The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been the highest-grossing film and television franchise in the United States since 2014. The superhero film universe currently consists of 27 films, 18 series and several small spin-offs. Disney and Marvel have planned generously for the future. At GIGA you will find an overview of all films, series and short films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how you can watch them in chronological order.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, the people behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe announced big plans for 2020 – but the pandemic and closed theaters thwarted all plans a few months later. Actually, 2020 should come with “Black Widow” and “Eternals” the fourth phase of the MCU to be started. Likewise should “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” as the first exclusive Marvel series for Disney+. Almost everything has been postponed by a year, including those planned for 2021 “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Thor: Love and Thunder” will be in cinemas in 2022.
In addition to the bearable shifts, there are also unchangeable, sad facts. Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer in August 2020. The sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is still slated for release in late 2022. The main role of King T’Challa will not simply be recast, instead the film will probably focus on the legacy of the superhero and thus more on other characters.
MCU Timeline: Movies & Series in chronological order
For those who want to watch the MCU’s movies and series in the order in which their plots take place, here is the chronological order:
action year
Movie
series
1942
Captain America: The First Avenger
1946
1995
2008
iron man
The incredible Hulk
2010
2011
Battle of New York
2012
Loki (alternate timeline)
2013
Ironman 3
Thor-The Dark Kingdom
Agents of SHIELD (Season 1)
2014
The Return of the First Avenger
Guardian of the Galaxy
2015
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant Man
Agents of SHIELD (Season 2)
daredevil
jessica jones
civil war
2016
Doctor Strange
The First Avenger: Civil War
Black Widow
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Agents of SHIELD (Season 3 & 4)
Luke Cage
Iron Fist
The Defenders
2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Thor: Day of Decision
Black Panthers
Agents of SHIELD (Season 5)
The Punisher
runaways
2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infinity War
The “Blip”
2023
Avengers: Endgame
Eternals
WandaVision
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
2024
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home
All Movies – MCU Phase 1, 2, 3 & 4
The Marvel film universe is currently divided into four phases. The phases have nothing to do with the chronological order of the films themselves. So “Thor” and parts of the “Captain America” series play before the founding of the SSR (Strategic Scientific Research) and the series “Agent Carter” mostly before SHIELD
Image: Disney/Marvel Studios
Stage 1: Avengers Assembled (2008-2012)
German title(original title)
release
iron man
April 14, 2008
The incredible Hulk (The Incredible Hulk)
June 06, 2008
Iron Man 2
April 26, 2010
Thor
April 21, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger
July 19, 2011
The Avengers
April 11, 2012
Phase 2 (2013-2015)
German title (original title)
release
Ironman 3
April 18, 2013
Thor-The Dark Kingdom (Thor: The Dark World)
October 30, 2013
The Return of the First Avenger (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
March 13, 2014
Guardian of the Galaxy
July 21, 2014
Avengers: Age of Ultron
April 13, 2015
Ant Man
June 29, 2015
Phase 3 (2016-2019)
German title(original title)
release
The First Avenger: Civil War (Captain America: Civil War)
April 28, 2016
Doctor Strange
October 27, 2016
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
April 27, 2017
Spider-Man: Homecoming
July 13, 2017
Thor: Day of Decision (Thor: Ragnarok)
October 31, 2017
Black Panthers
February 15, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War
April 26, 2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp
July 26, 2018
Captain Marvel
March 07, 2019
Avengers: Endgame
April 25, 2019
Spider-Man: Far From Home
July 05, 2019
Phase 4 (2021-2023)
German title (original title)
release
Black Widow
July 08, 2021
Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings
September 02, 2021
Eternals
November 04, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home
December 16, 2021
Doctor Strange 2 (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
May 04, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder
July 08, 2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
November 11, 2022
The Marvels
February 17, 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
May 05, 2023
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
July 28, 2023
Future – MCU Phase 5?
title
release
Fantastic Four
TBA
blades
TBA
dead pool 3
TBA
captainamerica 4
TBA
All series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Five television and streaming networks have now produced series that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney is currently concentrating the new MCU series under Marvel Studios, which will produce them exclusively for their streaming service. It is currently not known how the series from other studios that have already been announced are doing. We have summarized the completed and planned series here:
Credit: ABC/Disney/Marvel Studios
ABC Series (MCU)
series
relays (planned)
follow (planned)
release
Agents of SHIELD
7
136
2013-2020
Agent Carter
2
18
2015-2016
inhumans
1
8th
2017
damage control
(1)
(?)
TBA
Most Wanted
(1)
(?)
TBA
Netflix Series (MCU)
series
squadrons
follow
release
daredevil
3
39
2015-2018
jessica jones
3
39
2015-2019
Luke Cage
2
26
2016-2018
Iron Fist
2
23
2017-2018
The Punisher
2
26
2017-2018
The Defenders
1
8th
2017
Freeform Series (MCU)
series
relays (planned)
follow (planned)
release
Cloak and Dagger
2
20
2018-2019
New Warriors
(1)
(10)
TBA
Hulu Series (MCU)
series
relays (planned)
follow (planned)
release
runaways
3
33
2017-2019
Helstrom
1
10
2020
Ghost Rider
(1)
(?)
TBA
Disney+ Series (MCU)
series
relays (planned)
follow (planned)
release
WandaVision
1
9
January 15, 2021
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
1
6
March 19, 2021
Loki
1 (2)
6 (?)
June 09, 2021
What if…?
1 (2)
9 (18)
August 11, 2021
Hawk Eye
1
6
November 24, 2021
Moon Knight
1
6
March 30, 2022
Ms. Marvel
(1)
(?)
2022
She Hulk
(1)
(10)
2022
Secret Invasion
(1)
(6)
2022
Ironheart
(1)
(?)
TBA
Armor Wars
(1)
(?)
TBA
Specials & Miniseries
In addition to the films and series, a few specials, short films and web series were also produced, which also belong to the MCU. For example, the short films called “Marvel One-Shots” have been added to some DVD and Blu-ray releases of Marvel movies. We have summarized the various “one-shots” for you here:
German title
original title
On the following release/service:
The consultant
The Consultant
Thor
Something funny happened on the way to Thor’s hammer
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer
Captain America: The First Avenger
Object 47
Item 47
The Avengers
Agent Carter
Iron Man 3
The Mandarin
All Hail the King
Thor-The Dark Kingdom
Peter’s to-do list
Peter’s To Do List
Spider-Man: Far From Home
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)
Disney+
In addition, there was the fictional news program “WHiH Newsfront” for promotional purposes. This reported on Twitter among other things about the “happenings” in “Ant-Man” and “The First Avenger: Civil War”.
Quiz: Which Marvel Superhero Are You?
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