For a first watch, go in release order, starting with Iron Man (2008). There are 38 Marvel Studios films and 26 Disney+ series seasons and specials out, about 185 hours in total. The films alone take 83 hours.
3 upcoming titles are listed but not counted in the time.
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1
Essential
Film2 May 20082 h 6 minPhase 1
A weapons maker builds an armoured suit and rethinks what his company sells.
Why essential: Starts the series and introduces Tony Stark, a lead all the way to Endgame.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
2
Film13 Jun 20081 h 52 minPhase 1
A scientist on the run tries to keep the creature his anger releases under control.
3
Film7 May 20102 h 5 minPhase 1
With his identity public, Tony Stark faces a rival engineer with a family grudge.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
4
Essential
Film6 May 20111 h 54 minPhase 1
A banished prince of Asgard lands in New Mexico without his powers.
Why essential: Introduces Thor and his brother Loki, the villain of The Avengers.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
5
Essential
Film22 Jul 20112 h 4 minPhase 1
A determined volunteer becomes a super-soldier during the Second World War.
Why essential: Introduces Steve Rogers and the Tesseract that drives The Avengers.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
6
Essential
Film4 May 20122 h 23 minPhase 1
Six very different heroes have to learn to fight as one team.
Why essential: An Avengers film.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
7
Film3 May 20132 h 10 minPhase 2
Shaken after New York, Tony Stark faces an attacker who strikes close to home.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
8
Film8 Nov 20131 h 52 minPhase 2
Thor has to protect Jane Foster from an old enemy of Asgard.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
9
Essential
Film4 Apr 20142 h 16 minPhase 2
Steve Rogers uncovers a conspiracy inside the agency he works for.
Why essential: Its fallout reshapes the team ahead of Age of Ultron and Civil War.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
10
Essential
Film1 Aug 20142 h 2 minPhase 2
A crew of outlaws in deep space end up guarding a very dangerous orb.
Why essential: Introduces the Guardians and Thanos's family, all central to Infinity War.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
11
Essential
Film1 May 20152 h 21 minPhase 2
A peacekeeping program built by the team turns against its makers.
Why essential: An Avengers film.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
12
Film17 Jul 20151 h 57 minPhase 2
A reformed thief takes on one last heist in a suit that shrinks him.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
13
Essential
Film6 May 20162 h 27 minPhase 3
A new law on oversight of superheroes splits the Avengers into two sides.
Why essential: Splits the team, and Infinity War opens with that split.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
14
Essential
Film4 Nov 20161 h 55 minPhase 3
An injured surgeon looks for a cure and finds the mystic arts instead.
Why essential: Introduces Doctor Strange and the Time Stone, both key to Infinity War.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
15
Film5 May 20172 h 16 minPhase 3
The Guardians meet a stranger who says he is Peter Quill's father.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
16
Film7 Jul 20172 h 13 minPhase 3
A teenage Spider-Man juggles school with trying to impress Tony Stark.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
17
Essential
Film3 Nov 20172 h 10 minPhase 3
Stranded on a gladiator planet, Thor races to get home to Asgard.
Why essential: Its final scene leads straight into the opening of Infinity War.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
18
Essential
Film16 Feb 20182 h 14 minPhase 3
A new king of Wakanda faces a challenger with a claim to the throne.
Why essential: Introduces Wakanda, a main setting of Infinity War.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
19
Essential
Film27 Apr 20182 h 29 minPhase 3
Heroes from Earth and space try to stop Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones.
Why essential: An Avengers film.
20
Essential
Film6 Jul 20181 h 58 minPhase 3
Scott Lang teams up with the Wasp on a rescue mission into the quantum realm.
Why essential: Takes place alongside Infinity War and leads into Endgame.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
21
Essential
Film8 Mar 20192 h 4 minPhase 3
In the 1990s, a pilot with cosmic powers pieces together her missing past.
Why essential: Introduces the hero Nick Fury calls on at the end of Infinity War.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
22
Essential
Film26 Apr 20193 h 1 minPhase 3
What is left of the Avengers attempt one last plan.
Why essential: An Avengers film, and the close of the Infinity Saga.
23
Film2 Jul 20192 h 9 minPhase 3
Peter Parker's school trip to Europe is interrupted by giant elemental creatures.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
24
Series9 episodes15 Jan 20215 h 21 minPhase 4
Wanda and Vision live a perfect sitcom life that keeps jumping decades.
25
Series6 episodes19 Mar 20215 h 2 minPhase 4
Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes team up while the future of the shield is argued over.
26
Essential
Series6 episodes9 Jun 20214 h 45 minPhase 4
A version of Loki is arrested by an agency that polices the timeline.
Why essential: Introduces the multiverse the current saga is built on.
27
Film9 Jul 20212 h 14 minPhase 4
Natasha Romanoff goes back to face the program that trained her.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
28
Series (animated)9 episodes11 Aug 20214 h 54 minPhase 4
Animated stories that ask how familiar events would change with one different choice.
