The Marvel Cinematic Universe is vast, to say the least, with 30 films currently out and plenty more on the way.

On top of having a million characters to keep a track of, there’s also the tricky question of the Marvel timeline and which order the films actually take place in.

So, to make things easy for you, we’ve listed all the Marvel films in chronological order below, so you can settle in for a full MCU marathon.

Explained simply, the first two films chronologically (Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain Marvel) are set in the past, in 1942 and 1995 respectively. The rest of the films then vaguely take place in chronological order in line with the order they were released, with a bit of back and forth along the way.

The majority of the Marvel films are available on Disney+.

The Marvel films in order

  1. Captain America: The First Avenger (set in 1942)
  2. Captain Marvel (set in 1995)
  3. Iron Man (2008)
  4. Iron Man 2 (2010)
  5. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
  6. Thor (2011)
  7. The Avengers (2012)
  8. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
  9. Iron Man 3 (2012)
  10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
  11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
  12. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
  13. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  14. Ant-Man (2015)
  15. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
  16. Black Widow (2021)
  17. Black Panther (2018)
  18. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
  19. Doctor Strange (2016)
  20. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
  21. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
  22. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  23. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
  24. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
  25. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
  26. Eternals (2021)
  27. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
  28. Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
  29. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
  30. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Marvel TV series

Separate Marvel TV series include Wandavision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, What If?…, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and the upcoming Secret Invasion and Echo.

On top of that, there are a *tonne* of future Marvel films still in the works, plus more films and TV shows that are TBA.

Upcoming Marvel films and TV shows

Coming up, we’ve got: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (17th February 2023), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (5th May 2023).

Those that are TBA include two films – Blade and Fantastic Four – plus a bunch of TV shows: Secret Invasion, Ironheart, Amor Wars and Wakanda Series.

Well, better get settled in front of the TV, then.

The Infinity Saga

If watching them in chronological viewing order feels like too much for you, the Marvel cinematic universe has been split into different Phases (aka, collections of film and TV), that makes sense to watch together:

Phase One

  • Iron Man (May, 2008)
  • The Incredible Hulk (June, 2008)
  • Iron Man 2 (May, 2010)
  • Thor (May, 2011)
  • Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22, 2011)
  • Avengers Assemble (May 4, 2012)

Phase Two

  • Iron Man 3 (May, 2013)
  • Thor: The Dark World (November, 2013)
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April, 2014)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (August, 2014)
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (May, 2015)
  • Ant-Man (July, 2015)

Phase Three

  • Captain America: Civil War (May, 2016)
  • Doctor Strange (November, 2016)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May, 2017)
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming (July, 2017)
  • Thor: Ragnarok (November, 2017)
  • Black Panther (February, 2018)
  • Avengers: Infinity War (April, 2018)
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp (July, 2018)
  • Captain Marvel (March, 2019)
  • Avengers: Endgame (April, 2019)
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home (July, 2019)

The Multiverse Saga

Phase Four

  • WandaVision, TV series (January, 2021)
  • The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, TV series (March, 2021)
  • Loki season 1, TV series (June, 2021)
  • Black Widow (9th July 2021)
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (3rd September 2021)
  • Eternals (5th November 2021)
  • Hawkeye (24th November 2021)
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (17th December 2021)
  • Moon Knight, TV show – 30th March 2022
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (5th May 2022)
  • Ms Marvel, TV series (8th June 2022)
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (8th July 2022)
  • She-Hulk, TV show (18th August 2022)
  • Werewolf By Night, TV special (7th October 2022)
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (11th November 2022)
  • The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, TV special (25th November 2022)

Phase Five

  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (17th February 2023)
  • Secret Invasion (TV show – spring 2023)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (5th May 2023)
  • Echo, TV show (summer 2023)
  • Loki season 2, TV show (summer 2023)
  • The Marvels (10th November 2023)
  • Ironheart, TV show (autumn 2023)
  • Agatha: Coven of Chaos, TV show (winter 2023/2024)
  • Daredevil: Born Again, TV show (spring 2024)
  • Captain America: New World Order (3rd May 2024)
  • Thunderbolts (26th July 2024)
  • Blade (6th September 2024)

Phase Six

  • Fantastic Four (14th February 2025)
  • Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2nd May 2025)
  • Avengers: Secret Wars (1st May 2026)

Check out all the Marvel films in order below…

[1] Captain America: The First Avenger (set in 1942)

Amidst the second world war American soldier Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is rejected from the army because of his small stature. However, he’s given a shot when he signs up to an experimental programme which turns him into a super soldier aka Captain America. Along with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) they led the charge against Nazi-backed HYDRA organisation.

