How to watch the Marvel movies and shows in order

Marvel Studios has put 38 films in theaters since Iron Man in 2008, and its official timeline now runs to 80 films, series seasons and short films.

This guide lists them two ways. The first is release order, the way audiences met each film. The second is story order, which Marvel published on its own site on June 2, 2026, and which Disney+ uses for its “MCU Complete Timeline” collection.

We read every title, year and running time below from Marvel’s and Disney+’s own pages on Oct. 22, 2026, except one running time from the British Board of Film Classification. We checked where each one streams on the Disney+ pages for the US and for the UK separately.

Almost all of it is on Disney+ in both countries. The exception is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opened in theaters on July 31, 2026. Marvel’s page for it lists no streaming service, so we mark it not confirmed in both countries.

The short answer

For a first watch, we suggest release order, starting with Iron Man. The team-up films build on the solo films that came out before them.

For a rewatch, try Marvel’s story order. It opens with the animated Eyes of Wakanda and Captain America: The First Avenger, and moves Captain Marvel, set in the 1990s, up to fourth.

With less time, use our cut list further down: 14 films that carry the main Avengers story.

Release order: the films

1. Iron Man (2008). Tony Stark builds his first suit of armor. Every later film starts from here.
2. The Incredible Hulk (2008). Bruce Banner on the run, with Edward Norton in the lead; Mark Ruffalo plays Banner in The Avengers. In our view the easiest early film to skip.
3. Iron Man 2 (2010). A busy sequel that spends much of its time setting up the team. Watch it for Scarlett Johansson’s first turn as Black Widow.
4. Thor (2011). Thor is banished to Earth while his brother Loki schemes at home. Loki is the enemy in The Avengers, so this one is worth your time.
5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. You need it for both of the later Captain America films with Chris Evans.
6. The Avengers (2012). The first team-up, and the film the first five were building toward.
7. Iron Man 3 (2013). Tony Stark against an enemy who tears his personal world apart. In our view a stand-alone story you can skip without losing the thread.
8. Thor: The Dark World (2013). Thor and Loki together again. We think the later films lean on it less than on the other Thor films, so read a plot summary and skip it if you must.
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). A spy thriller in Washington, D.C., with Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. The films that follow build on it, so do not skip it.
10. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Takes the series into space with a new team. You need it for the later Avengers films.
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). The second team-up, against Ultron, an artificial intelligence Tony Stark builds. Watch it before Civil War.
12. Ant-Man (2015). Paul Rudd’s small-scale heist comedy. Light, and skippable, though Scott Lang matters later.
13. Captain America: Civil War (2016). The Avengers split over government control. It also introduces Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
14. Doctor Strange (2016). Benedict Cumberbatch’s sorcerer, and the start of the magic side of the series.
15. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). More about the Guardians as a family than the wider story. Fine to skip on a tight schedule.
16. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Peter Parker’s first solo film with Tom Holland, set after his first outing with the Avengers in Civil War.
17. Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Thor remade as a comedy, with the Hulk along for the ride. Watch it before Infinity War.
18. Black Panther (2018). Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa comes home to rule Wakanda. Watch it before Infinity War.
19. Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Almost every hero so far against Thanos. Watch it with Endgame close behind.
20. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). A light sequel with Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly. Watch it before Endgame.
21. Captain Marvel (2019). Set in the 1990s, it introduces Carol Danvers and a young Nick Fury. Released between the two big Avengers films.
22. Avengers: Endgame (2019). The end of what Disney+ calls the Infinity Saga, and at 3h 5m the longest film in the series.
23. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Peter Parker’s trip to Europe with his friends, set after the events of Endgame. Watch it straight after Endgame.
24. Black Widow (2021). Natasha Romanoff’s own story, which Marvel’s timeline sets between Civil War and Black Panther. Florence Pugh plays Yelena Belova, who returns in Thunderbolts*.
25. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi confronts his father and the Ten Rings organization. Mostly self-contained, in our view, and Simu Liu is in Marvel’s cast list for Avengers: Doomsday.
26. Eternals (2021). A team of ancient beings, mostly separate from the other films. A safe skip.
27. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Peter Parker turns to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange for help. Watch Far From Home first and Multiverse of Madness after.
28. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff has a large part, so watch the WandaVision series first.
29. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). Thor’s fourth film. A comedy you can skip.
30. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Shuri, Queen Ramonda and Okoye defend Wakanda. The Ironheart series is set after it, Disney+ says.
31. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Takes the Ant-Man family into the Quantum Realm. Optional, but it opened Marvel’s 2023 slate.
32. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). The third Guardians film, with the team rebuilding Knowhere. Worth it if you watched the first two.
33. The Marvels (2023). Carol Danvers shares the film with Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan, from the WandaVision and Ms. Marvel series. Watch those two first.
34. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team up. In our view it works on its own, so place it wherever you like.
35. Captain America: Brave New World (2025). Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson in his first film as Captain America. Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier first.
36. Thunderbolts* (2025). A team of antiheroes, with Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova among them. Watch Black Widow first.
37. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). Marvel’s first family, in a 1960s-style world of their own. Pedro Pascal leads, and the team is in the Avengers: Doomsday cast.
38. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026). Tom Holland’s fourth solo Spider-Man film. Watch No Way Home first. Streaming not confirmed.

