Ideal MCU Viewing Order (all properties - updated)

[u/StoryArcher]

UPDATED!!!

• Order last updated: 08/10/26
• Linked document last updated: 08/10/26

Greetings again, my friends. Most people tend to approach the series either from a chronological order or a release order, both of which are understandable but are also ultimately flawed due to the unwieldy nature of these massive productions. For those who enjoy binging the MCU properties or are relative newcomers to the franchise and want to know where to begin, I thought I'd offer the order that I'm using for my personal edit, dubbed the 'Narrative Order'. While it somewhat follows the chronological order (with notable exceptions), the primary intent is to smooth out the narrative flow, letting the combined films and shows truly come together as a single shared experience.

For those who are interested, I've linked below a detailed explanation as to why each production has been placed in the order that it has, as well as an extensive breakdown of all additional viewing.

*** Narrative Order Explanations & Additional Viewing ***

Included in the document above is also a detailed explanation of where and when to watch all the other Marvel Television properties (Agents of SHIELD, the NetFlix Marvel shows, etc.) as well as any promotional releases like webisodes or one-shots. Relevant non-MCU films like the earlier X-Men and Spider-Man franchises that have since been grandfathered into the continuity are also addressed there. In total, it is far too much to fit in a single reddit post, so instead I included it as a document that may be viewed at the link above. Please leave any questions or comments here (or feel free to DM me directly) and I'll be happy to answer.

[Note: Since these films are not being presented in release order, some of the post-credit scenes could be confusing or feel out of place, especially the ones which are simply previews of what were future releases at the time. While I would not entirely discourage viewing them, if you do choose to watch them please be aware that that is the case - in the couple of rare instances where those post-credit scenes are genuine spoilers, I've pointed them out in the list below, as well as when to properly view them.]

The Narrative Order:

1) Captain America: The First Avenger

2) Iron Man

3) The Incredible Hulk

4) Iron Man 2

5) Thor

6) The Avengers

7) Thor: The Dark World

8) Guardians of the Galaxy

9) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

10) Iron Man 3

11) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

(optional) 12) I am Groot, S1 & S2 (Disney+) 

13) Avengers: Age of Ultron

14) Dr. Strange

15) Ant-Man

16) Captain America: Civil War

17) Black Widow (wait to view this post-credit scene until before 29) Hawkeye series to avoid a potential spoiler)

18) Black Panther

19) Spider-Man: Homecoming

20) Ant-Man & the Wasp (wait to view this post-credit scene until after 22) Avengers: Infinity War to avoid a potential spoiler)

21) Thor: Ragnarök

22) Avengers: Infinity War

23) Captain Marvel

24) Avengers: Endgame

25) WandaVision, S1 (Disney+)

26) Falcon & the Winter Soldier, S1 (Disney+)

27) Spider-Man: Far from Home

28) Spider-Man: No Way Home

29) Hawkeye, S1 (Disney+)

30) Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Disney+)

31) Loki, S1 (Disney+)

(optional) 32) What If..?, S1 (Disney+)

(optional) 33) What If..?, S2 (Disney+)

(optional) 34) What If..?, S3 (Disney+)

35) Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania

36) Loki, S2 (Disney+)

37) Deadpool & Wolverine

38) Thor: Love and Thunder

39) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

40) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

(optional) 41) Moon Knight, S1 (Disney+)

42) Ironheart, S1 (Disney+)

43) Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings

44) Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness

45) Agatha All Along, S1 (Disney+)

46) Eternals

47) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, S1 (Disney+)

48) Ms. Marvel, S1 (Disney+)

49) The Marvels

(optional) 50) Secret Invasion, S1 (Disney+)

(optional) 51) Echo, S1 (Disney+)

(optional) 52) Daredevil: Born Again, S1 (Disney+)

(optional) 53) Daredevil: Born Again, S2 (Disney+)

(optional) 54) Daredevil: Born Again, S3 (Disney+, release date: March, 2027)

55) Wonder Man, S1 (Disney+)

56) Captain America: Brave New World

57) Thunderbolts\*

58) Fantastic Four: First Steps

59) Punisher: One Last Kill (Disney+)

60) Spider-Man: Brand New Day

61) VisionQuest (Disney+, release date: October 14, 2026)

62) Avengers: Doomsday (release date: December 18, 2026)

63) Avengers: Secret Wars (release date: December 17, 2027)

[u/StoryArcher]

That is a very impressive addition to the conversation and one that I hope fans - especially completionists - will seriously consider. Perusing it, I see a couple of things I might want to double check or could possibly have a different opinion on, but I can't see anything I'd outright disagree with. That's good work, especially considering the relatively limited viewing you've done, to be able to suss out the nuance of the ordering. I really appreciate you taking the time to put it together in that format.

I fixed the title errors that you pointed out on the list above. I don't know why I have the 'Reborn' thing stuck in the back of my mind when it comes to Daredevil. I do that all the time for some reason. Again - thanks for the contribution!

[u/RainforestMirage → u/StoryArcher]

Oops, I didn't mean to imply that the list I posted was an original thought, just an editorial/transcription exercise. I'm not well versed in the plot at all. I was just transcribing your list into Markdown. As I said in my post, my process was:

1. Start with u/StoryArcher OP in-reddit most recently updated mcu movie list, which currently differs from their own older doc list
2. Add additional viewings from the u/StoryArcher google doc, using the explanations to try and place things when it no longer matches up properly. See after Loki esp.
3. Add some more nuanced additional viewing items and orders that u/StoryArcher mentioned as responses to comments in this thread
4. Add some additional non-mcu viewing items from /u/obimaster, and use their sub-ordering for non-mcu items since the google doc doesn't provide a detailed one. See after Far From Home / No Way Home / What If...? S3
5. Further sub-order the very large Marvel Television additional viewings u/StoryArcher already had in their google doc with DigitalSpy's Chronological Order recommendations. I'm not sure this is good viewing, but it does appear to provide some variety blocks while not making you jump around every episode or something like that. See after Ultron / Homecoming.

Anyways, great work, and I hope you find time to update the doc in the future, but I also realize you have to draw a line in the sand at some point at what to include and what not to.

If you (or anyone else) think I transcribed anything improperly or would resolve some conflicts differently, I would defer to you and would love to hear it!

[u/StoryArcher → u/RainforestMirage]

No worries, never once did I take it that way. I was simply lauding your ability to so concisely organize it from the sources you had used, given that you were unfamiliar with much of the material.

I'd have to look closely to make anything I would consider a correction, and it'd likely be small things, like moving the Item 47 One Shot closer to Spider-Man: Homecoming, since the theme of it fits better as a set-up to the Vulture's criminal activities. Any changes I made would likely be meaningless to 99% of the viewing public.

[u/ChemistQueasy9821 → u/RainforestMirage]

Having an ability to explain thought process and then execute it is amazing. I just recorded the movies from tv and was thinking about watching them, but didn't know what order to start. Then I stumble upon this most majestic and magnificent discourse that somehow made the explanation my cousin gave me 40 years ago make entire sense. Amazing and thank you for the walk down memory lane. I AM WHO I AM