stay for the post-credit scenes in every movie- they’re seriously a treat.
