- Guide
- Marvel
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- This guide covers Marvel films and series released through October 2026, including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Disney+ series VisionQuest, which is still airing, and the franchise is ongoing.
Marvel TV Shows and Movies: Every Film and Series Family Explained
Marvel on screen covers 38 MCU films, more than 30 series on five platforms and film families from other studios. The sections below sort them into eras, with counts and years for each and a suggested starting point.
Marvel TV shows and movies explained: a guide to every series and film family
Marvel on screen is not one series. It is a set of overlapping bodies of work made by different studios over more than twenty years, and a newcomer who asks where to begin runs into all of them at once. The core is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, the shared continuity built by Marvel Studios. It began with Iron Man in 2008 and has reached 38 films, with Avengers: Doomsday dated for December 18, 2026. Around that core sit Disney+ series from Marvel Studios, a separate group of shows made earlier by Marvel Television for ABC, Netflix, Hulu and Freeform, and film families from other studios that use Marvel characters, among them the Fox X-Men films and the Spider-Man films from Sony.
The size is the reason a guide to Marvel TV shows and movies needs a different shape from a single-show guide. The table below has one row for each series or film family, not one for each season, and the sections after it walk through the eras in order. Each entry says how long it is, when it came out and what it is for. None of them describes how a story ends, so the guide is safe to read before watching anything.
A few terms help. Marvel Studios sorts the MCU into phases, and groups the phases into two sagas. The Infinity Saga is Phases One to Three, 23 films from 2008 to 2019. The Multiverse Saga began with Phase Four in 2021 and mixes films with Disney+ series, so a viewer who skips the shows will meet gaps in the films. Marvel Studios has also placed Special Presentations, short and self-contained, and animated series on Disney+ alongside the live-action ones.
Where to start depends on how much time there is. The simplest route is release order, beginning with Iron Man (2008, directed by Jon Favreau) and treating the Infinity Saga as a first complete story that ends with Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Anyone who wants less commitment can watch the short list near the end of this guide. The Marvel Television shows and the other-studio films, such as the Netflix series and the Fox X-Men films, are optional in the sense that no MCU film depends on them. Those Marvel TV shows and movies are covered here because readers ask about them constantly.
One more practical point: the series have their own length and tone. Most Netflix seasons run 13 episodes, a Disney+ series is usually six to nine episodes tied to the films, and the animated shows are a different taste again. Mixing them without a plan is how people end up exhausted or lost, so the table gives the counts up front.
Series and film families at a glance
| Series or film family | Count | Years | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinity Saga films (Phases One to Three) | 23 films | 2008-2019 | Iron Man to Spider-Man: Far From Home, the first complete MCU story |
| Multiverse Saga films (Phases Four to Six) | 15 released | 2021-2026 | Black Widow to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Doomsday still to come |
| Disney+ live-action series, 2021-2023 | 8 series, 60 episodes | 2021-2023 | WandaVision to Secret Invasion, tied closely to the films |
| Disney+ live-action series, 2024-2026 | 5 series, 45 episodes | 2024-2026 | Echo to Wonder Man, plus VisionQuest now airing |
| Marvel Studios animation | 5 series | 2021-2026 | What If...?, X-Men '97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and shorter shows |
| Special Presentations | 2 titles | 2022 | Werewolf by Night and the Guardians holiday special |
| Marvel Television on ABC | 3 series, 162 episodes | 2013-2020 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter and Inhumans |
| Marvel Television on Netflix | 6 series, 161 episodes | 2015-2019 | Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders and The Punisher |
| Hulu and Freeform series | 3 series, 63 episodes | 2017-2020 | Runaways, Cloak & Dagger and Helstrom |
| Fox X-Men films | 13 films | 2000-2020 | X-Men to The New Mutants, including the first two Deadpool films |
| Earlier Spider-Man films | 5 films | 2002-2014 | The Raimi trilogy and the two Amazing Spider-Man films |
| Sony's Spider-Man Universe and Spider-Verse | 8 films | 2018-2024 | Venom to Kraven the Hunter, plus two animated Spider-Verse films |
Counts and years follow the film and television lists on Wikipedia, checked October 2026. The Disney+ rows include only series released by that date.
