“Trying to navigate the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe can be a daunting task for even the most dedicated fans. If you want the definitive way to watch every movie and series, you need the MCU timeline in chronological order. As of 2026, with the arrival of the Multiverse Saga’s climax, keeping track of the history has never been more vital. Our guide breaks down the entire journey from the 1940s to the present day.”
Full List: The MCU Timeline in Chronological Order (2026 Update)
Phase 1: Starting the MCU Timeline in Chronological Order
1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Agent Carter Season 1 *4
3. Agent Carter Season 2 *4
4. Agent Carter One-Shot
6. Iron Man
7. Iron Man 2
9. The Consultant One-Shot
10. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer One-Shot
11. Thor
12. The Avengers (aka Avengers Assemble)
13. Item 47 One-Shot
Phase 2
14. Iron Man 3
15. All Hail the King One-Shot
16. Agents of SHIELD Season 1, Episodes 1-7 *1
18. Agents of SHIELD Season 1, Episodes 8-16 *1
19. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
20. Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Episodes 17-22 *1
21. Guardians of the Galaxy
22. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
23. Daredevil Season 1 *3
24. Agents of SHIELD Season 2, Episodes 1-10 *1
25. Jessica Jones Season 1*3
26. Agents of SHIELD Season 2, Episodes 11-19 *1
27. Avengers: Age of Ultron
28. Agents of SHIELD Season 2, Episodes 20-22 *1
29. Daredevil Season 2, Episodes 1-4 *3
30. Luke Cage Season 1, Episodes 1-4 *3
31. Daredevil Season 2, Episodes 5-11 *3
32. Luke Cage Season 1, Episodes 5-8 *3
33. Daredevil Season 2, Episodes 12-13 *3
34. Luke Cage Season 1, Episodes 9-13 *3
35. Ant-Man
36. Agents of SHIELD (season 3, eps 1-10) *1
37. Agents of SHIELD (season 3, eps 11-19) *1
38. Iron Fist Season 1 *3
Watching Phase 2 this way really helps the MCU timeline in chronological order feel more cohesive.
Phase 3
39. Captain America: Civil War
40. Black Widow
41. Agents of SHIELD (season 3, eps 20-22) *1
42. The Defenders *3
43. Agents of SHIELD (season 4, eps 1-6) *1
44. Doctor Strange
45. Black Panther
46. Agents of SHIELD (season 4, eps 7-8) *1
47. Agents of SHIELD: Slingshot (season 1, eps 1-6) *1
48. Agents of SHIELD (season 4, eps 9-22) *1
50. Thor: Ragnarok
51. Inhumans *5
52. The Punisher *3
53. Runaways *6
54. Agents of SHIELD (season 5, eps 1-10) *1
55. Jessica Jones Season 2 *3
56. Agents of SHIELD (season 5, eps 11-18) *1
57. Cloak & Dagger Season 1 *7
58. Cloak & Dagger Season 2 *7
59. Luke Cage Season 2 *3
60. Iron Fist Season 2 *3
61. Daredevil Season 3 *3
62. Runaways Season 2 *6
63. The Punisher Season 2 *3
64. Jessica Jones Season 3 *3
65. Ant-Man and the Wasp *8
66. Avengers: Infinity War
67. Agents of SHIELD (season 5, eps 19-22) *1
68. Agents of SHIELD (season 6) *1 *2
69. Agents of SHIELD (season 7) *1 *2
70. Runaways Season 3 *2 *6
Phase 4: The Multiverse Saga Begins
Following the events of Endgame, the MCU timeline in chronological order becomes slightly more complex as it branches into the Multiverse.
Loki Season 1 & 2: Technically takes place outside of time, but best viewed immediately after Endgame. *9
What If…? Season 1-3: Multiversal stories branching from the end of Loki. *10
WandaVision: Set 3 weeks after the Blip (2023).
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: 6 months after the Blip (2024).
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Set in early 2024.
Eternals: Set in late 2024, concurrent with Spider-Man: Far From Home. *11
Spider-Man: Far From Home: Summer 2024.
Spider-Man: No Way Home: Starts in Summer 2024 and ends in December 2024.
Hawkeye: Christmas 2024.
Moon Knight: Set in early 2025.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Set in 2025, following No Way Home.
Ms. Marvel: Set in Autumn 2025.
Thor: Love and Thunder: Set in late 2025.
Werewolf by Night: Late 2025.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Set in late 2025.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: December 2025.
Phase 5: Variance in the MCU Timeline in Chronological Order
Phase 5 expands the corporate and cosmic stakes of the MCU timeline in chronological order, leading directly into the events of 2026.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: Set in early 2026.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Set in 2026, following the Holiday Special.
Secret Invasion: Set in 2026, dealing with the fallout of the Skrull infiltration.
Echo: Occurs in early 2026, five months after Hawkeye.
The Marvels: Set in late 2026, following the events of Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion.
