What Does MCU Stand For?

MCU stands for Marvel Cinematic Universe and it consists of multiple phases. These phases showcase Marvel’s heroes and villains across a timeline that can be broken down into character-driven movie sequences, stand-alone movies, and TV series on Disney Plus.

For more than a decade, Marvel movies have been dominant at the Box Office. Turning the once pre-noughties cheese-fest that comic book movies were, into thrilling big-budget action romps:

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And remarkably, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) consists of roughly 57-hours of movies today! And that doesn’t even include the Disney Plus series…

This massive duration poses a problem, do you watch them in order of release or chronologically?

All Marvel Movies In Order Of Release

Warning: Watching the MCU in order of release will result in seeing events out-of-order in terms of the overall story.

Phase 1

  • Iron Man—that’s where MCU is born (2008)
  • The Incredible Hulk (2008)
  • Iron Man 2 (2010)
  • Thor (2011)
  • Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
  • Avengers (2012)

Phase 2:

  • Iron Man 3 (2013)
  • Thor: The Dark World (2013)
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG) (2014)
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  • Ant-Man (2015)

Phase 3

  • Captain America: Civil War (2016)
  • Doctor Strange (2016)
  • GotG 2 (2017)
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
  • Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
  • Black Panther—sadly, the hero is dead now (2018)
  • Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
  • Captain Marvel (2019)
  • Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Phase 4

  • Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
  • Black Widow (2021)
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
  • Eternals (2021)
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Swipe down to see the other movies in MCU Phase 4.

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All Marvel Movies In Chronological Order

We recommend watching the MCU in chronological order. It delivers a better movie experience, especially if you fit in the Disney Plus shows WandaVision, Loki, Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye:

  1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
  2. Captain Marvel (2019)
  3. Iron Man (2008)
  4. Iron Man 2 (2010)
  5. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
  6. Thor (2011)
  7. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
  8. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
  9. Iron Man 3 (2013)
  10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
  11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
  12. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
  13. Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
  14. Ant-Man (2015)
  15. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
  16. Black Widow (2021)
  17. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
  18. Black Panther (2018)
  19. Doctor Strange (2016)
  20. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
  21. Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)
  22. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) — Watch Hawkeye after this if including the MCU TV series.
  23. Avengers: Endgame (2019) — Watch Loki, then WandaVision and finally Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
  24. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
  25. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
  26. Eternals (2021)
  27. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Upcoming Phase Four Movies

  • Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
  • The Marvels (2023)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
  • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
  • Fantastic Four (TBA)
  • Blade (TBA)
Hetti Misenti, a seasoned writer for FamilyProof.com, brings her unique perspective on family finances and lifestyle to our readership. ... More about Hetti Misenti
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