[2] Captain Marvel (set in 1995)

Ex-US Air Force fighter pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) becomes one of the universe’s powerful heroes when the Earth is caught in the middle of a war between two alien races.

[3] Iron Man (2008)

After he’s been held captive in Afghanistan, and manages to escape, billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) creates a highly weaponised suit and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

[4] Iron Man 2 (2010)

Now that his identity as Iron Man has been exposed Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) must deal with the suit he designed slowly killing him and a madman with a vengeance against him.

[5] The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is a research scientist, but when he gets hit with a gamma ray in an experiment he must deal with turning into his alter-ego the Hulk when angry. Whilst on the run from the military he attempts to find a cure to being the Hulk.

[6] Thor (2011)

The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is set to ascend to the throne of Asgard, however his reckless arrogance incites an ancient war. As punishment he is sent to live on Earth, from where he must try and stop his evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) seizing power over Asgard.

[7] The Avengers (2012)

When an unexpected enemy threatens the safety of Earth, director of S.H.I.E.L.D Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) brings together a team of superheroes to defeat the evil force.

[8] Iron Man 3 (2012)

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is back again, but this time he must defend the United States against a terrorist campaign led by the enemy known as Mandarin.

[9] Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is on a mission to restore peace in the cosmos, but in order to do so he must reunite with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to conquer the vengeful Malekith.

[10] Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America (Chris Evans) returns and begins to embrace his role in the modern world. He teams up with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in order to fight the enemy, an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

[11] Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Explorer Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) brings together a group of intergalactic criminals in order to save the universe from a warrior who plans to destroy it.

[12] Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)

The Guardians of the Galaxy team reunite as Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) learns more about his mysterious parentage.

[13] Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Though he has good intentions, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) unintentionally creates an AI monster known as Ultron who intends to destroy the world. To fix Tony’s mistake the Avengers must once again assemble to save the world.

[14] Ant-Man (2015)

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is given a suit that will allow him to shrink in scale but increase in strength. Armed with the suit Scott must help his mentor Dr. Hank Pym, pull off a plan that will save the world.

[15] Captain America: Civil War (2016)

In the aftermath of the Age of Ultron, the Avengers must take accountability for the damage caused to the Earth. But when Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) disagree the Avengers are forced to pick sides and a battle ensues between them all.

[16] Black Widow (2021)

Black Widow is a deeper dive into the life of Black Widow (Scarlett Johnasson) and when she is pursued by an evil force that is stopping at nothing to take her down, she must confront her past.

[17] Black Panther (2018)

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the heir to a hidden but advanced kingdom called Wakanda. But when a force from the kingdom’s past threatens the safety of everyone, T’Challa must step up and release Black Panther’s full power to save them.

[18] Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

The second Spider-Man reboot stars Tom Holland as high school student Peter Parker who grapples with his new identity as a super-hero all whilst trying to save New York from a menace taking over the skies.

[19] Doctor Strange (2016)

A world famous neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) loses the use of his hands in a car accident. Determined to find a cure he uncovers magic in a mysterious place known as Kamar-Taj.

[20] Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is back and this time he must save Asgard from the threat of Ragnarok, an event which could destroy all of Asgard. Cate Blanchett also stars as Hela, Thor’s older sister. (Xanax)

[21] Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Now a fully fledged super hero Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) must deal with his home responsibilities, as well as joining forces with the Wasp to uncover secrets about the past.

[22] Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

The Avengers once again assemble to save the world against the threat of the all powerful Thanos.

[23] Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame is the conclusion to the epic battle between the Avengers and Thanos. They must come together after half the world’s population has been destroyed in order to restore harmony.

[24] Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu who must face his past he left behind and confront his father, the leader of the dangerous Ten Rings organisation.

[25] Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame Peter Parker (Tom Holland) must defeat the Elementals whilst on a school trip around Europe.

[26] Eternals (2021)

Eternals sees a group of ancient super heroes, who have protected Earth since the dawn of men, reunite to defend humanity from monstrous creatures known as Deviants.

[27] Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Peter Parker’s identity as Spiderman has now been revealed, and so he teams up with Dr Strange. However, when a spell goes wrong, bringing in dangerous creatures from other worlds, Peter Parker must step up to the task of saving the world again.

[28] Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) returns and joins forces with mystical new and old allies in order to confront a new enemy.

[29] Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns and teams up with his ex-girlfriend, now the Mighty Thor Jane (Natalie Portman), to defeat god killer aka Gorr the God Butcher.

[30] Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Following the death of their king T’Challa, the people of Wakanda must protect their kingdom from intervening world powers.

Via Cosmopolitan UK