Marvel Movies In Order: How to Watch Them All In Release Order
Ever since Marvel Studios launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with Iron Man (2008), the franchise has maintained its status as one of the biggest ongoing movie franchises. Almost two decades of interconnected MCU movies later, there are now over thirty feature-length entries in the franchise—making it difficult to keep track of the correct viewing order.
If you're about to start your own Marvel movie marathon, you'll need to decide whether you want to follow the MCU's chronological or release order. If you're new to the franchise, I suggest watching Marvel's MCU movies in release order. This will guide you through the entire franchise the way fans experienced it in theaters—making it the easiest way to follow how everything is connected.
Check out the complete list of titles below, starting with Iron Man (2008) all the way until Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) and the franchise's upcoming releases, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
The MCU officially begins with Iron Man, when billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is captured by terrorists during on a trip to showcase how company's latest weapon. While trapped in a cave with a box of scraps, Tony builds a powerful armored suit to help him escape—which ultimately leads him to become a technologically advanced superhero.
Iron Man kickstarts the franchise in style, establishing a strong visual and tonal identity that still defines the MCU today. One of the movie's greatest strengths is the cast, which sees Robert Downey Jr. give a stellar performance as the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark. The actor's improvisational skills adds some much-needed comic relief, cementing Iron Man a classic of the superhero genre—MCU or otherwise.
In the MCU's second movie, The Incredible Hulk, the accomplished scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) searches for a cure to his own illness: gamma radiation that turns him into the Hulk. During his search for a cure, Bruce must evade the military and take on another powerful gamma-enhanced foe, Abomination (Tim Roth).
In comparison to other early MCU movies, The Incredible Hulk is something of an oddity. It's the only movie in which Bruce Banner is played by Edward Norton, who was replaced by Mark Ruffalo for all later MCU instalments. But there's still a lot to enjoy in The Incredible Hulk, such as the fast-paced escape scene through the favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
Iron Man 2 begins moments after Tony Stark has impulsively announced himself as Iron Man to the media. Stark deals with the consequences of revealing his identity while dealing with increasing pressure from the government. On top of that, he faces the wrath of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a vengeful inventor with whom he shares a dark history.
Robert Downey Jr. gives another memorable performance as Tony Stark, doubling down on the character's appetite for theatrics and the grandiose. The movie marks the debut appearance of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and it's one of the first superhero movies to explore what happens if you abandon the genre's dual identity trope.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is an arrogant warrior who is exiled to Earth after reigniting an ancient war with the Frost Giants. While on Earth, the Asgardian god encounters a group of scientists who help him take on some of Asgard's darkest forces.
Like Iron Man, Thor is another early Marvel movie that struck gold with exceptional casting, bringing a relatively unknown Australian actor into the fold as one of the franchise's most iconic heroes. In addition to looking the part, Hemsworth shines during comedic fish-out-of-water scenes as Thor awkwardly adapts to his new surroundings.
Thor also lays the foundations for the franchise's cosmic universe. Otherworldly concepts such as Asgardian gods and the Bifröst are seamlessly introduced, with sci-fi explanations that make Norse mythology, advanced technology, and interdimensional travel feel at home in the same universe as Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.
Captain America's debut movie takes fans several decades back backwards on the MCU timeline, telling the story of Cap's heroics during World War II.
Initially just a strong-minded American citizen, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) steps up for a 'super-soldier' program that gives him the incredible abilities of peak human performance. With his new strength and vitality, Steve takes on Hydra and the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Captain America: The First Avenger offers a great mix of sci-fi with the backdrop of an action-packed WWII movie. Once again, Marvel Studios make a great casting choice by giving Chris Evans the role of Steve Rogers, while Hugo Weaving offers a memorable portrayal as Red Skull.
In one of the biggest event movies of all time, The Avengers brings the MCU's greatest heroes together for an epic team-up adventure. Brought together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Marvel's heroes must learn to work together when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) emerges as a new threat to Earth.
Fans may be used to seeing their favorite heroes share the screen nowadays, but when The Avengers was released, a crossover of this scale was almost unheard of.
Marvel's long-term strategy pays off, with the earlier solo movies having already established its leading heroes, allowing The Avengers to focus on their clashing personalities. Their quippy dialogue and larger-than-life egos provide comedy and conflict before the heroes eventually learn to function as a team.
Mark Ruffalo quickly makes the role of Bruce Banner his own, and Hiddleston makes a lasting impression as Loki—whose personal connection to Thor gives The Avengers' larger-than-life conflict some personal stakes.
Iron Man 3 deals with Tony Stark's struggles with trauma in the aftermath of the Battle of New York. As he tries to overcome everything he'd witnessed, he must also investigate a mysterious terrorist known as the Mandarin.
The third and final instalment of the Iron Man trilogy is full of twists and subversions, presenting Tony with a slightly different challenge to what he'd already faced in previous movies. It sees Tony dealing with his own vulnerability and, for a time, flexing his genius with basic hardware—reminding fans why he's among the MCU's most beloved characters.
After huge hits with well-known Marvel characters such as Iron Man, Captain America and The Avengers, the introduction of Guardians of the Galaxy was a left-field pick from Marvel Studios—but choosing to introduce the franchise's cosmic universe in greater depth through the Guardians massively paid off.
Guardians of the Galaxy follows a group of space outlaws who band together to protect a uniquely powerful artifact from Ronan the Accuser, a fanatical warlord working with the Mad Titan, Thanos. The team of misfits includes the Earthling known as Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), the deadly assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), the vengeful Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a genetically modified raccoon called Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and the so-called "talking tree," Groot (Vin Diesel).