The series and specials, by year

The Marvel series first shown on Netflix from 2015 to 2019 are now part of Marvel’s official timeline and stream on Disney+. They are Daredevil (3 seasons), Jessica Jones (3), Luke Cage (2), Iron Fist (2), The Defenders (1) and The Punisher (2). If you only pick one, we suggest Daredevil: Charlie Cox leads it and Daredevil: Born Again, and Wilson Fisk is the enemy in both.

The Disney+ series and specials, by the year each began:

• WandaVision (2021). Wanda and Vision in a suburban life told through classic television. Watch it before Multiverse of Madness.
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes team up after Endgame. Watch it before Brave New World.
• Loki (2021 and 2023, 2 seasons). Loki and the Time Variance Authority, after Endgame. Our pick if you watch only one series.
• What If…? (2021 to 2024, 3 seasons). Animated stories in which familiar characters make different choices. Optional.
• Hawkeye (2021). A Christmas story in New York that introduces Kate Bishop.
• Moon Knight (2022). Oscar Isaac as a gift-shop worker who finds he shares a body with a mercenary. Self-contained and optional, in our view.
• Ms. Marvel (2022). Kamala Khan’s origin. Watch it before The Marvels.
• I Am Groot (2022 and 2023, 2 seasons). Short animated episodes about Groot. Optional.
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). A legal comedy with Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters. Optional.
• Werewolf by Night (2022). A 54-minute horror special modeled on 1930s and 1940s horror films. Optional.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022). A 44-minute Christmas special. Marvel places it just before Quantumania and Vol. 3.
• Secret Invasion (2023). Nick Fury and the shape-shifting Skrulls. Optional.
• Echo (2024). Maya Lopez, pursued by Wilson Fisk’s criminal empire, goes home. Optional.
• Agatha All Along (2024). Kathryn Hahn, from the WandaVision cast, returns as Agatha Harkness. Watch WandaVision first.
• Daredevil: Born Again (2025 and 2026, 2 seasons). Matt Murdock against Wilson Fisk, now mayor of New York.
• Ironheart (2025). Riri Williams after Wakanda Forever.
• Eyes of Wakanda (2025). Animated stories about Wakanda’s warriors through history. It opens Marvel’s story order.
• Marvel Zombies (2025). An animated horror series in which a zombie plague overtakes the Avengers. Optional.
• Wonder Man (2026). A comedy about actors in Hollywood with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley. Optional.
• The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026). A 50-minute special with Jon Bernthal, which Marvel places last in its timeline.
• VisionQuest (2026). Paul Bettany’s Vision on the run, which began on Disney+ on Oct. 14, 2026. Marvel has not yet added it to the timeline.

Two animated Marvel series on Disney+ are not in Marvel’s timeline: X-Men ‘97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Watch them on their own.

Story order: Marvel’s official timeline

This is Marvel’s own order, as published on June 2, 2026, with each entry’s form added by us. It has 80 entries. Spider-Man: Brand New Day and VisionQuest came out after it, and Marvel has not placed them yet.

1. Eyes of Wakanda (animated series)
2. Captain America: The First Avenger (film)
3. Agent Carter (One-Shot short film)
4. Captain Marvel (film)
5. Iron Man (film)
6. Iron Man 2 (film)
7. The Incredible Hulk (film)
8. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (One-Shot)
9. Thor (film)
10. The Consultant (One-Shot)
11. The Avengers (film)
12. Item 47 (One-Shot)
13. Thor: The Dark World (film)
14. Iron Man 3 (film)
15. All Hail the King (One-Shot)
16. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (film)
17. Guardians of the Galaxy (film)
18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (film)
19. I Am Groot, season 1
20. I Am Groot, season 2
21. Daredevil, season 1
22. Jessica Jones, season 1
23. Avengers: Age of Ultron (film)
24. Ant-Man (film)
25. Daredevil, season 2
26. Luke Cage, season 1
27. Iron Fist, season 1
28. The Defenders (series)
29. Captain America: Civil War (film)
30. Black Widow (film)
31. Black Panther (film)
32. Spider-Man: Homecoming (film)
33. The Punisher, season 1
34. Doctor Strange (film)
35. Jessica Jones, season 2
36. Luke Cage, season 2
37. Iron Fist, season 2
38. Daredevil, season 3
39. Thor: Ragnarok (film)
40. The Punisher, season 2
41. Jessica Jones, season 3
42. Ant-Man and the Wasp (film)
43. Avengers: Infinity War (film)
44. Avengers: Endgame (film)
45. Loki, season 1
46. What If…? season 1
47. Marvel Zombies (animated series)
48. WandaVision (series)
49. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (film)
50. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (series)
51. Spider-Man: Far From Home (film)
52. Eternals (film)
53. Spider-Man: No Way Home (film)
54. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (film)
55. Hawkeye (series)
56. Moon Knight (series)
57. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (film)
58. Echo (series)
59. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (series)
60. Ms. Marvel (series)
61. Thor: Love and Thunder (film)
62. Ironheart (series)
63. Werewolf by Night (special)
64. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (special)
65. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (film)
66. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (film)
67. Secret Invasion (series)
68. The Marvels (film)
69. Loki, season 2
70. What If…? season 2
71. Deadpool & Wolverine (film)
72. Agatha All Along (series)
73. What If…? season 3
74. Daredevil: Born Again, season 1
75. Captain America: Brave New World (film)
76. Thunderbolts* (film)
77. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film)
78. Wonder Man (series)
79. Daredevil: Born Again, season 2
80. The Punisher: One Last Kill (special)