The era-by-era guide
The sections below take each film family and series group in turn, in roughly the order a viewer would meet them. Treat them as a map of what exists, not as a required viewing order.
The Infinity Saga films (23 films, 2008-2019)
The Infinity Saga runs from Iron Man on May 2, 2008, to Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 2, 2019. Phase One has six films, from Iron Man to The Avengers, which Joss Whedon directed in 2012. Phase Two has six more, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, and Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn in the same year. Phase Three has 11, among them Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018), Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2017) and Captain Marvel (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, 2019).
The shape of the saga is a slow build. Individual heroes get their own films, then meet in the team-up films, and the biggest ones, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), both directed by the Russo brothers, pull the threads together. The guide leaves their story to the viewer.
For a newcomer, this is the best-organized stretch of Marvel on screen. Films come out in a clear order, standalone entries still make sense by themselves, and the payoff is large. If the time budget is tight, the short list near the end picks out the entries that carry the most weight.
The Multiverse Saga films (15 films so far, 2021-2026)
The Multiverse Saga starts with Black Widow on July 9, 2021, directed by Cate Shortland. Phase Four has seven films, including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Destin Daniel Cretton), Eternals (Chloé Zhao) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts, December 17, 2021). Phase Five has six, from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in February 2023 through Captain America: Brave New World (Julius Onah) and Thunderbolts* (Jake Schreier), both in 2025. Deadpool & Wolverine, directed by Shawn Levy in 2024, is the entry that brings the Deadpool character into the MCU.
Phase Six has two films out: The Fantastic Four: First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman in July 2025, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Cretton, on July 31, 2026. Avengers: Doomsday, directed by the Russo brothers, is set for December 18, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars for December 17, 2027, the film listed as concluding the saga.
This saga is harder to approach than the first one. Several films build on events from Disney+ series, and the connections are looser, so a viewer who skips the shows may find a film assumes background knowledge. The Multiverse Saga rewards patience, and it works best for a viewer who has already finished the first saga.
Disney+ live-action series (13 series, 2021-2026)
Marvel Studios began making Disney+ series in 2021. The first run is WandaVision (9 episodes), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (6), Loki (two seasons, 12 episodes in all), Hawkeye (6), Moon Knight (6), Ms. Marvel (6), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (9) and Secret Invasion (6, in 2023). That is eight series and 60 episodes, and the early ones carry plots that the next film picks up.
The second run is shorter and more varied: Echo (5 episodes, 2024), Agatha All Along (9, 2024), Daredevil: Born Again (two seasons and 17 episodes in 2025 and 2026), Ironheart (6, 2025) and Wonder Man (8, 2026). Daredevil: Born Again is a follow-up of the Netflix series. Marvel Studios makes it, whereas the Netflix show came from Marvel Television, and it begins several years after the Netflix run ended. A third season of eight episodes is planned for March 2027, and it is the last.
VisionQuest, a follow-up to WandaVision, premiered on October 13, 2026, and runs eight episodes through November 10. Because it is still airing, this guide does not describe it further.
The practical advice is to treat the Disney+ shows as a separate lane. A viewer who only follows the films will meet characters in the later films who first appeared on Disney+, so the Marvel TV shows and movies work best when read in release order. At six to nine episodes each, they are short enough to sample.
Animation and Special Presentations
Marvel Studios Animation has produced What If...? (three seasons, 26 episodes, 2021 to 2024), X-Men '97 (two seasons, 19 episodes, 2024 and 2026), Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (10 episodes, 2025), Eyes of Wakanda (4) and Marvel Zombies (4). What If...? retells MCU events with changes. X-Men '97 is a revival and follow-up of the 1990s series X-Men: The Animated Series, picking up about a year after that show ended.
Two Special Presentations from 2022 are worth knowing. Werewolf by Night, directed by Michael Giacchino, was released on Disney+ on October 7, 2022, and runs 53 minutes. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special came out the same year. Both are self-contained and need almost no background.
X-Men '97 is the animated entry for anyone who wants to try the X-Men characters without going through the Fox films, though its premise draws on the 1990s series.
