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Here’s Your Guide to Watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter.

I hate to admit this, but when I first watched Infinity War in theaters, I had only seen the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange. I know. I’m not sure how I even pretended to know what was going on. The following summer, after Infinity War was released, I was on a mission to watch all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and it was a journey, to say the least. Since the enormous success of the recent TV series WandaVision on Disney+, I feel like it’s become a popular gateway into the MCU for many new fans. So, I wanted to compile a complete guide to the entire Marvel Universe to help those who have just joined our ranks! If you decide to embark on this 49 hours and 56 minutes of pure serotonin, here’s everything you need to know:

 

The Infinity Saga (Phase 1-3)

 

Phase 1

  • Iron Man 
  • The Incredible Hulk 
  • Iron Man 2
  • Thor 
  • Captain America: The First Avenger 
  • Marvel’s The Avengers 

 

Phase 2

  • Iron Man 3 
  • Thor: The Dark World 
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier 
  • Guardians of the Galaxy 
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron 
  • Ant-Man 

 

Phase 3

  • Captain America: Civil War 
  • Doctor Strange 
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming
  • Thor: Ragnarok 
  • Black Panther 
  • Avengers: Infinity War 
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp 
  • Captain Marvel 
  • Avengers: Endgame 
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home 

 

Phase 4 (So Far)

  • WandaVision (Disney+ series)
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+ series: currently being released every Friday)

 

The Future of the MCU (Movies and Shows We Have Dates For)

  • Loki (Disney+ series: June 11, 2021)
  • Black Widow (July 9, 2021)
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3, 2021)
  • Eternals (November 5, 2021)
  • Ms. Marvel (Disney+ series, late 2021)
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17, 2021)
  • Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (March 25, 2022) 
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (May 6, 2022)
  • Black Panther II (July 8, 2022)
  • Captain Marvel 2 (November 11, 2022)
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2022)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

 

If you would prefer to watch in chronological order (going by when these movies happened in the MCU timeline, not when they premiered) here you go:

 

  • Captain America: The First Avenger (during WWII)
  • Captain Marvel (1995)
  • Iron Man (2010)
  • Iron Man 2 
  • The Incredible Hulk 
  • Thor (six months before The Avengers)
  • The Avengers (2012)
  • Iron Man 3 (six months after The Avengers)
  • Thor: Dark World 
  • Captain America: Winter Soldier 
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  • Ant-Man (2015)
  • Captain America: Civil War 
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming 
  • Doctor Strange (2016)
  • Black Panther (2017)
  • Thor: Ragnarok 
  • Avengers: Infinity War (2017)
  • Ant-Man and The Wasp 
  • Avengers: Endgame (begins in 2017, concludes in 2022)
  • WandaVision (three weeks post Endgame)
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (six months post Endgame)
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home (eight months post Endgame)
Hello! I'm currently studying Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. In my free time, I'm constantly baking, listening to true crime podcasts, and spending time with my family. Connect with me on IG: www.instagram.com/unorachel
Hi, I'm Madeline Muschalik! This is my fourth year in Her Campus; I wrote for Her Campus at Wake Forest University before transferring to UT in fall 2019. Last year I was the Her Campus Texas Co-President and Campus Correspondent & it was so rewarding. I am excited to explore Austin and learn more about our university through Texas Her Campus. Some of my hobbies include running, reading, yoga, and traveling! I am a Public Relations Major and with a minor in Entrepreneurship and certificate in Creative Writing. Outside of Her Campus I am involved in Texas American Marketing Association, Moody Communication Council, a member of the Kendra Scott WEL Institute Student Council, Texas Kappa Delta, and I am a Transfer Year Interest Group (TRIG) mentor. I love UT & all the amazing opportunities (like Her Campus) that it has to offer!