Deadpool & Wolverine: While largely “outside of time” in the Void, its impact on the MCU timeline in chronological order is felt in late 2026.
Agatha All Along: Set in late 2026, following the release of the Scarlet Witch’s spell.
Captain America: Brave New World: Set in early 2027 (released Feb 2025), dealing with President Ross and the new world order.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1: Set in early 2027 (released March 2025).
Thunderbolts:* Set in mid-2027 (released May 2025), following the team-up of the MCU’s anti-heroes.
Phase 6: The Road to Doomsday (Present 2026 Updates)
As of February 28, 2026, the MCU timeline in chronological order has entered the highly anticipated Phase 6.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps: (Released July 2025). While the film is set in a retro-futuristic 1964, the “First Family” is officially integrated into the main MCU timeline in chronological order by the end of the film.
Wonder Man: (Released January 2026). Set in the present day (2027-2028 in-universe), this series explores the Hollywood side of the superhero world.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2: (Current February 2026 Release). Picking up immediately after the first season, this continues the street-level conflict in New York.
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The Avengers & Cosmic Icons
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The Heroes of 2025 & 2026
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The Villains Corner
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Timeline Discrepancies in the MCU Chronological Order
Agents Of Shield
*1 – Whether or not Agents Of Shield is actually still considered official MCU canon is up for debate. Although the show featured appearances by Nick Fury and Agent Coulson, it also messed with time travel and dimension jumping. According to one of the authors of; The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is no longer considered canon. That said, it was technically considered canon at one point in time, which is why I chose to include it on the list.
During The Blip
*2 – Astonishingly, these are the only three pieces of live action media that we have gotten that take place during The Blip besides the first two acts of Endgame! What is even more crazy is that although Season 3 of Runaways takes place during this significant period in the MCU, it makes almost no mention of the major event that just changed the world.
Marvel/Netflix Shows
*3 – Part of the Netflix Marvel Universe, which like Agents Of Shield, may no longer be official MCU canon. When Disney+ was launched, it was said that any Marvel shows released before then were now not canon. However, Kevin Feige did recently reveal that Charlie Cox will be the MCU’s version of Daredevil in any future projects. This along with the hints towards Kingpin in Hawkeye give more credence to the idea of the Netflix Marvel shows being canon within the MCU. While these shows are street-level, they still hold a specific spot in the MCU timeline in chronological order.
Agent Carter
*4 – Thankfully, this one is a little more clear-cut. Agent Carter is officially considered to be MCU canon according to The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Inhumans
*5 – Technically speaking, The Inhumans was a spin-off from Agents of Shield. Therefore, if AoS is no longer considered official MCU canon, then neither is Inhumans. It was also a complete piece of garbage, so I don’t imagine that anyone out there will be campaigning to include it within the MCU. That said, like AoS it was bizarrely considered canon at one point in time, which is why it is on this list.
Runaways
*6 – The Darkhold’s first live action appearance was in Agents of Shield and it was later shown in Runaways. However, in Wandavision, Agatha Harkness was revealed to be in possession of The Darkhold and had been for centuries. Therefore rendering the events Runaways as non-canon. It is included on this list though as it was considered canon at one point in time.
Cloak & Dagger
*7 – According to the IMDB trivia section for Cloak & Dagger, the show is no longer considered canon to the MCU. Although it was considered canon at one time, hence its inclusion on this list.
Ant-Man & The Wasp
*8 – Although the main part of Ant-Man and The Wasp takes place before Infinity War, the post credits scene takes place concurrently with Infinity War’s finale.
Loki
*9 – Loki could technically be put directly after the first Avengers movie, as it is that version of Loki who we follow in the show. However, if a newcomer is using this list to make their way through the MCU for the first time, they would be better served watching Loki after Endgame.
What If?
*10 – Although the lead writer on What If, AC Bradley, stated that the show is canon, taking place within the multiverse unleashed at the end of Loki, I would argue that. The whole point of What If was that it ponders what could have happened to the characters in this universe, had things panned out differently. To call it canon sort of goes against the point of the show in my opinion. That said, I do not work for Marvel, so you can make up your own minds with this one.
Eternals
*11 – Eternals spans millions of years through the use of flashbacks, however the main plot elements take place after Shang-Chi.
So, there you have it. A complete list of the MCU timeline in chronological order. I hope that you enjoyed that and just maybe the list will come in handy to you one day. Honestly, one of the biggest discoveries that I made whilst researching this piece, was the bombshell that Runaways got three seasons. How the hell did that happen?
My head hurts now, so I am going to go and lie down in a dark room. If you feel the need to leave a comment below telling me that I missed out Helstrom then please, knock yourself out. I do not care.
Check back regularly as we continue to update the MCU timeline in chronological order with every new Disney+ release.
Bring the Theater Home: 👉 [Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – 4K Ultra HD Box Set]
Read the Source Material: 👉 [The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline (Hardcover)]
The Next Chapter: 👉 [Captain America: Brave New World Official Merchandise]
