All Photos Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Yesterday, my friend text me and said, “I just got Disney+. I can watch all the Marvels now, right?”
Yes and no.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe currently contains 23 films. Three of those films (The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman: Homecoming, and Spiderman: Far From Home) have their rights owned by studios that are not Marvel. Universal owns the rights to The Incredible Hulk and Sony has the rights for the Tom Holland Spiderman flicks. Since neither Sony nor Universal is owned by Disney, we probably won’t be getting those on Disney+ anytime soon. A major bummer for fans who wanted the complete collection of films in one place.
I text my friend back with a shorter, less nerdy version of this response. Almost immediately my phone dinged.
“Ok, so the ones I can watch on Disney+, what order should I go in?”
Oh girl, that’s a loaded question. Do you want to go in order they were released? Chronological order in which they take place? Or in order of my favorites?
She wanted Chronological Order, which adds up. Dive into one of the great cinematic achievements of our time in the way it was meant to be seen: as one continuous story. In case you’re looking for some binge options this holiday season, I thought I’d drop that list below, along with a few other helpful tidbits for your viewing pleasure.
Captain America: The First Avenger
- Takes Place: During WWII. He’s called the first Avenger for a reason!
- Run Time: 2 hr, 4 min
- Streaming: Prime, Disney+
- My Favorite Part: Peggy Carter. Getting things done.
- Takes Place: 1995. Significantly post Captain America: The First Avenger, significantly before all the other Avenger shenanigans.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 5 min
- Streaming: Disney+
- My Favorite Part: Goose. Goose needs his own movie in Phase 4.
Iron Man
- Takes Place: 2010.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 6 min
- Streaming: Disney+,
- My Favorite Part: Okay, not actually IN the first movie until the end credits, but the trailer where Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” is playing when Tony is in the suit is such an iconic moment.
Iron Man 2
- Takes Place:After Iron Man.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 4 min
- Streaming: Prime, Disney+, Hulu
- My Favorite Part: Welcome to the MCU, Natasha Romanoff. We are delighted to have you and your scissor kicks.
The Incredible Hulk
- Takes Place: Unspecified, but definitely pre-Avengers.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 15 min
- Streaming: Not at present.
- My Favorite Part: Who would have thought Thunderbolt Ross would be such an enduring character in the MCU?
Thor
- Takes Place: Unspecified, pre-Avengers.
- Run Time: 1 hr, 55 min
- Streaming: Prime, Disney+
- My Favorite Part: Thor throwing his drink on the ground and demanding another will never get old for me.
The Avengers
- Takes Place: 2012
- Run Time: 2 hr, 23 min
- Streaming: Prime, Disney+
- My Favorite Part: Oh gosh, I love this whole movie. Coulson and his Captain America cards. “Puny god.” The whole scene in Germany with Loki and Captain America. Loki! Natasha’s interrogation scene in the beginning. The power shot in the Battle for New York. So hard to pick just one.
Iron Man 3
- Takes Place: Six months after The Avengers.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 11 min
- Streaming: Disney+,
- My Favorite Part: Tony Stark and a kid build robot suits! This was the buddy film we needed. Forget all the evil take over the world stuff. Just a dude, his robot suit, and a very smart kid.
Thor: Dark World
- Takes Place: Post Avengers, Pre Ultron
- Streaming: Disney+
- Run Time: 1 hr, 52 min
- My Favorite Part: The Captain America cameo. Also, Jane’s terrible date.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Takes Place: Post Avengers, Pre Ultron.
- Run Time: 2h, 16 min
- Streaming: Disney+
- My Favorite Part: “On your left!” The elevator fight. Friendship that survives decades and trauma and Nazis. I love this one so hard.
Guardians of the Galaxy
- Takes Place: 2014
- Run Time: 2 hr, 5 min
- Streaming: Disney+,
- My Favorite Part: Starlord’s dance with the rats. The prison scene. Groot!!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
- Takes Place: After Guardians 1.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 18 min
- Streaming, Disney+,
- My Favorite Part: Opening fight/dance scene, anything Baby Groot, Gamora & Quill, “I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!” I love this one, too.
