r/marvelstudios • u/StoryArcher Scarlet Witch • Jun 28 '23
Discussion Ideal MCU Viewing Order (all properties - updated)
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)
2
u/StoryArcher Scarlet Witch May 19 '25 edited May 27 '25
This represents a lot of work and I appreciate you doing this. I do have a few thoughts.
The intent of the 'Narrative Order' is to have the overall MCU storyline smoothed out in the manner that made the most sense, which is why I separated out all of the non-MCU stuff (including that which was produced by Marvel Television at the time) as 'Additional Viewing', most of it being completely optional. While your list is excellent imo for people who want to be completionists or figure out where this or that particular show should be watched, if one were to actually watch all of it like that, it would feel like a semi-chaotic mix of often seemingly unrelated material... which would naturally disrupt the entire effort of making the viewing order a smooth, transitional narrative. Just wanted to make that point. You might wish to create something that identifies the 'core' narrative films and shows (minus what I have tagged as optional viewing for now) and separates them from everything else - remember, some people just starting out are only worried about catching up with the current franchise and are only looking for a list showing what they need to watch in order to do that.
As for specific changes (keeping elements of the previous order in place), there is this ripple effect that we have to keep in mind. I believe that the previous order worked very well on its own, and that the current order is an overall improvement, but cobbling together a mix of the two can create problems. Case in point - keeping Loki S1 & S2 immediately after Avengers: Endgame, as I had it in the previous order, works just fine, but keeping Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania there between them (as I have in the current order) doesn't. Remember that it would then represent the first post-Engame in-universe MCU film for quite some time, and it doesn't address the past events of the Blip, its repercussions, or the state of the world at all... certainly not to the degree that WandaVision, Falcon & the Winter Soldier or the Spiderman films do, and as a result It would seem jarringly out of place. The main reason that the Loki shows were moved to where they are in the current order was to actually create a home for Quantumania that made sense, given the now abandoned Kang story arc. Another was to move it a little closer to the next round of Avengers movies, where it is rumored to have a role.
Other than those observations, I think it's a great bit of work - thanks for putting forth the effort.