This week’s release of The Marvels marks the 33rd film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney has spent over $270M to make this film.
(You read that correctly, two hundred and seventy million dollars.)
Higher. Further. Faster. Together
The follow-up to 2019’s Captain Marvel and continuation of the Disney+ miniseries, Ms. Marvel, follows three main characters: Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan. Their superpowers keep getting switched up due to a wormhole in the matrix, most likely because of the Kree, those blue-skinned humanoids you might have seen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Played by Brie Larson, Carol Danvers — AKA Captain Marvel — is arguably, the most badass female superhero of the entire franchise. She has a long backstory if you dig deep into her print comic past that originated in March of 1968. (However, for purposes of brevity, we’re sticking with the MCU in this post.)
It’s important to note that the young, charismatic Iman Vellani seems to be a rising star in the MCU, having appeared in several different auxiliary projects already. Her character Kamala Khan is a teenage Muslim girl from Jersey City, which is coincidentally across the Hudson from Manhattan, a mainstay Marvel setting. Vellani has even been slated to make her comic-writing debut with a limited series, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant.
So, you could be thinking a number of things now.
- “Disney spent more than $250 million on this?! It should be awesome!”
- “But I haven’t seen Captain Marvel yet! Ms. Marvel is a teenager? I’m already confused.”
- “The 33rd Marvel film? I’ve only seen Avengers: Endgame!”
- “This would be a great superhero movie to take my daughter and her friends to!”
- “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Hollywood.com! Aren’t you going to mention what’s really going on with this film?”
These are all very valid thoughts! We are here to help you out numbers two and three. (For more insight into number five, check this out.)
Last month, Marvel released Marvel Studios’ The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline which should have cleared up any confusion. Running between $19.99 and a little over $31 (depending on if you want the Kindle or the hardback version), you can run through the 344 pages of history, explanations, infographics, and film stills.
OR
You can use the following lists.
There are two different ways to watch — by release date or chronologically by the order in which events have occurred. Expert, purists and bloggers alike seem to have varying opinions so it’s really up to you.
There are “phases” which are broken up into “sagas.” Phase One introduces the superheroes and begins to bring them together. Next, Phase Two goes further in developing these characters but also introduces Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man. Finally, Phase Three introduces more characters and ends the Infinity Saga.
Release Date
Phase One: The Infinity Saga
Iron Man (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Thor (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Marvel’s The First Avengers (2012)
Phase Two
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)
Phase Three
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Phase Four: The Multiverse Saga
Black Widow (2021)
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
Eternals (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2023)
Phase Five
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
The Marvels (2023)
Deadpool 3 (May 3, 2024)
Captain America: Brave New World (July 26, 2024)
Thunderbolts (December 20, 2024)
Blade (February 14, 2025)
** There are three films in Phase Six, slated for releases on the first Friday in May, 2025 through 2027.
Chronological Order
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Thor (2011)
Marvel’s The First Avengers (2012)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Black Widow (2021)
Black Panther (2018)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
Eternals (2021)
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2023)
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
The Marvels (2023)
** There are some TV shows that can be inserted here to help you along with details. You can find that complete list here.
The Marvels will be released THIS Friday, November 10.
