Discover the ultimate Marvel order! All films and series in chronological order – don’t miss any detail in the Marvel universe.
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting bigger and bigger. With “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” the film series now consists of 32 films.
- In addition to the films, which are difficult enough to keep in mind, there are also 10 Disney+ series.
- We will explain to you the correct order of the MCU, chronologically and also by initial release.
Since “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, there have been 32 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It won’t be long before the next film with “The Marvels” starts in November 2023. The MCU is getting bigger and bigger and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Marvel fans to keep track.
We will explain to you the chronologically correct order of all MCU films and the Disney+ series. If you still haven’t had enough after a Marvel marathon, you can also look forward to more new releases in Marvel Phase 5 this year and next.
The Marvel order by year of release
It’s particularly easy to catch up on all the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe if you stick to the release order of Marvel productions. After all, the stories were specifically told in the order in which they were first published.
Especially as the MCU progressed, more and more storylines were stretched across several films, so it’s difficult for newcomers. Here you will find the official order of all the MCU films released so far!
Phase 1
| title | film or series |
|---|---|
| 1. Iron Man (2008) | Movie |
| 2. The Incredible Hulk (2008) | Movie |
| 3. Iron Man 2 (2010) | Movie |
| 4. Thor (2011) | Movie |
| 5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) | Movie |
| 6. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) | Movie |
Marvel Phase 1
While the Hulk has been an important part of Marvel’s film world from the beginning, the way the character has been treated so far is a little out of line. Because while all of the other original Avengers have already had several individual films, since “The Incredible Hulk” the Hulk has only appeared in the films of other heroes. This is because the character Hulk belongs to Marvel and can therefore appear in the “Avengers” or “Thor” films, but the rights to all “Hulk” solo films belong to Universal. “Planet Hulk”, an important Hulk story from the comics, was simply made into “Thor: Day of Judgment”.
Phase 2
| title | film or series |
|---|---|
| 7. Iron Man 3 (2013) | Movie |
| 8. Thor: The Dark Kingdom (2013) | Movie |
| 9. The Return of the First Avenger (2014) | Movie |
| 10. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) | Movie |
| 11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) | Movie |
| 12. Ant-Man (2015) | Movie |
Phase 2
While films about Captain America all over the world have his name in the title, in Germany they take a different approach. There is probably too great a fear that the word “America” could repel German viewers, as it suggests patriotic self-congratulation on the part of Americans. In fact, the first Captain America film, then also called “Captain America: The First Avenger”, grossed significantly less money than “Thor” a few months earlier. In the following two productions, Captain America was changed to “The First Avenger” in the title so that US-critical Avengers fans would give the films a chance. In the films themselves, of course, he is also called Captain America in Germany, anything else would be a dubbing nightmare!
Phase 3
| title | film or series |
|---|---|
| 13. The First Avenger: Civil War (2016) | Movie |
| 14. Doctor Strange (2016) | Movie |
| 15. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) | Movie |
| 16. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) | Movie |
| 17. Thor: Decision Day (2017) | Movie |
| 18. Black Panther (2018) | Movie |
| 19. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) | Movie |
| 20. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) | Movie |
| 21. Captain Marvel (2019) | Movie |
| 22. Avengers: Endgame (2019) | Movie |
| 23. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) | Movie |
MCU – Phase 3
The films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are divided into individual phases. These could be understood as seasons of a series, at the end of which the big highlight always awaits you. Phase 1 introduces each of the Avengers and ends with their first adventure together. Phase 2 introduces new heroes with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, but otherwise mainly includes sequels for the old hero squad and another Avengers event. The third phase was particularly extensive and focused primarily on the fight against Thanos.
Phase 4
The movies so far are from Marvel Phase 4 Black Widow, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, “Thor: Love and Thunder” and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever started. But also the Disney+ series “WandaVision”, “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier”, “Loki”, “What If…?”, “Hawkeye”, “Moon Knight”, “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk” belong to the fourth phase and are significantly more important in terms of content than the former Netflix series.
Phase 5: This is how it continues
In 2023, Marvel’s fifth phase began with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”. The next film will follow in November 2023 with “The Marvels”, followed by “Captain America: New World Order” which is expected to be released in June 2024.
In addition, the 2nd season of “Loki” will start in phase 5 on October 6, 2023 and the 2nd season of “What if…?” in December 2023. However, some series such as the “Hawkeye” spin-off “Echo” and the animated series “X-Men ’97” were postponed to January 2024 and spring 2024.
Of course, the MCU is far from exhausted. We list all the upcoming Marvel series and movies that await you in Phase 5 and beyond!
Phase 6
“Fantastic Four” will begin Phase 6 of the MCU in 2025. This will be followed by the films “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which are scheduled to be released in 2026 and 2027.
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The Marvel One-Shots: An Optional Expansion
At the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Blu-Ray buyers were regularly presented with a very special extra. The so-called “Marvel One-Shots” were short films that took place during the events of an MCU film or continued the plot. These were mostly humorous scenes with no significant significance for the Marvel cosmos, but we still want to mention them.
- 1. The Counselor (Plays during “The Incredible Hulk”, received on the Blu-Ray of “Thor”)
- 2. Something Funny Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (Plays during “Thor”, on the Blu-Ray of “Captain America: The First Avenger”)
- 3. Object 47 (Set after “Marvel’s The Avengers”, on the Blu-Ray of “Marvel’s The Avengers”)
- 4. Agent Carter (Plays after “Captain America: The First Avenger”, on the DVD and Blu-Ray of “Iron Man 3”)
- 5. The Mandarin (Set after “Iron Man 3”, on the Blu-Ray of “Thor: The Dark Kingdom”)
Initially, the plan was to feature smaller characters from Marvel’s comic universe in the one-shots, who could later get their own films if the response was positive. However, this idea was quickly dropped and production of the one-shots quickly ended.
It took too much effort to tell a short yet compelling story without incurring too much expense. However, the project was not completely put on hold, so theoretically the one-shots could return at any time. In a way, they even did that with “Team Thor,” a mockumentary from “Thor: Day of Judgment” director Taika Waititi that explains what Thor and Hulk did during the events of “The First Avenger: Civil War.” experienced.
Two sequels followed, “Team Thor: Part 2” and “Team Darryl”, which were also published online, with “Team Darryl” taking place after “Thor: Day of Decision”. You can watch all three films in one go on YouTube.
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