MCU Infinity Saga Watch Order (2008-2019)

Starting in 2008, Marvel Studios released a series of connected films known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While you could treat these as a set of films, I see them as more like a TV series, where you need to watch the previous episodes if you want to understand the current ones. The most connected and powerful story here is the Infinity Saga, released across 22 films from 2008 to 2019, culminating with Avengers: Endgame. While the MCU continued beyond this point, it is far less connected and story-driven, so this watch order will focus solely on the Infinity Saga. Minor spoilers for the Infinity Saga.

Quality:★★★★☆ Cohesion:★★★★★ Accessiblity:★★★★★

1. Iron Man (2008)
2. Iron Man 2 (2010)
• There is no reason not to watch these two movies back to back as they are direct sequels and help set up Fury's involvement in the next films.
3. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
• Tony Stark makes a brief appearance in a post-credits scene.
4. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
5. Thor (2011)
• Erik Selvig references the Hulk in Thor. While Thor and Captain America could theoretically be watched in any order, I like Thor second so it's right before Avengers.
6. The Avengers (2012)
7. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
• Thor, Avengers, and Dark World make a loose Loki trilogy.
8. Iron Man 3 (2013)
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
10. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
• Winter Soldier leads right into Age of Ultron with the Avengers hunting down the remnants of Hydra.
11. Ant-Man (2015)
• Ant-Man only really works between Ultron and Civil War because Falcon is in the Avengers.
12. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
13. Black Panther (2018)
14. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Black Panther and Homecoming both explore new Civil War characters, so can go here. Black Panther is first because it solves loose Bucky thread and is a more direct sequel.
15. Doctor Strange (2016)
16. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
17. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
• Both Guardians movies can go together for a more complete story, and Doctor Strange and Guardians both give Infinity Stone explanations.
18. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
19. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
• Ragnarok leads right into Infinity War. All the movies before this point should be watched before Infinity War.
20. Captain Marvel (2019)
• Despite taking place in the 1990s, it fits better here as you see who Fury called in Infinity War and Captain Marvel doesn't show up until Endgame.
21. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
22. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
• AM&W leads pretty much right into Endgame, which is the ultimate climax to the Infinity Saga.