The Marvel Cinematic Universe is best known for its interconnected storytelling approach, connecting characters and franchises into one cohesive narrative. At first, the timeline of events was confusing, especially during the first set of movies, but it since became clear after Marvel Studios decided to break it all down in different phases.
Months before the premiere of Avengers: Endgame last year, fans immersed themselves with the complete MCU viewing experience, watching the films based on the appropriate timeline of events to prepare for the culmination of the Infinity Saga. As expected, fans took to social media to address their own MCU viewing order, and there was still confusion regarding which films needed to be watched first.
From that point on, fans took it to themselves to decide their preferred MCU rewatch order, and even The Direct had six unique ways of how to experience the monumental franchise as a whole. And now, a new release from Disney+ finally set the ultimate guide of how the MCU films should be watched in the right manner.
CONFIRMATION
Thanks to a tip from @empireAIC, Disney+ officially revealed the new timeline order for the MCU's Infinity Saga. The viewing order starts off with 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and is capped off by 2019's Avengers: Endgame.
The chronological list of MCU films can be seen below.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain Marvel
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Thor
The Avengers
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 3
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man
Captain America: Civil War
Black Panther
Doctor Strange
Thor: Ragnarok
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Endgame
WHAT THIS MEANS
Given that the MCU is a large collection of interconnected stories, it is important to witness how the story unfolds in chronological manner. This official viewing order from Disney+ will serve as a complete guide to both hardcore and casual fans of the monumental franchise, providing them a chance to refresh their minds about the MCU before the eventual launch of the next chapter in Phase 4.
Based on the official viewing order from Disney+, not much has changed from what fans know about the in-universe timeline of events in the MCU. However, there are clear omissions, such as 2008's The Incredible Hulk and Sony's Spider-Man films, due to the rights issues of the aforementioned characters.
Additionally, it seems appropriate that Thor: The Dark World is placed right after The Avengers since the opening of the film clearly shows the aftermath of Loki's arrest. The placement of the two Guardians of the Galaxy films also confirms that the events that transpired within those movies happened closely with one another. These are perfect examples of how intricate details from the films have a direct effect towards the viewing order of a closely-knit narrative.
Disney+ previously unveiled a GroupWatch feature that lets fans watch different films on the streaming platform together, and fans can definitely maximize that while revisiting previous MCU films.
