In 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with the release of “Iron Man”, and since then the MCU has continued to grow, with new movies, shorts and series being released.

Due to the number of films and series released, it can be difficult to know exactly how to watch them.

There are two ways you can watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Release Order or Timeline Order.

• Release Order – This is the order in which the films, shorts and series were released, either in cinemas or on Disney+. Marvel Studios has been releasing films in “Phases”, which generally revolve around building up to a major film like “Avengers”.
• Timeline Order – This is the order in which the events took place.

It’s important to note that there are some missing movies from this timeline order, because Sony has the distribution rights to the “Spider-Man” home trilogy.  Disney has made a deal with both Sony and Universal to distribute their Marvel films in some countries, however, they aren’t available on Disney+ in some countries due to previous existing contracts.

Marvel Cinematic Universe In Release Order On Disney+

Phase One

1. Iron Man
2. The Incredible Hulk
3. Iron Man 2
4. Thor
5. The Consultant
6. Captain America: The First Avenger
7. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor’s Hammer
8. Avengers
9. Item 47

Phase Two

1. Iron Man 3
2. Agent Carter
3. Thor: The Dark World
4. All Hail The King
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. Guardians Of The Galaxy
7. Avengers: Age Of Ultron
8. Ant-Man

Phase Three

1. Captain America: Civil War
2. Team Thor: Part 1
3. Doctor Strange
4. Team Thor: Part 2
5. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming*
7. Thor: Ragnarok
8. Team Darryl
9. Black Panther
10. Avengers: Infinity War
11. Ant-Man And The Wasp
12. Captain Marvel
13. Avengers: Endgame
14. Spider-Man: Far From Home*

Phase Four

1. WandaVision
2. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
3. Loki
4. Black Widow
5. What If..?
6. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
7. Eternals
8. Hawkeye
9. Moon Knight
10. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
11. Ms Marvel
12. Thor: Love And Thunder
13. I Am Groot
14. She-Hulk
15. Werewolf By Night
16. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
17. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Holiday Special

Phase Five

1. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
2. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 3
3. Secret Invasion
4. The Marvels
5. Echo
6. Agatha All Along

Marvel Cinematic Universe In Timeline Order On Disney+

1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Agent Carter
3. Captain Marvel
4. Iron Man
5. Iron Man 2
6. The Incredible Hulk
7. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor’s Hammer
8. Thor
9. The Consultant
10. The Avengers
11. Item 47
12. Thor: The Dark World
13. Iron Man 3
14. All Hail The King
15. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
16. Guardians Of The Galaxy
17. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
18. Daredevil
19. Jessica Jones
20. I Am Groot
21. Avengers: Age of Ultron
22. Ant-Man
23. Luke Cage
24. Captain America: Civil War
25. Black Widow
26. Black Panther
27. The Punisher
28. Spider-Man: Homecoming *
29. Doctor Strange
30. Thor: Ragnarok
31. Ant-Man and The Wasp
32. Avengers: Infinity War
33. Avengers: Endgame
34. Loki
35. What If…?
36. WandaVision
37. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
38. Spider-Man: Far From Home*
39. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
40. Eternals
41. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
42. Hawkeye
43. Moon Knight
44. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
45. Echo
46. She-Hulk
47. Ms Marvel
48. Thor: Love and Thunder
49. Werewolf By Night
50. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Holiday Special
51. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
52. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 3
53. Secret Invasion
54. The Marvels
55. Agatha All Along

The Defenders Saga

There is also the “Defenders” Saga, which was originally released on Netflix, before being moved onto Disney+ in early 2022.  “The Defenders” take place in New York after the events of “The Avengers” and before the events of the “Hawkeye” Disney+ series. 

While the series wasn’t considered part of the MCU for years, the release of “Echo” confirmed that they are now part of the sacred timeline and considered part of the MCU.

The watching order for “The Defenders” is as follows:

1. Daredevil – season 1
2. Jessica Jones – season 1
3. Daredevil – season 2
4. Luke Cage – season 1
5. Iron Fist- season 1
6. The Defenders
7. The Punisher – season 1
8. Jessica Jones  – season 2
9. Luke Cage  – season 2
10. Iron Fist – season 2
11. Daredevil  – season 3
12. The Punisher – season 2
13. Jessica Jones  – season 3

As Marvel Studios continues to release new films and series, this list will continue to evolve.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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