You’ve probably seen most of Marvel’s films, but what about the TV shows? Timelines in the world of comics and movies can be more than a little confusing. And now, as we approach the culmination of more than a decade of movies and Phase 3 of the newly named Infinity Saga, things may very well become even more confusing.
Will Marvel Studios ever slow down? (Should it?)
Marvel
After more than a decade of movies, TV shows, shorts, and post-credits scenes, there’s a lot to work through in the MCU.
Editors’ note, 2019: We’re in the Endgame now. Check out our review, sister site GameSpot’s and more, and keep scrolling for more on the state of the MCU. Previously, March 2019: It’s finally happened, we’ve redesigned the *entire timeline.* Please continue to sound off in the comments about how great or terrible it is! And if you’re looking to stream some MCU movies, we can help. Think you’ve found a mistake? Let us know in the comments.
So to either help you fill in the gaps before Endgame, to just watch all the shows for fun, or even merely try to impress your friends, we’ve created a timeline of what Marvel President Kevin Feige has now dubbed The Infinity Saga in the perfect viewing order. Or maybe you just care about where Captain Marvel fits in (hint: it’s not where you think!).
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the entire franchise is called, also sometimes includes connected properties such as movie tie-in comics or shorts. For the graphic, we’ve left out smaller properties and stuck to the big two of films and shows, but there are more goodies below.
Sean Enzwiler/CNET
OK, now before you lash out in anger about some of the, ahem, more recent films’ placement, please keep two super, mega, major things in mind.
MCU postcredits scenes do not matter
Seriously, the mid- and postcredits scenes are nothing more than fun throwaways, or in-canon nods for fervent fans. Even Marvel itself has quite literally rewritten older scenes with new movies. Assuming Feige and other heads of Marvel Studios thought about the next 10, 20 or even 30 years of MCU films right from the start is a bit presumptuous and completely ignores the fun some directors have said they had with these scenes.
It’s madness to think that these films should only be watched or experienced in a single way. Do I believe this is the best way to watch the franchise, yes. Will I someday introduce friends and family using this CNET Method? OF COURSE. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
My colleague Sean Keane has graciously ranked all of the MCU postcredits scenes for you (but if it would be helpful, maybe we can also develop a timeline of which to watch and when). I can’t say it enough times for first-time viewers: Ignore all the postcredits scenes (just watch the fun ones your friends tell you to). Especially when watching in this order, do not watch the Ant-Man and the Wasp credit scenes or you will be very confused.
And as for your next big question…
Marvel Studios, composite by Chelsea Shi/CNET
Captain Marvel does not belong in chronological order
No really, hear me out!
Captain Marvel is the first true origin story (as in, she wasn’t seen in a Marvel movie previously) since 2016’s Doctor Strange, but the film also gives fans a new look at Agents Nick Fury and Phil Coulson, as well as the Tesseract. If you were following a chronological watch order for your first viewing ever of these MCU films, you’d have So Many Questions watching the movie right after Captain America’s first outing.
In the film, Vers takes years to discover her true identity, and by waiting to watch her story with the context and nuance of 18 prior films you give yourself a treat. It’s more fun to bask in the fun of numerous in-jokes, “A-ha!” moments and Fury backstory you most likely wouldn’t have cared about 17 movies ago.
In this order, Captain Marvel is the treat you get before the Infinity War-prequel that is Thor: Ragnarok.
Despite what order you end up experiencing these movies in, you should save yourself a few hours and definitely still note that The Incredible Hulk is indeed still skippable and even William Hurt (“Thunderbolt” Ross himself) admitted it. Speaking to IGN in 2015, Hurt said that “[Ross in Civil War] is different because it’s a different style… And what they’ve done is they’ve taken a character who was the Ross from the older film and made a new version. This is a much newer Ross. A much different Ross.” After watching both, we can confirm this is indeed the case.
You’ll also notice that shorts and the Marvel One-Shots are missing from the graphic. These brief videos were initially created as standalone stories to provide backstory for characters or things seen in the movies, with two of them later becoming full-fledged shows.
Marvel One-Shots
| Title, release date | Takes place… |
|---|---|
| The Consultant (Sept. 2011) | At the end of Iron Man 2 |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (Oct. 2011) | Directly before Thor |
| Item 47 (Sept. 2012) | Immediately following the Battle of New York in Avengers |
| Agent Carter (Aug. 2013) | One year after Captain America: The First Avenger; before Agent Carter |
| All Hail the King (Feb. 2014) | Roughly two years after Iron Man 3; before Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. |
Marvel Webisodes
More continuity in the MCU
There’s definitely some continuity strangeness when you have both movies and television show properties, and those listed on the graphic are no exception.
