How to Watch The Captain Marvel Movies In Order (By Release Date & Chronological Order)

Since her debut in 2019’s Captain Marvel, Brie Larson’s character has played an integral role in the MCU with several different movies and shows that can be watched in chronological or release order. Brie Larson was first revealed as the choice to bring Carol Danvers to life in the MCU at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016. Since then, Larson has become an important part of Captain Marvel’s MCU timeline both on the cosmic side of the franchise and in relation to the ever-popular Avengers films.

With The Marvels serving as the last Marvel release of 2023, the character’s role only continues to increase. From all but guaranteed appearances in Marvel’s list of upcoming movies post-The Marvels to being one of the faces of the latter stretch of the Infinity Saga, Captain Marvel’s MCU importance cannot be understated. That said, such a vital role brings plenty of appearances that can become confusing and overbearing. With that in mind, a definitive guide on how to watch every Captain Marvel MCU movie both chronologically and in release order would not go amiss.

When listing the Captain Marvel movies in order of release date, it is worth exploring the convoluted timeline of the MCU beforehand. The reason for this comes from Captain Marvel‘s status as a prequel to most movies in the franchise. The first tease for the character in the MCU came in Avengers: Infinity War‘s post-credit sequence in 2018.

Related: 10 Moments That Prove Captain Marvel Is The MCU’s Strongest Avenger

The Captain Marvel solo film was then released which connected to Infinity War‘s stinger. However, the story acted as a prequel to the third Avengers movie as well as every other MCU project besides Captain America: The First Avenger. Given this confusing timeline of events, here are all the Captain Marvel movies in order of release date.

Avengers: Infinity War (Credits Scene) – April 27, 2018 Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019 Avengers: Endgame – April 26, 2019 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Credits Scene) – September 3, 2021 The Marvels – November 10, 2023

Captain Marvel Movies In Chronological Order

Captain Marvel

Despite being the second MCU movie featuring Carol Danvers concerning release dates, 2019’s Captain Marvel is the first movie to feature the character chronologically. The film begins in 1995 with Carol, known as Vers, as part of the Kree Starforce. Despite suffering from amnesia and visions of a life she does not remember, Vers’ emotions are kept in check by Starforce leader Yon-Rogg and the Kree Supreme Intelligence that rules the Kree empire.

Eventually, Vers travels to Earth and discovers she was born a human named Carol Danvers. After learning of her past as an Air Force pilot, Carol learns she was caught in the blast of the Tesseract – an Infinity Stone – which was being used by a renegade Kree to help the supposed villainous Skrulls escape the Kree empire. This blast gave Carol Captain Marvel’s superpowers but wiped her memory, with the Kree controlling her from that point on. Carol then regains her memories completely, faces off against the Kree, unlocks her true powers, and vows to help the displaced, refugee Skrulls escape the tyrannical Kree.

Avengers: Infinity War (Credits Scene)

The next “appearance” of Captain Marvel in the MCU’s chronology is not an appearance at all, but a tease for her role in Avengers: Endgame. The tease came a year before Captain Marvel‘s release, yet is chronologically set over 20 years after the events of that film. Avengers: Infinity War centered on Thanos’ invasion of the cosmos searching for the Infinity Stones. Upon gathering them, Thanos uses the Stones’ power to wipe out 50% of living beings in the universe. Nick Fury, an ally of Carol’s from 1995 (2019’s Captain Marvel), uses a pager before his death to contact Carol as set up for her role in Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame

After receiving the page from Nick Fury, Carol’s next chronological appearance comes in Avengers: Endgame. The film begins with Captain Marvel saving Iron Man from being stranded in space before concocting a plan with the surviving Avengers to find Thanos and make him reverse his actions. After Thanos reveals he destroyed the Infinity Stones and is killed by Thor, Captain Marvel becomes the space representative of the Avengers during the film’s five-year time jump.

