Just like the real universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly expanding. Every few months, Marvel releases a new blockbuster or a new TV series on Disney+ – or both. Trying to join the current narrative is nearly impossible. Trying to go back and watch it all from the beginning is extremely daunting, as the MCU now includes over two dozen hours of story across multiple media.
If you want to watch all the MCU movies in the order they came out, it’s pretty simple. But at this point, it’s not the ideal way to binge on those movies. Some MCU installments are set in the recent past; others decades ago. Some movies play better in a different context than Marvel originally intended. One or two, you better skip it completely.
To that end, I’ve created this suggested viewing order for the complete Marvel Cinematic Universe (and only the cinematographic side of things, TV will have to get its own list some other time). It tells you which movies to watch, which to skip, in which order to watch them, and why. It starts with the early days of the MCU and continues through to the most recent releases. I think this is the best way to look at the MCU – but if you have any suggestions or alternate commands you prefer, let me know.
The correct viewing order of Marvel movies
Here are the MCU movies you need to watch — and the best order to watch them.