Avengers: The Age of Ultron
- Takes Place: 2015
- Run Time: 2 hr, 22 min
- Streaming: Disney+
- My Favorite Part: The party scene with Thor’s hammer! Captain America’s hallucination. All the easter eggs planted for the next few movies, like Banner having a hard time pronouncing Wakanda. Just wait, Hulk. Just wait.
Antman
- Takes Place: 2015
- Run Time: 1 hr, 58 min
- Streaming: Disney+
- My Favorite Part: Paul Rudd. Paul Rudd is everything as Scott Lang. Also, Antony.
Captain America: Civil War
- Takes Place: 2015
- Run Time: 2 hr, 28 min
- Streaming: Disney +
- My Favorite Part: The airport fight scene! The Iron Man/Winter Solider/Captain America fight! Black Panther talking to Zemo at the end. Ugh, I love this one too.
Spiderman: Homecoming
- Takes Place: 2015
- Run Time: 2 hr, 13 min
- Streaming: Not at present.
- My Favorite Part: Love Tom Holland as Peter Parker. Blitzkrieg Bop scene. Aunt Mae is a queen. The Aaron Davis easter egg. That final scene!!
Dr. Strange
- Takes Place: 2016
- Run Time: 1 hr, 55 min
- Streaming: Disney +
- My Favorite Part: The Cloak of Levitation! The post credits scene with a certain other Avenger.
- Takes Place: 2017
- Run Time: 2 hr, 15 min
- Streaming: Netflix, coming to Disney + March 2020.
- My Favorite Part: The M’Baku of it all. Killmonger’s introduction scene. The casino scene. Anything Shuri. Anything Kalue. Wakanda Forever. This is one of my faves.
Thor: Ragnarok
- Takes Place: Post Ultron, pre-Infiinty War.
- Run Time: 1 hr, 58 min
- Streaming: Disney+
- My Favorite Part: A sheer delight. The opening scene with Thor and the fire demon. Thor and Loki take NY, “sorry to hear Jane dumped you!”, the play Thor watches in Asgard, anything Korg.
The Avengers: Infinity War
- Takes Place: 2017
- Run Time: 2 hr, 40 min
- Streaming: Netflix, coming to Disney + June 2020.
- My Favorite Part: The New York fight with Dr. Strange, Iron Man, and Spiderman. Thor and the Guardians. Teen Groot’s character arc. The Battle in Wakanda. “And get this man a shield.”
Antman and the Wasp
- Takes Place: Kind of simultaneous to events in Infinity War, so 2017.
- Run Time: 2 hr, 5 min
- Streaming: Netflix, coming to Disney + July 2020
- My Favorite Part: The obstacle course Scott builds for Cassie. The decoy. The re-enactment of Luis’s story. The Wasp’s fight on/with the knife.
- Takes Place: 2017
- Run Time: 3 hr, 2 min
- Streaming: Disney +
- My Favorite Part: Everything. This movie is perfect. I said what I said.
Spiderman: Far From Home
- Takes Place: Post Endgame
- Run Time: 2 hr, 9 min
- Streaming: Not at present.
- My Favorite Part: The whole theme: do superheroes get a vacation? MJ is great. Betty is great. Ned is great. May is great. Peter is GREAT. It’s just a fun movie full of people you root for.
Phewf! We did it!
TBH, there are a billion ways you could watch these. Watch them in order of box office earnings. Watching them in clumps via trilogy: all the Captain Americas, then all the Iron Mans, etc. You could get really crazy and watch them in the order they were released. Or get even crazier and watch them in the order you love them. (This is how I do it, because all my favorites fall into Phases 2 & 3.)
Whatever way you watch them, be sure to keep room in your Marvel loving heart for the upcoming films in Phase 4:
- Black Widow (2020)
- The Eternals (2020)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2021)
- Spiderman Sequel (2021)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2021)
- Black Panther 2 (2022)
How do you watch your Marvel films? Do you own them all? Stream? Which one if your favorite? Let’s geek out together in the comments.
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!