On the other side of the time jump, Carol is working to aid the thousands of planets across the cosmos with the fallout of Thanos’ genocide. Captain Marvel is then absent from the film until the climactic final act where she returns to fight in the Battle of Earth against a time-traveling version of Thanos. Carol faces Thanos directly multiple times, stopping him from eradicating the universe and giving Tony Stark time to retrieve the reforged Infinity Stones and wipe Thanos from existence. Carol is last seen in Avengers: Endgame attending Tony Stark’s funeral.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Credits Scene)

Chronologically, Captain Marvel’s next appearance after Avengers: Endgame came in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ post-credit scene. In this scene, the titular Shang-Chi is having his Ten Rings examined by Wong, Bruce Banner, and Carol Danvers herself. The reason for this stems from the Rings acting as a beacon to an unknown recipient, with Captain Marvel acting as the expert on space technology in the scene. After stating that the Rings are not constructed from any alien tech she is aware of, Captain Marvel receives a distress call and leaves.

The Marvels

The next appearance of Captain Marvel after Shang-Chi‘s post-credits scene is 2023’s The Marvels. The film sees Carol Danvers teaming up with Monica Rambeau – the daughter of Maria Rambeau who was a big part of Captain Marvel – and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, a young superhero who idolizes Captain Marvel. The trio becomes inexplicably intertwined when using their powers and team up to find out why, bringing them into conflict with a Kree warlord named Dar-Benn.

How To Watch Marvel Disney+ TV Shows Connected To Captain Marvel

Given that The Marvels ties together the characters of Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan, there are several Marvel Studios Disney+ shows that tie into the Captain Marvel franchise. From the continuation of Monica’s story to the introduction of Kamala to the MCU, two shows are vital to the Captain Marvel story. Another MCU TV project then centers on surrounding elements of Carol’s story featured in The Marvels.

WandaVision Introduces Adult Monica Rambeau

After Monica Rambeau appeared as a child in Captain Marvel given the film’s 1990s setting, the 2021 TV show WandaVision focuses on Monica as an adult. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Monica is now a SWORD agent after her mother founded the company. Monica is sent to investigate the Westview Anomaly in which Wanda Maximoff has created the Hex, a magic barrier around a town where she can live an idyllic life with her deceased family through magic. Monica helps bring Wanda back to reality and gains light-based powers in the process, setting up her role in The Marvels after Nick Fury calls her to SWORD’s space station.

Ms. Marvel Sets Up The Marvels’ Place-Switching

Another Disney+ show tied to The Marvels is 2022’s Ms. Marvel. The show introduced the titular hero as a young Pakistani-American teenager who idolizes the Avengers, specifically Captain Marvel. Upon receiving a mystifying bangle in the post from her grandmother, Kamala gains superhuman powers that allow her to manipulate light energy. At the end of the series, Kamala’s bangle begins mysteriously glowing before she swaps places with Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel awakens in Kamala’s bedroom, leaving the story of their intertwined powers to be explored in The Marvels.

Secret Invasion Continues The Story Of Nick Fury & The Skrulls

The third and final Disney+ show that sets up The Marvels, albeit less concretely than WandaVision or Ms. Marvel, is Secret Invasion. Secret Invasion was released in 2023 and continued the story teased in Captain Marvel about displaced Skrulls finding a home within the cosmos. After it was revealed that Nick Fury and Captain Marvel neglected their promise to find the Skrulls a home, a group of the shape-shifting aliens became radicalized and attempted to covertly invade Earth to take it as their home planet.

By the end of the series, Fury had thwarted the invasion of Earth and returned to SWORD’s space station. However, the people of Earth have declared war on all alien life forms due to the trust issues of the Skrulls’ hidden invasion, something that may even extend to Captain Marvel or other friendly aliens like the Asgardians. Given that the Skrulls and Nick Fury are part of The Marvels‘ story, Secret Invasion ties into the Captain Marvel franchise, which is only set to expand going further into Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Key Release Dates