Disney+ France now allows you to watch 26 films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is a lot. In what order should you look at them? We help you see things more clearly, knowing that several options are possible.
Disney+ has been available in France for several years. Disney’s SVOD platform, a competitor to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, has a big argument to make to prevail over its already established rivals. The multinational has many flagship licenses, notably those of Marvel superheroes (with a few exceptions, such as Spider-Man). However, due to media chronology, the films that constitute what is called the Marvel Cinematic Universe are not all available for streaming in France.
Today, there are 26 that can be viewed over and over again on Disney+. To benefit from the complete film (to date, since other films are planned), the multinational will have to respect the media chronology (17 months between theatrical release and broadcast on an SVOD platform, compared to 36 previously) and renegotiates certain agreements made well before its merger with Marvel (agreements which, for example, deprived the MCU of the X-Men for a long time).
Perhaps you will discover the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to Disney+. If this is the case, it is necessary to respect a chronology to fully understand the many issues spread over a long period (from 2008 to 2023 with regard to the Disney+ sample). To help you see more clearly and not lose the common thread, we offer three timelines: that of the cinema, that of the events and a last one which goes to the essentials.
Note that Disney+ broadcasts other Marvel films, those produced by Fox. These blockbusters are not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if certain characters can appear thanks to the concept of the multiverse.
How to stream Marvel movies?
Disney+ is the best SVOD platform for watching Marvel films, since the license is held by the multinational. There are also series there, as well as other strong brands (Star Wars, Pixar, etc.).
What is the first Marvel movie to watch?
From a purely chronological perspective (we’ll come back to that), it makes sense to start a Marvel marathon with Captain America: First Avenger — a film released in 2011. Actor Chris Evans plays the eponymous superhero, in an adventure that takes place during the Second World War. No other film goes back this far in time.
What is the order of the Avengers films?
Four Avengers films have been released to date :
- Avengers (2012)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Two others are already planned by Disney and Marvel for the long term :
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
- Avengers: Secret Wars (2027)
What is the order of Marvel films on Disney+?
The chronology of cinema releases
The simplest order in which to watch Marvel movies is by release schedule. For those who don’t want to take the hassle, simply follow the broadcast schedule in cinemas and respect the phases. The chronology of events will not be respected but, at least, you will discover the Marvel Cinematic Universe like those who rushed into the cinemas every day D. It’s an easy solution, which does not mean that it’s a bad idea.
Here is the order of releases in theaters (as of November 1, 2024) :
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America : First Avenger (2011)
- Avengers (2012)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America : Civil War (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Black Widow (2021)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- Ant-Man and the Guèpe: Quantumania (2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023)
The real timeline
Contrary to what we might believe, Marvel has not always respected the chronology of the story. If the four Avengers films follow one another, the feature films developed between them have a much more disjointed timeline. The best example is undoubtedly Captain America: First Avenger. Since it takes place during the Second World War, it constitutes, in fact, the first stone laid. However, in the release calendar, it is the fifth feature film offered to spectators.
The MCU’s convoluted timeline has even created some anomalies, such as the mention of the character Stephen Strange in Captain America: The Winter Soldier or the blur of time surrounding Spider-Man: Homecoming (how can it take place eight years later Avengers and before Avengers: Infinity War and Infinity War takes place six years later Avengers ?). Fortunately, the book entitled Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years specifies the chronology of the different events, which allows each film to be better placed in a logical order. To put it simply, the idea is first to follow the Tesseract – one of the artifacts coveted by Thanos, the big bad – then the creation of the Avengers and the discovery of the other power stones until the final confrontation. They are the glue that constitutes the glue of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and which bind the films – but not all – together.
After the defeat of Thanos, a new chapter opens, centered around the Multiverse, before the arrival of the future big bad: Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr.
Here is the real chronology when we rely on events (as of November 1st) :
- Captain America : First Avenger (2011) – Start of The Infinity Saga
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Avengers (2012)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America : Civil War (2016)
- Black Widow (2021)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) – End of The Infinity Saga
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) – Start of the Multiverse Saga
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- Ant-Man and the Guèpe: Quantumania (2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023)
As this list shows, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is to watch directly after Guardians of the Galaxyeven though it was released much later and several films separated them.
The ‘I don’t have time’ timeline
Do you have to see all the films to appreciate and understand the contours of the MCU? No. Of Iron Man (2008) to Avengers: Endgame (2019), the films are far from all being essential. If you just want to follow the main plot, there’s no need to watch everything.
Here is the chronology of essentials for the MCU (as of November 1, 2024) :
- Captain America : First Avenger (2011)
- Thor (2011)
- Avengers (2012)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Captain America : Civil War (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
From the Multiverse chapter onwards, things get complicated because everything is not yet available, and there are series to take into account.
Source: www.numerama.com