Two things stand out in Marvel’s order. Captain Marvel moves back to the 1990s, before Iron Man. And Marvel puts Spider-Man: Far From Home after Shang-Chi, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, although it came out two years before them.

If you are short on time

Our pick of 14 films keeps the main Avengers story and drops the side trips. In release order:

1. Iron Man, for Tony Stark.
2. Captain America: The First Avenger, for Steve Rogers.
3. The Avengers, the first team-up.
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which the later films build on.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy, for the space side of the story.
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron, the second team-up.
7. Captain America: Civil War, where the team splits.
8. Thor: Ragnarok, for Thor and the Hulk.
9. Black Panther, for Wakanda.
10. Avengers: Infinity War.
11. Avengers: Endgame.
12. Spider-Man: No Way Home, for Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
13. Thunderbolts*, the newest team.
14. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the newest family.

For the multiverse films, add Loki and WandaVision from Disney+. Before Avengers: Doomsday, we would see Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, because members of both casts are in Marvel’s cast list for Doomsday.

Our other watch-order guides are on the Guides page, starting with the James Bond films in order.

Where to watch in the US and the UK

Each Disney+ link in the table opens the film’s own Disney+ page for that country. We read all of them, and the pages for every series, special and One-Shot short in Marvel’s timeline, on Oct. 22, 2026: everything except Spider-Man: Brand New Day was there in both countries, as were VisionQuest, X-Men ‘97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The running times are Disney+’s, which are the same on its US and UK pages.

Film	Year	Runtime	US	UK
Iron Man	2008	2h 7m	Disney+	Disney+
The Incredible Hulk	2008	1h 52m	Disney+	Disney+
Iron Man 2	2010	2h 5m	Disney+	Disney+
Thor	2011	1h 57m	Disney+	Disney+
Captain America: The First Avenger	2011	2h 6m	Disney+	Disney+
The Avengers	2012	2h 26m	Disney+	Disney+
Iron Man 3	2013	2h 12m	Disney+	Disney+
Thor: The Dark World	2013	1h 55m	Disney+	Disney+
Captain America: The Winter Soldier	2014	2h 19m	Disney+	Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy	2014	2h 3m	Disney+	Disney+
Avengers: Age of Ultron	2015	2h 24m	Disney+	Disney+
Ant-Man	2015	2h	Disney+	Disney+
Captain America: Civil War	2016	2h 31m	Disney+	Disney+
Doctor Strange	2016	1h 56m	Disney+	Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	2017	2h 18m	Disney+	Disney+
Spider-Man: Homecoming	2017	2h 13m	Disney+	Disney+
Thor: Ragnarok	2017	2h 13m	Disney+	Disney+
Black Panther	2018	2h 18m	Disney+	Disney+
Avengers: Infinity War	2018	2h 34m	Disney+	Disney+
Ant-Man and the Wasp	2018	2h 2m	Disney+	Disney+
Captain Marvel	2019	2h 7m	Disney+	Disney+
Avengers: Endgame	2019	3h 5m	Disney+	Disney+
Spider-Man: Far From Home	2019	2h 9m	Disney+	Disney+
Black Widow	2021	2h 16m	Disney+	Disney+
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings	2021	2h 15m	Disney+	Disney+
Eternals	2021	2h 38m	Disney+	Disney+
Spider-Man: No Way Home	2021	2h 28m	Disney+	Disney+
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness	2022	2h 8m	Disney+	Disney+
Thor: Love and Thunder	2022	2h 1m	Disney+	Disney+
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	2022	2h 43m	Disney+	Disney+
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania	2023	2h 6m	Disney+	Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	2023	2h 32m	Disney+	Disney+
The Marvels	2023	1h 46m	Disney+	Disney+
Deadpool & Wolverine	2024	2h 10m	Disney+	Disney+
Captain America: Brave New World	2025	2h	Disney+	Disney+
Thunderbolts*	2025	2h 8m	Disney+	Disney+
The Fantastic Four: First Steps	2025	1h 56m	Disney+	Disney+
Spider-Man: Brand New Day	2026	2h 19m	Not confirmed	Not confirmed

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s running time is the BBFC’s approximate figure. Marvel’s page for it lists no streaming service, so we have not named one in either country. We will add it when the studio announces where it streams.