Marvel Television: ABC, Netflix, Hulu and Freeform
Before Marvel Studios made its own series, Marvel Television did. On ABC, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ran seven seasons and 136 episodes from 2013 to 2020. Agent Carter had two seasons and 18 episodes in 2015 and 2016, and Inhumans had a single eight-episode season in 2017. In all, the ABC group is 10 seasons and 162 episodes.
The Netflix group is six series: Daredevil (3 seasons, 39 episodes), Jessica Jones (3, 39), Luke Cage (2, 26), Iron Fist (2, 23), The Defenders (1, 8) and The Punisher (2, 26). That is 13 seasons and 161 episodes between 2015 and 2019, with The Defenders as the crossover that gathers four of the heroes. Hulu and Freeform added Runaways (3 seasons, 33 episodes), Cloak & Dagger (2 seasons, 20 episodes) and Helstrom (1 season, 10 episodes), six seasons and 63 episodes in all. Wikipedia says Helstrom was not tied to the MCU.
This is the longest block of Marvel material, and it is optional. No MCU film requires it. Of the group, Daredevil is the one that continues on Disney+, in Daredevil: Born Again.
The Fox X-Men films (13 films, 2000-2020)
The X-Men films were made by 20th Century Fox. The series is 13 films from X-Men in 2000 to The New Mutants in 2020: X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, Logan, Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants.
Bryan Singer directed the first film, Days of Future Past and Apocalypse. James Mangold directed The Wolverine and Logan (2017). Tim Miller directed Deadpool and David Leitch directed Deadpool 2.
The films do not connect to the MCU in any way a viewer needs to follow, apart from Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024. They are one franchise to watch in release order, and the first two X-Men films are the usual starting point.
Spider-Man outside the MCU
Spider-Man has had more screen lives than any other Marvel hero. Sam Raimi directed the trilogy of Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). Marc Webb directed The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). Those five films are complete in themselves and unconnected to the MCU entries from Jon Watts and Destin Daniel Cretton.
Sony also produced its own Spider-Man Universe of live-action films: Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024), Venom: The Last Dance (2024) and Kraven the Hunter (2024). Alongside them is the animated Spider-Verse series, which began with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018 and continued with Across the Spider-Verse in 2023. A third film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is dated for 2027.
If there is one place to start outside the MCU, the Raimi films and Into the Spider-Verse are the safest choices. The Sony live-action universe is a different matter; the entries are separate stories and none of them is essential.
The entries that matter when time is short
Pressed for time, a viewer can lean on these eight. Titles, years and directors are drawn from Wikipedia's lists.
- Iron Man (2008, Jon Favreau): the first MCU film, and the cleanest starting point.
- The Avengers (2012, Joss Whedon): the first team-up and the model for everything after it.
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, James Gunn): the standalone space adventure that needs no earlier background.
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), both directed by Anthony and Joe Russo: the two films that close the Infinity Saga.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021, Jon Watts): the Phase Four film that links the MCU to earlier Spider-Man films.
- WandaVision (2021, 9 episodes): the first Marvel Studios series on Disney+.
- Loki (2021 and 2023, 12 episodes): the Disney+ series most tied to the multiverse storyline.
- X-Men '97 (2024 and 2026, 19 episodes): the animated revival that works as a starting point for the X-Men.
Reading on Marvel
22 takesRough Cut Review's other pages on Marvel go deeper into single films and series than this guide does.
