Avengers Infinity War: Marvel movies timeline and order – when were they released?

The saga continues as Avengers: Infinity War hits cinemas worldwide some two weeks ago.

Quickly becoming the fastest film to gross $1 billion and getting close to being the highest grossing Marvel film of all time, Infinity War is just the latest episode in a long list of MCU films. 

Spanning 10 years and 19 films, Marvel fans have been faithfully watching every addition to the MCU.

But when was each film released? What is the MCU timeline?

Where did the MCU begin?

Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios has been producing the MCU since its inception in 2008. While there were plenty of Marvel movies to be released before the first, Iron Man, they technically do not count towards the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This could be for a number of reasons. For example, Spider-Man, a property of Sony, has only recently been licensed to Marvel, allowing Peter Parker to play a part in Infinity War. His previous outings were all under Sony and Universal. 

Other movies, including Punisher and the Incredible Hulk movies, were not in canon with the current MCU.

Iron Man (2008)

To begin the MCU, Robert Downey Jr kicked off his adventures as Iron Man in April 2008. The Billionaire, Genius, Playboy, Philanthropist Tony Stark took on Obadiah Staine in the very first MCU outing. 

Jon Favreau took the reigns in the opening movie, grossing $500 million in its cinema runtime. 

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Technically still part of the canon in terms of story, The Incredible Hulk doesn’t feature the same actors for the rest of the MCU. Edward Norton plays Bruce Banner as he battles his inner demons. 

The Ang Lee directed movie grossed $200 million.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Two years later, Tony Stark is back at it, revealing himself to the world as Iron Man. Favreau is back again to direct a few new marvel characters, including War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Iron Man 2 grossed $600 worldwide.

Thor (2011)

Chris Hemsworth was directed by Kenneth Branagh and introduced the MCU to other beings, including the Asgardians, Loki and Odin. Thor grossed $449 million worldwide. 

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is technically the first in the timeline, telling the story of how a small but brave man from Brooklyn was injected with super soldier serum to take on the Nazi’s in their deadly plans. This was the first Avengers film to properly introduce an Infinity Stone. It grossed $370 million.

Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)

The first time our Avengers team up to take on a great threat, The Avengers is the most successful Marvel movie to date, raking in $1.5 billion. The film gives fans the first glimpse of Thanos, as well as aliens, a global threat and the Infinity Stone. 

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Back at it again, Iron Man 3 sees Shane Black take the helm as Tony deals with post-traumatic stress gained from his near-eats experience with the Chitauri in The Avengers. It grossed $1.2 billion worldwide. 

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

The second Infinity Stone, the Aether, is introduced as Thor’s homeworld is under threat from Malekith (Christopher Ecclestone) the Dark Elf. Thor: The Dark World grossed $644 million.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Cap returns to face a new threat in the shape of a reanimated and deadly best friend: Bucky Barnes. The film grossed $714 million. 

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

The first proper foray into galactic action for the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy introduces us to a third Infinity Stone, Power, and gives us more background on Thanos and his two daughters. 

Peter Quill / Star-Lord and a group of misfits, including Gamora, Rocket, Drax the Destroyer and Groot, fight to keep a powerful orb from the clutches of the villainous Ronan.

The film grossed $773 million.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The second outing for the Avengers team, Age of Ultron gave our heroes a deadly sentient AI robot hell-bent on global destruction to tackle. The mind Stone was introduced, as well as Vision, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. It is also the first reference to Wakanda. 

Age of Ultron grossed $1.4 billion.

Ant-Man ( 2015)

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) scales things down as he discovers the power of the Ant-Man suit. It grossed $500 million.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Civil War is technically not a team-up movie, but does feature almost all the Avengers who have featured so far. The actions of Age of Ultron require the Avengers to make a choice, which could ultimately split them in two and tear the apart. The first introduction to Spider-Man. 

Civil War grossed $1.1 billion. 

Doctor Strange (2016)

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the rock-and-roll surgeon who suffers a terrible accident, leading him to discover the mystic arts of magic. Out first introduction to the Time Stone. Doctor Strange Grossed $677 million.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)

The Guardians return to face Peter Quill’s family issues, after his father is revealed to be a living planet. The film hints at Marvel Comic Super-being Adam Warlock in a post-credits scene. GotG2 grossed $863 million.

Spider-Man: Homecoming ( 2017)

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) swings his way into the hearts of the audience in this small-scale caper. Tied back to the MCU through a cameo from Tony Stark, this teen drama was a surprise hit. It grossed $880 million.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor must survive the loss of his hammer as he estranged sister Hela returns to take over Asgard. Director Taika Waititi pits Thor against Hulk as the two heroes wrestle their own demons and try to save Asgard. Thor: Ragnarok grossed $853 million worldwide. 

Black Panther (2018)

T’Challa returns home as sovereign of the nation of Wakanda only to find his dual role of king and protector challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict that has global consequences. The shock hit grossed $1.3 billion worldwide. 

Avengers Infinity War (2018)

Finally, the most recent addition to the MCU, Thanos finally makes his move to secure all six infinity stones and wipe out half the universe. Featuring more than 35 major heroes from all 18 previous movies, Infinity War is the biggest and most ambitious movie of them all. 

So far, Infinity War has grossed $1.2 billion.

Across all 10 years and 19 films, the MCU has grossed over $16 billion worldwide, making it the most successful franchise ever. 

Still, to come for the MCU, Marvel has 13 more films allegedly slated, with four confirmed. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp is due for release in July 2018, Captain Marvel will come out in April 2019 and Avengers 4 is due for a May 2019 release. 

Spider-Man gets another solo outing in Spider-Man Homecoming 2 in July 2019. 

A whole slew of untitled Marvel movies are set for release in 2020 but have yet to be announced.