By Release Date
Phases group all of the MCU films. Three of the phases have now been released. Collectively, Phase One, Phase Two, and Phase Three are called The Infinity Saga. Movies in Phase Four and beyond begin launching in late 2020. Films marked with an “*” are already available on Disney Plus, while those marked with an “#” are coming to the service soon (see below for more information).
Phase One
The first phase introduced the world to Iron Man in 2008 and continued to 2012’s The Avengers.
Iron Man (2008)*The Incredible Hulk (2008)Iron Man 2 (2010)*Thor (2011)*Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
Phase Two
The next phase started with Iron Man 3 (2013) and ended two years later with Ant-Man (2015).
Iron Man 3 (2013)*Thor: The Dark World (2013)*Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)*Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)*Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)Ant-Man (2015)
Phase Three
In Phase Three, Marvel released 11 films between 2016 and 2019. Avengers: Endgame (2019) is currently the most successful MCU film ever.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)*Doctor Strange (2016)*Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)*Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)Thor: Ragnarok (2017)*Black Panther (2018)*Avengers: Infinity War (2018)#Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)#Captain Marvel (2019)*Avengers: Endgame (2019)*Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
By Release Date: Future Titles
To date, 12 additional MCU films have been announced, and release dates are subject to change.
Phase 4
The next phase begins with the 2020 release of Black Widow and will continue with Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022.
Black Widow (November 6, 2020)The Eternals (February 12, 2021)Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (May 7, 2021)Untitled third Spider-Man movie (July 16, 2021)Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (November 5, 2021)Thor: Love and Thunder (February 18, 2022)
Phase 5
Black Panther 2 (May 6, 2022)Captain Marvel 2 (July 8, 2022)Ant-Man 3 (October 7, 2022)Blade (TBD)Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBD)Untitled Fantastic Four film (TBD)
Chronological
In real life, the MCU currently spans 12 years, from 2008’s Iron Man to the upcoming Black Widow (2020). The fictional timeline presented in the films, however, is much longer. It’s because of this, you might want to watch the movies in chronological order, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger and continuing with Spider-Man: Far from Home.
The Timeline
Captain America: The First Avenger (World War II-themed)Captain Marvel (set in the mid-1990s)Iron Man (set a few years after 2008, when the film was released)Iron Man 2 (events happen right after those in Iron Man)The Incredible Hulk (Set before the Avengers arrive)Thor (Pre-Avengers, post The Incredible Hulk)Marvel’s The Avengers (Released and take place in 2012)Iron Man 3 (Events happen six months after The Avengers)Thor: Dark World (Set between Avengers and Age of Ultron)Captain America: Winter Soldier (Between 2012 and 2014, after the previous three titles)Guardians of the Galaxy (set in 2014)Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (events happen after Guardians)Avengers: Age of Ultron (established in 2015)Ant-Man (also found in 2015)Captain America: Civil War (after Ultron, but before Infinity War)Spider-Man: Homecoming (after the events of the Civil War)Doctor Strange (released and set in 2016)Black Panther (released and established in 2017)Thor: Ragnarok (between Ultron but before Infinity War)Avengers: Infinity War (established in 2017, though published in 2018)Ant-Man and The Wasp (Likely between Infinity War and Endgame)Avengers: Endgame (events happen between 2017 and 2020)Spider-Man: Far From Home (happens after Endgame)
What About Disney Plus?
Most already-released MCU films are already on Disney Plus. Of those that aren’t, two will be very soon. With perhaps a few exceptions, future movies will also make their way to Disney Plus once they are officially released.
Currently on Disney Plus
The following films are already available on the streaming service:
Ant-ManAvengers: Age of UltronAvengers: EndgameBlack PantherCaptain America: Civil WarCaptain America: The First AvengerCaptain America: The Winter SoldierCaptain MarvelDoctor StrangeGuardians of the GalaxyGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2Iron ManIron Man 2Iron Man 3Marvel’s The AvengersThorThor: RagnarokThor: The Dark World
Coming to Disney Plus
Two films in the series will arrive on Disney Plus soon, including:
Avengers: Infinity War (June 25, 2020)Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 29, 2020)
Missing from Disney Plus
Past obligations with Sony or Universal mean the following films in the series won’t be arriving on Disney Plus anytime soon:
The Incredible HulkSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017)Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Which Are The Best and Worst Films?
Watching 23 films one after another takes a lot of time. So if you want to get exposed to the MCU but only have time to watch five movies in the series, I suggest sticking with (most of) the Avengers movies and sampling the first Iron Man and the Guardians. Watch the five films in this order:
Iron ManMarvel’s The AvengersGuardians of the GalaxyAvengers: Infinity WarAvengers: Endgame
On the other end, the movies to avoid, at least according to IMDB, are Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor: The Dark World, also, Captain Marvel, and The Incredible Hulk.
Get Disney Plus
With many of us stuck at home for long periods, now is the time to experience the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most of the universe is now available through Disney Plus, which you can watch across multiple devices. The service streams in resolutions up to 4K Ultra HD in Dolby Vision and HDR 10. Disney Plus is available everywhere streaming services reside. And a subscription to Disney Plus is just $7.99/per month for the basic ad-supported version and $10.99/per month to go ad-free. Or, you can save by getting the Disney Plus bundle that includes Hulu and ESPN+, with the Duo bundle starting at $9.99/month. It’s also worth noting that if you are already a Hulu (No Ads) or Hulu Live subscriber, you can add the Disney+ bundle to your existing account.
