The Marvel Franchise Tracker covers the full recorded history of Marvel on screen — from a 1944 Captain America serial through the current MCU Disney+ slate. That means 2,118 entries in total: 110 films, 1,964 television episodes, and 44 shorts and specials. Watch it all and you're looking at over 1,200 hours of content.
Most viewers arrive with one question: what order should I watch Marvel? The answer depends on whether you're tracking the MCU alone or the full franchise — and whether you're a first-timer or going back for a re-watch.
Marvel Watch Order: Release Order vs Chronological Order
For the MCU — the connected cinematic universe that began with Iron Man in 2008 — there are two main approaches:
- Release order (recommended for first-time viewers): Watch films and Disney+ series in the order they were released. The MCU was built this way. Reveals land as intended, callbacks reward patience, and nothing spoils itself ahead of its moment.
- Chronological order: Watch in the order events occur within the MCU timeline. This works well as a re-watch framework — the in-universe logic becomes clearer, but some films lose their structural payoff when rearranged (especially Captain America: The First Avenger, which functions better as World War II backdrop than as a literal starting point).
This tracker defaults to release order within each MCU Phase. Use the timeline view to see both orderings side by side. For the wider Marvel franchise — animated series, pre-MCU theatrical films, and legacy live-action content — a chronological-by-production-era approach makes the most sense, which is how the groups here are organised.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many Marvel movies are there?
- The Marvel Franchise Tracker includes 110 films across the full franchise — from pre-MCU serials and theatrical releases through the current MCU Phases. The MCU alone (Phase 1 onward) accounts for over 30 theatrical releases. The count rises significantly when you include animated and TV films.
- How long would it take to watch all of Marvel?
- Over 1,200 hours — roughly 50 days of continuous viewing. The MCU theatrical films alone run approximately 50 hours. The Disney+ series add another 100+. The animated back-catalogue accounts for the majority of the total runtime.
- Should I watch Marvel in release order or chronological order?
- Release order is the standard recommendation for a first watch. The MCU was constructed with specific reveals, mid-credits scenes, and callbacks timed to hit in production sequence. Chronological order works well as a re-watch frame — it clarifies the in-universe timeline but disrupts the narrative architecture in places.
- Do I need to watch the Disney+ shows to follow the MCU films?
- It depends on where you are in the slate. Phase 4 and beyond increasingly cross-reference the streaming series in theatrical releases. WandaVision sets up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; Hawkeye feeds into Echo. The tracker's What's Next panel flags when a Disney+ series has meaningful theatrical connections.
- What's the difference between the MCU and the wider Marvel franchise?
- The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is the shared-universe film and television canon produced by Marvel Studios, beginning with Iron Man (2008). The wider Marvel franchise includes decades of animated series, pre-MCU theatrical films (the Fox X-Men and Spider-Man runs, the Blade trilogy), legacy serials, and non-MCU TV content. This tracker covers all of it, organised by production era.