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MARVEL-LOUS

How to watch the Marvel movies and TV shows in chronological order on Disney+

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MARVEL'S epic multiverse is full to the brim with superheroes all waiting for their turn to shine, so it can be hard to know where to start.

If you're feeling a little overwhelmed looking at Disney's streaming platform with so many Marvel movies and new releases to choose from, here's how to watch the Marvel movies and TV shows in chronological order. 

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Credit: Kobal Collection - Rex Features

Maybe there's a few gaps you'd like to fill in; or maybe you're a total novice to the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Wherever you're at, you probably know there is a huge number of Marvel releases available to watch and stream online.

So where to start? What is the best order to watch the megalithic superhero franchise?

In this article, we’ve listed a few different ways on how to watch the Marvel movies in the right order, including chronological and release-order options.

You’ll find them all - well, nearly all of them - on Disney’s streaming platform, which will give you full access for £7.99 or $7.99 a month.

Keen to embark on an MCU marathon? Best settle in - it will take you over two days. Read on, dear reader!

For a film you won’t find on Disney+, here’s how to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home online, and for the latest Marvel TV show, there's how to watch Moon Knight online.

You can also find out how to watch Ms. Marvel, which will be ready to stream in June 2022.

There's not long until you'll be needing to know how to watch She-Hulk either, as it begins streaming this year.

How to watch the Marvel movies in chronological order

In our humble opinion, we reckon this is the best way for newcomers to watch Marvel movies - in the order that they’re set.

Watching the Marvel movies in chronological order will take you on a journey from the Second World War right up until 2024 - here’s how you should do it.

It’s a good way to keep track of what is, undeniably, a pretty complex timeline of characters and events - and it will certainly prepare you for all the time-hopping that comes in recent films.

Watch all the Marvel films in order with this list
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Watch all the Marvel films in order with this listCredit: Alamy

How to watch Marvel movies in order by release date

Another way to watch Marvel movies is in the order they were released by the studio.

In some ways, this is a much more enlightening way of watching the franchise unfold.

Jumping backward and forward in time can get confusing (with the odd character coming back to life), but you’ll get to see the MCU grow in scale and ambition as more protagonists are introduced.

The creative team behind the Marvel franchise had a very long game in mind: you’ll find each era of films divided into four separate phases.

Phase One

The first phase of the MCU - which feels like a very long time ago now - introduced us to the characters who made up the first Avengers line-up.

In these early days, the franchise was still finding its feet, but it’s a joy to watch the origin stories of so many beloved heroes.

Phase Two

In Marvel’s second phase, we move on to a number of sequels, plus a few new characters are brought into the mix.

The grittiness of the early films gives way to a more lighthearted approach to the franchise, something marked by 2014’s release, The Guardians Of The Galaxy. 

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

Phase Three

Phase Three is where things really start to get dicey for Cap, Tony and the team, as they’re ultimately pitted against the terrifying Thanos in his hunt for the all-powerful Infinity Stones.

In this culmination of the Avengers saga (at least for now) we experience some highs and lows, and say goodbye to a few characters.

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

Phase Four

Marvel’s Phase Four is still underway, with a constant influx of new characters being introduced to the universe.

Scroll further on for a list of the upcoming films still scheduled for this phase of production.

  • Black Widow (9th July 2021) - DVD / Blu-Ray
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (3rd September 2021) - DVD / Blu-Ray
  • Eternals (November 2021) - DVD / Blu-Ray
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 2021) - DVD / Blu-Ray

You can also catch some of the TV shows while you're waiting for the next film - find out how to watch Moon Knight and catch up on Marvel's What If...? ready for season two.

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Marvel movies to watch on Disney+ - and what's missing

The home for nearly every last Marvel movie is Disney+, where they’re all available to stream for free.

There are a few exceptions, in the form of the most recent trilogy of Spider-Man films. 

They’re an integral part of the Marvel saga, but as the Spider-Man character is still owned by Sony, these films aren’t available to stream on Disney’s platform - and likely won’t appear there any time soon.

Where to watch the MCU Spider-Man trilogy

Best Marvel movies by IMDb score

If you want to cut straight to the highest-quality instalments in the MCU and skip the duds, why not go to one of the best indicators of film quality out there: their IMDb scores.

These ratings come from users, not film critics - and who are we to argue with popular opinion?

  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2024) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 8.6
  • Avengers: Infinity War (2017) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 8.5
  • Avengers: Endgame (2017-2022) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 8.4
  • The Avengers (2012) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store:8.1
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 8.1
  • Iron Man (2010) - DVD / Blu-Ray IMDb store: 7.9
  • Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.9
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.8
  • Captain America: Civil War (2016) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.8
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2014) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.6
  • Doctor Strange (2016) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.5
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2023) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.5
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.4
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home (2023) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.4
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.3
  • Ant-Man (2015) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.3
  • Black Panther (2017) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.3
  • Iron Man 3 (2012) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7.2
  • Iron Man 2 (2011) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7
  • Thor (2011) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp (2017) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 7
  • Captain America: The First Avenger (Second World War) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 6.9
  • Captain Marvel (1995) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 6.8
  • Thor: The Dark World (2013) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 6.8
  • The Incredible Hulk (2011) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 6.7
  • Black Widow (2016) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 6.7
  • Eternals (2023) - DVD / Blu-Ray - IMDb store: 6.4

How to download and watch Marvel Movies

The good thing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that - with just a few anomalies - they are all to be found on Disney+.

Disney bought Marvel back in 2009, and while it was a good decade before it rolled out its streaming platform, there was never any doubt that the entire franchise would be exclusively homed here.

Upcoming Marvel movies

As you'd likely expect, there are plenty of new Marvel Cinematic due to be released over the next couple of years. (And TV shows too, but that's another story.)

Below, we've listed all the films with confirmed release dates.

  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 2022)
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (July 2022)
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 2022)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 2023)
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (28th July 2023)

Want to watch more than Marvel films in the right order? Here's the X-Men timeline and how to watch them in order.

For another franchise entirely, here's our pick of the 100 best series to watch on Netflix.

Zombie fan? Here's how to watch The Walking Dead.

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