29
Film3 Sep 20212 h 12 minPhase 4
A martial artist is pulled back into his father's secret organisation.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
30
Film5 Nov 20212 h 36 minPhase 4
Immortal beings who have quietly lived among humans for ages reunite.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
31
Series6 episodes24 Nov 20214 h 48 minPhase 4
Clint Barton and a young archer, Kate Bishop, spend a chaotic Christmas in New York.
32
Film17 Dec 20212 h 28 minPhase 4
A spell meant to fix Peter Parker's life goes badly wrong.
33
Series6 episodes30 Mar 20224 h 58 minPhase 4
A museum gift-shop worker finds he shares his body with someone else.
34
Film6 May 20222 h 6 minPhase 4
Doctor Strange protects a teenager who can travel between universes.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
35
Series6 episodes8 Jun 20224 h 35 minPhase 4
A Jersey City teenager who loves superheroes gets powers of her own.
36
Film8 Jul 20221 h 59 minPhase 4
Thor comes out of retirement to stop a killer who hunts gods.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
37
Series (animated)5 episodes10 Aug 202220 minPhase 4
Very short animated adventures of a very young Groot.
38
Series9 episodes18 Aug 20224 h 56 minPhase 4
A lawyer with Hulk powers takes on cases involving superhumans.
39
Special7 Oct 202253 minPhase 4
Monster hunters gather at a gloomy estate for a deadly contest.
40
Essential
Film11 Nov 20222 h 41 minPhase 4
Wakanda mourns its king and meets a hidden nation beneath the sea.
Why essential: Wakanda's current leaders are part of Doomsday's published line-up.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
41
Special25 Nov 202242 minPhase 4
Two Guardians fly to Earth to find the perfect Christmas present for Peter Quill.
42
Film17 Feb 20232 h 4 minPhase 5
The Lang family is pulled into the quantum realm and meets an exiled conqueror.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
43
Film5 May 20232 h 30 minPhase 5
The Guardians race to save Rocket and finally learn where he came from.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
44
Series6 episodes21 Jun 20234 h 24 minPhase 5
Nick Fury returns to Earth as shape-shifters hide in positions of power.
45
Series (animated)5 episodes6 Sep 202323 minPhase 5
More short animated adventures of a very young Groot.
46
Series6 episodes5 Oct 20235 h 9 minPhase 5
Loki keeps slipping through time while the agency he joined starts to fail.
47
Film10 Nov 20231 h 45 minPhase 5
Three heroes swap places with each other whenever they use their powers.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
48
Series (animated)9 episodes22 Dec 20234 h 31 minPhase 5
More animated stories built on one changed choice.
49
Series5 episodes9 Jan 20243 h 23 minPhase 5
Maya Lopez goes home to Oklahoma and has to face her family and her past.
50
Essential
Film26 Jul 20242 h 8 minPhase 5
A time-keeping agency recruits Deadpool, and he needs a Wolverine to help.
Why essential: Set in the X-Men's universe (Earth-10005), which Doomsday's published premise names.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
51
Series9 episodes18 Sep 20246 h 4 minPhase 5
A witch who has lost her powers gathers a coven to walk a dangerous road.
52
Series (animated)8 episodes22 Dec 20243 h 55 minPhase 5
The last season of animated one-changed-choice stories.
53
Series (animated)10 episodes29 Jan 20255 h 7 minPhase 5
An animated Peter Parker starts high school and learns the hero business.
Story placement is our call: Set in its own universe and not on the Disney+ timeline, so we place it by release date.
54
Film14 Feb 20251 h 58 minPhase 5
Sam Wilson, now Captain America, is caught up in an international incident.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
55
Series9 episodes4 Mar 20257 h 9 minPhase 5
Lawyer Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk cross paths again as Fisk moves into politics.
56
Essential
Film2 May 20252 h 7 minPhase 5
A group of antiheroes sent into a trap has to work together to get out.
Why essential: Doomsday is set fourteen months after it, per its published premise.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
57
Series6 episodes24 Jun 20255 h 2 minPhase 5
A young engineer who built her own armour gets drawn into a heist crew.
58
Essential
Film25 Jul 20251 h 54 minPhase 6
In a retro-futuristic world, a family of four heroes faces a cosmic threat.
Why essential: Introduces the Fantastic Four, part of Doomsday's published line-up.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
59
Series (animated)4 episodes1 Aug 20252 h 1 minPhase 6
Animated stories of Wakandan warriors sent to recover stolen artifacts through history.
60
Series (animated)4 episodes24 Sep 20252 h 13 minPhase 6
Animated: survivors fight on in a universe overrun by zombie heroes.
61
Series8 episodes27 Jan 20264 h 25 minPhase 6
A struggling actor with secret powers chases a part in a superhero remake.
62
Series8 episodes24 Mar 20266 h 29 minPhase 6
Matt Murdock's fight with Wilson Fisk over New York continues.
63
Special12 May 202651 minPhase 6
Frank Castle is pulled back into one more fight in his own neighbourhood.
64
New
Film31 Jul 20262 h 25 minPhase 6
Peter Parker carries on as a street-level Spider-Man in New York.
Stay through the credits: there is at least one extra scene.
Story placement is our call: A Sony film that is not on the Disney+ timeline. Wikipedia's plot summary sets it four years after No Way Home, so we place it after the latest title Disney+ lists.
