It’s hard to believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for 15 years. No one could have guessed when “Iron Man” was first released in May 2008 that a studio that didn’t even have the rights to Marvel’s most iconic characters (we’re looking at you, Spider-Man) would build the biggest shared universe in modern pop culture. More than a decade later, we have a sprawling universe full of incredible characters, interweaving movies and TV shows, and the bonding experience of sharing wild theories across the internet.
There are numerous movies and TV shows in the Marvel family, with many more on the horizon as Marvel releases the first movies and TV shows of Phase 5. And, of course, Phase 6 is waiting in the wings. With so many great stories, it can be tricky to keep track of all of them — especially the ones that involve time travel, flashbacks, and the multiverse (we’re talking about you, “Loki”). Here’s a handy list so you can decide on the “correct” watch order (either by release date or in-universe chronology) for your Marvel faves. While some movies and shows on this list involve significant scenes set in the past (e.g. prologues or interspersed flashbacks), we’ve organized each movie based on when the majority of the plot takes place.
With the Marvel universe continuing to grow, you definitely want to bookmark this list!