Who Is Kang? The Marvel Infinity Comic Reviewed and Origin Explained
Who is Kang? Marvel's Who Is...? Kang Infinity Comic, released on Marvel Unlimited on January 25, 2023, answers in one vertical scroll: a time traveler named Nathaniel Richards who grew bored of a perfect future and set out to conquer the past. It works as a quick primer on a deep-cut villain, though the film plans it was meant to promote have since changed.Who Was Stick Talking To in Daredevil? The End of Episode 7 Explained
The scarred, hulking man Stick reports to at the end of Daredevil season 1, episode 7 is Stone, a fellow warrior of the Chaste, and the episode's end credits say so. Before that was known, fans guessed everything from Lei-Kung the Thunderer to a fallen angel, and the guesses reveal how much of the Marvel map the Netflix series was quietly drawing.Ghost Rider and Wolverine in Weapons of Vengeance: Reading Order
Ghost Rider Wolverine is the four-part Marvel crossover Weapons of Vengeance, written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Geoff Shaw, which opened with Alpha #1 in August 2023. It pairs Johnny Blaze and Logan in the present day and in a never-before-seen first meeting, with a hellish branch of Weapon Plus as the common enemy.X-Men: Apocalypse Jubilee Explained: Lana Condor's Casting
Jubilee, played by Lana Condor, was announced as part of the cast of X-Men: Apocalypse on March 25, 2015, when director Bryan Singer posted the news on Instagram. After years of background cameos in the film series, she finally had a named role, though most of her scenes did not survive into the theatrical cut.She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 1 Review and Recap
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1, "A Normal Amount of Rage," premiered on Disney+ on August 18, 2022, and shows Jen Walters become a hero after a road-trip crash with cousin Bruce Banner. It is a funny, fourth-wall-breaking start, and Tatiana Maslany carries it.Daredevil Season 1 Episode 13, "Daredevil": Finale Review and Recap
Daredevil season 1 episode 13, released on Netflix on April 10, 2015, delivers the red suit, a fall for Wilson Fisk and the birth of the name. It is a confident finale, and it makes its villains as haunting as its hero.Writer J. Holtham on Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye
J. Holtham, who wrote Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye, says the audio drama is about rebuilding after catastrophe and about a redemption that costs something. He explains the Old Man Logan setting, the Western influences and how a playwright learned to write for sound.X-Men 60th Anniversary Event: X-Men '97 Story and a Hellfire Gala
Marvel's X-Men 60th anniversary event on March 16, 2023, revealed the story behind X-Men '97, a real-life Hellfire Gala at San Diego Comic-Con and the Fall of X. Here is what was announced and what it set up.Spider-Verse Variant Covers: All 28 Marvel Covers for May 2023
Marvel released 28 Spider-Verse variant covers in May 2023 to mark the return of Edge of Spider-Verse, each imagining a different hero bitten by the spider. Here is the full list of covers and artists, and what the four-issue series offered.Ghost Rider: Kushala and Representation, With Taboo and B. Earl
Ghost Rider: Kushala is a Marvel comic about a Native woman who becomes both Sorcerer Supreme and the Spirit Rider, written by Taboo and Benny “B.” Earl. In an interview, the two writers explain how they built Olivia Obtera, who takes up Kushala’s legacy, and how they consult Indigenous relatives to get the details right.Marvel Multiverse RPG: Core Rulebook and Cataclysm of Kang Announced
The Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game is a tabletop RPG in the mold of Dungeons & Dragons, with superheroes instead of fantasy, and Marvel announced in August 2022 that its Core Rulebook would arrive in June 2023, followed by the adventure book The Cataclysm of Kang in July 2023. Matt Forbeck wrote both books, with covers by Iban Coello.Marvel's Daredevil Review: Beautiful, Brutal, Brilliant
Marvel’s Daredevil review in one line: the first five episodes of the Netflix series trade cosmic stakes for broken bones and a hero who can lose. It is the most violent and the most grounded thing the Marvel screen universe had produced up to its April 10, 2015 premiere.Marvel’s New Predator #1 Series Debuts in March 2023
Marvel’s new Predator #1 series, announced on December 19, 2022 for March 2023, restarts Ed Brisson’s run with artist Netho Diaz and a fresh cast. It follows eight strangers on a distant planet who are trapped in a game against three different Predators.Marvel's Wastelanders: Black Widow Episodes 1 and 2 Recap and Review
Marvel’s Wastelanders: Black Widow, the third story in Marvel’s Wastelanders audio saga, opens with two episodes in which a former spy teaches yoga while a young analyst is paid to watch her. Susan Sarandon stars as Helen Black, and the first two chapters set up a slow, watchful thriller inside a 161-story apartment tower.NYCC 2022 Interview With Marvel's Peach Momoko on Demon Wars
