38 movies, six Phases, and two completely different ways to watch them. This is the complete list of every MCU film — release order and chronological (in-universe) order — updated through Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Avengers: Doomsday still ahead on December 18, 2026.
Release Order vs. Chronological Order — Which Should You Use?
For a first watch, use release order. The MCU was written and structured for audiences discovering it as it came out — reveals, callbacks, and character arcs land the way Marvel intended, and later films assume you’ve already seen the earlier reactions play out in real time. Chronological order is a fun second pass once you already know the story, but it front-loads Captain Marvel’s 1990s setting and Captain America’s 1940s origin before you’ve met most of the characters who make those movies land emotionally.
Every MCU Movie in Release Order
Phase One — The First Avengers
1. Iron Man (2008)
2. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
3. Iron Man 2 (2010)
4. Thor (2011)
5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
6. The Avengers (2012)
Phase Two — Expanding the Universe
7. Iron Man 3 (2013)
8. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
10. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
12. Ant-Man (2015)
Phase Three — Infinity Saga Endgame
13. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
14. Doctor Strange (2016)
15. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
16. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
17. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
18. Black Panther (2018)
19. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
20. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
21. Captain Marvel (2019)
22. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
23. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Phase Four — The Multiverse Saga Begins
24. Black Widow (2021)
25. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
26. Eternals (2021)
27. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
28. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
29. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
30. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Phase Five
31. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
32. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
33. The Marvels (2023)
34. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
35. Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
36. Thunderbolts* (2025)
Phase Six — Present Day
37. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
38. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Still to come: Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17, 2027) close out the Multiverse Saga, with an untitled X-Men film, Ghost Rider, and Black Panther III already confirmed for 2028.
Every MCU Movie in Chronological (In-Universe) Order
A quick caveat before this list: the multiverse era makes strict chronology genuinely fuzzy for a handful of films. Endgame’s time travel, Loki’s timeline branching, and Deadpool & Wolverine’s Void-set story don’t slot neatly into a single line the way Phase One and Two did — so treat the placements below as the commonly accepted order, not an objective fact the way release dates are.
Captain America: The First Avenger (1940s) → The Fantastic Four: First Steps (1960s, alternate universe) → Captain Marvel (1990s) → Iron Man → The Incredible Hulk → Iron Man 2 → Thor → The 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 → Doctor Strange → Thor: Ragnarok → Ant-Man and the Wasp → Avengers: Infinity War → Avengers: Endgame → Spider-Man: Far From Home → Eternals (present-day scenes) → Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings → Spider-Man: No Way Home → Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness → Black Panther: Wakanda Forever → Thor: Love and Thunder → Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania → Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 → The Marvels → Deadpool & Wolverine → Captain America: Brave New World → Thunderbolts* → Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
What’s Actually Worth Watching If You Don’t Have Time for All 38
If you want the essential spine of the story without every side-quest: Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame cover the entire Infinity Saga’s core arc. From the Multiverse Saga, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine are the two films that most directly set up where Avengers: Doomsday is headed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many MCU movies are there total?
38 released as of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars still to come.
Should I watch MCU movies in release order or chronological order?
Release order for a first watch — it’s how the reveals and character arcs were designed to land. Chronological order works better as a rewatch once you already know the story.
Do I need to watch the Disney+ shows too?
Not for the movies to make sense on their own, but several (especially Loki and WandaVision) directly set up plot points in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the road to Avengers: Doomsday.
When does Avengers: Doomsday come out?
December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars following on December 17, 2027.
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