65
Upcoming
Series8 episodesDue 14 Oct 2026Runtime not publishedPhase 6
A series centred on Vision, due on Disney+ in October 2026.
Release date 14 October 2026 (Wikipedia, cross-checked with TVmaze). Episode runtimes are not published yet, so it is not counted in totals.
Story placement is our call: Upcoming. Placed after the latest released titles until Disney+ adds it to its timeline.
66
UpcomingEssential
FilmDue 18 Dec 2026Runtime not publishedPhase 6
The fifth Avengers film, due in cinemas in December 2026.
Why essential: An Avengers film.
Release date 18 December 2026 (Wikipedia, cross-checked with Wikidata). Reported as about 165 minutes ahead of release (The Hollywood Reporter, cited by Wikipedia). Not final, so it is not counted in totals.
Story placement is our call: Upcoming. Placed at the end until Disney+ adds it to its timeline.
67
UpcomingEssential
FilmDue 17 Dec 2027Runtime not publishedPhase 6
The sixth Avengers film, planned to close the Multiverse Saga.
Why essential: An Avengers film.
Release date 17 December 2027 (Wikipedia, cross-checked with Wikidata). No runtime has been published yet, so it is not counted in totals.
Story placement is our call: Upcoming. Placed at the end until Disney+ adds it to its timeline.
No titles match these filters. Untick "Essentials only" or show films and series.
How to use this planner
Tick each title when you finish it. The counts and the time left update at once, and the ticks stay in this browser for next time. Switch to story order to follow events from the Second World War onward, starting with Eyes of Wakanda in Disney+'s list. Use the filters to drop the series or keep only the essentials.
Release order or story order?
Release order is the safer first watch. Several films hold back a reveal that a later film, set earlier, assumes you already know. Story order suits a rewatch, when the surprises no longer matter. Our release order vs story order guide goes through the trade-offs.
The essentials route
The essentials filter keeps 20 released titles, about 47 hours. It is built for one goal: arriving at the next Avengers film knowing who everyone is. Every essential title shows its reason, so you can add back anything you are curious about.
What is coming next
The next title on the list is VisionQuest (14 October 2026). Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled for 18 December 2026. Upcoming titles appear in the list with their date and are left out of the totals until they are released and have a confirmed runtime. See what to watch before Avengers: Doomsday for a shorter route.
How this list was made
What is included. All Marvel Studios films, plus the Marvel Studios series, seasons and specials released on Disney+. The older Netflix and ABC series are on the Disney+ timeline but are not included here yet.
Release order uses each title's first US release (theatrical for films, premiere on Disney+ for series). Story order: Story order follows the Marvel timeline order published on Disney+, as transcribed on Wikipedia's "Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline" article. Titles Disney+ does not list are placed by us and labelled.
Essential. Essential means one of these: an Avengers film; a title that introduces a lead or main villain of the next Avengers film; a title whose ending leads straight into an Avengers film; or a title that introduces a team or world named in the next Avengers film's published premise. Each essential title says which.
Runtimes. Films use the theatrical running time. Series add up each episode's runtime as listed by TVmaze. Upcoming titles have no confirmed runtime and are left out of every total.
Where our two sources disagree, we use the figure from the title's Wikipedia article (it cites the classification board or the studio) and list both here:
The Avengers: runtime: Wikipedia 143 min, Wikidata 142 min
Guardians of the Galaxy: runtime: Wikipedia 122 min, Wikidata 121 min
Black Panther: release date: Wikipedia 2018-02-16, Wikidata 2018-02-15
Black Widow: runtime: Wikipedia 134 min, Wikidata 133 min
Thunderbolts*: runtime: Wikipedia 127 min, Wikidata 126 min
Facts checked 12 October 2026. Upcoming and new labels follow today's date in your browser.
Questions people ask
How many Marvel movies are there?
38 Marvel Studios films have been released, from Iron Man in 2008 to Spider-Man: Brand New Day (31 July 2026). Two more Avengers films are scheduled: Avengers: Doomsday (18 December 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (17 December 2027).
How long does it take to watch every Marvel movie?
The 38 released films run 83 hours in total, using each film's theatrical running time. Adding every Disney+ series season and special brings it to about 185 hours. The marathon calculator turns that into a finish date at your own pace.
What is the first Marvel movie to watch?
In release order, Iron Man (2008). In the Disney+ story order, the list opens with the animated Eyes of Wakanda, whose stories reach far back in history, followed by Captain America: The First Avenger, set mostly during the Second World War.
Where does the story order come from?
From the timeline order Disney+ publishes for its Marvel titles, as recorded on Wikipedia. A few titles are not on that timeline, such as Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day and anything not yet released. We place those ourselves and label each one with the reason.
Is Spider-Man: Brand New Day on Disney+?
It is not part of the Disney+ timeline order, because Sony distributes the live-action Spider-Man films. We list it by its US release date and place it in story order after the latest titles on the Disney+ timeline.
Why are some titles marked upcoming?
Their release date is after today's date. They stay in the list so you can plan, but they cannot be ticked and are not counted in the totals until they are out.