Peach Momoko, the Eisner-winning cover artist behind Marvel's Demon Days and Demon Wars, answered questions by e-mail around her first New York Comic Con appearance in 2022. The interview covers her pseudonym, her watercolor technique, her route into comics and the story of Demon Wars.NYCC 2023: Jeff the Shark Has Been Read 1 Million Times
At New York Comic Con 2023, Marvel said that Jeff the Shark has now been read 1 million times on Marvel Unlimited, then used the number to introduce Infinity Paws, a pet crossover from writer Jason Loo and artist Nao Fuji. The figure explains why a land shark in a dog's role gets to headline a Marvel event.Phase 4 and the MCU Recession: Where Marvel Lost Its Thread
Phase 4 gave the Marvel Cinematic Universe more films and series than ever, and the MCU recession is the argument that it also gave audiences fewer reasons to care. The case rests on thin connections between projects, teases that point nowhere and a dip in quality.She-Hulk Episode 2 Review and Recap: Superhuman Law
She-Hulk episode 2, titled Superhuman Law, premiered on Disney+ on August 25, 2022, and sees Jennifer Walters fired, rehired by the firm that sank her case, and handed Emil Blonsky as her first superhuman client. It is a short, funny setup episode that works better as a bridge than as a stand-alone story.The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 1 Review: New World Order
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 1, "New World Order," is a slow-burn premiere that opens with an aerial rescue and ends with a new Captain America. It follows Sam Wilson in Louisiana and Washington and Bucky Barnes in therapy, and keeps the two men apart.The Marvel Universe Is Cursed Thanks to Loki's Newest Weapon
The Marvel Universe is cursed in Loki, the four-issue limited series by writer Dan Watters and artist Germán Peralta that began on June 7, 2023, after weapons from the God of Stories' past are scattered across the realms. Loki has to find them before villains do, and the book marked Watters' debut as a Marvel Comics writer.Finn Jones Cast as Iron Fist: The Game of Thrones Star Joins
Finn Jones, who played Loras Tyrell on Game of Thrones, was reported as Marvel's Iron Fist in February 2016, completing the Netflix line-up of The Defenders. The series he led ran for two seasons before Netflix canceled it in October 2018.Thor: Ragnarok First Trailer Explained: Asgard Faces Destruction
The Thor: Ragnarok first trailer, released on April 10, 2017, shows Hela, the Goddess of Death, destroying Mjolnir, Thor chained far from home, and the Hulk waiting for him in a gladiator arena. It set up the third Thor film as a louder, funnier and much more dangerous adventure than the two before it.
Frequently asked questions about Marvel TV shows and movies
How many MCU movies are there?
As of October 2026 there are 38 released MCU films: 23 in the Infinity Saga (Phases One to Three), seven in Phase Four, six in Phase Five and two in Phase Six so far. Avengers: Doomsday is dated December 18, 2026.
What order should I watch the Marvel movies and shows in?
Release order is the simplest. Begin with Iron Man (2008), work through the Infinity Saga to Avengers: Endgame (2019), then follow Phase Four onward with the Disney+ series when you reach them. The Netflix, ABC and Fox material can be skipped without losing the MCU.
Do I have to watch the Disney+ shows to follow the movies?
Not for every film, but some Multiverse Saga films build on events from the series. WandaVision and Loki are the ones most often linked to later films. The shows are short, from four to nine episodes.
Are the Netflix Marvel shows part of the MCU?
They were made by Marvel Television, a different group from Marvel Studios, and none of the Netflix series is required viewing for the films. Daredevil: Born Again, from Marvel Studios on Disney+, is a follow-up of the Netflix Daredevil and begins several years after it.
Where do the X-Men and Spider-Man films fit?
The Fox X-Men films, 13 films from 2000 to 2020, and the earlier Spider-Man films from Sam Raimi and Marc Webb are separate series. Spider-Man himself joined the MCU in Captain America: Civil War and then had his own MCU films starting with Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017.
Is Marvel finished, or are there more releases coming?
It is ongoing. Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out in July 2026, VisionQuest is airing now, and Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are dated for December 2026 and December 2027.
Sources
Episode counts, dates and credits on this page follow the reference below; each figure was checked against it in October 2026.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wikipedia — season and episode tables, release dates and credits