Season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. saw the release of two Marvel movies and had to contend with incorporating those plots. Airing after the release of Thor: The Dark World, episode 8 of S.H.I.E.L.D. definitely takes place directly after those events.
Doctor Strange definitely does not take place before Winter Soldier, absolutely not.
Marvel
Later in that season, episode 16 aired the same weekend as the release of Captain America: Winter Soldier and, in a neat bit of continuity, the events portrayed on S.H.I.E.L.D. take place at almost the same time as the film. (Some people say episode 16 comes before Winter Soldier, and you can certainly treat it as such. The *absolute* best way to watch them would be simultaneously, but I have yet to see anyone make that fan edit.)
Netflix’s Daredevil and Jessica Jones also have wibbly-wobbly timelines. Early in the series, the Battle of New York is referenced to as The Incident, and it’s said that it occurred about two years prior. But because of the show’s lack of interaction with any big-screen Marvel characters, it could take place almost anywhere on the timeline between Thor: A Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron. In our timeline, we placed it concurrent with the second season of S.H.I.E.L.D. so as to stay closer to the time it was actually released.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is higher up than you may have expected — that’s because of the number of years the film says have passed, meaning it takes place just a few months after the first film.
Some say that Doctor Strange should come before Winter Soldier, because of a certain rooftop scene. A rabbit hole one IGN editor has already gone done and debunked. So Strange stays where it is. (But with time manipulation up for grabs now, who really knows??)
A frequent question about the timeline is why Captain America: TFA is first. This is all just my opinion, but I think watching Steve Rogers grow up first, followed by seeing Agent Carter’s story, is a great way to begin an MCU foray. There’s a case to be made that he is the most important Avenger, and whether you agree with that or not, it’s worth it to jump in with him first.
As for the second most-asked question: No, Iron Man 2 shouldn’t come before Incredible Hulk because of the short, The Consultant. That short was released much later on the Thor DVD in an attempt to simply backfill the storyline. I’m 100 percent going to say that if anything should move, it’s the timing of when you watch that short — maybe put it after Iron Man 2 instead and that will help. Yeah, I’m going to make that change on the one-shot list, that should help.
Beyond the Infinity Saga
Years ago, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told me diversity is very important to Marvel: “You look at any of our films and they’ve been very diverse,” he said. “We feel like we’re just doing justice to the books by representing that fully.”
After Black Panther and Captain Marvel‘s performances at the box office, all bets are off for the future of the MCU. Their record-breaking, record-setting origin stories broke all the superhero story rules — and here’s hoping Marvel continues to do so.
Looking ahead past Endgame, the only film we know is for sure coming is this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. We do, however, have a whole mess of “confirmed” films, according to Deadline, THR and more. In-production and rumored upcoming films for the next Phase/Saga of MCU include:
Marvel on Netflix, and the Disney Plus future
Netflix’s Marvel shows still rule outside the theaters. ABC attempted to jump back into the game with Inhumans but poor ratings mean any whisper of a second season is thankfully absent. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a new season set to premiere after Endgame, but no teaser or word yet on how it’ll deal with… lots of deaths (spoilers).
New Marvel shows are now pretty consistently popping up, but only some are within the MCU canon. Cloak and Dagger’s second season begins in May on Freeform, while Marvel’s New Warriors is theoretically still floating around somewhere? In Nov. 2017, THR revealed the show was being shopped to networks, but no word yet on where it’ll end up (maybe Disney Plus?).
We recently learned Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu will return for a third season, but the same cannot be said for the Marvel-Netflix properties. Despite critical acclaim for some of the shows, all of the Netflix originals have been canceled.
Will they ever return? Never say never, but chances seem slim. Instead, hope for a new reincarnation of the characters on the upcoming Disney Plus streaming service.
The growth of the Marvel universe is extraordinary (har-har) and as the comics giant introduces new fans to new characters (some people had no idea who Doctor Strange was a couple of years ago) and partners with cable television and Netflix to expand even further, we could see some pretty epic pairings, teams and characters come out of the woodwork.
Which characters would you want to see in Marvel’s not-yet-announced-but-certainly-inevitable next phases on both the small and big screen? Let us know in the comments.
This piece first published in 2015, and is now on its 47th revision (more or less).