The prequels that came last
23 titles across 17 franchises open their story and arrived years into the release schedule. Every one is an argument against watching chronologically.
A prequel is not an earlier chapter. It is a later film about an earlier time, written for people who have already seen what happens next.
That changes how it is built. It withholds a name you already know so it can land it as a reveal. It lingers on an object because you understand what the object will become. It casts a younger version of a face you recognise. Take away the recognition and none of that works. You are left watching a film explain the answer to a question you were never asked.
This is why the advice on chronological versus release order comes down where it does. Chronology is a rewatch format.
Every one of them
Computed from the two orders on this site: each of these sits at or near the start of its chronology and well down its release order.
- Eyes of Wakanda2025 · MCU · released #57, chronologically #1
Across centuries of Wakandan history, warriors hunt down stolen vibranium artifacts around the world.
- The Acolyte2024 · Star Wars · released #25, chronologically #1
A century before the prequels, at the height of the Jedi Order, the earliest story on screen.
- Star Trek: Discovery2017 · Star Trek · released #20, chronologically #2
Starts a decade before Kirk, then jumps nine hundred years forward at the end of season two.
- Star Trek: Enterprise2001 · Star Trek · released #15, chronologically #1
A prequel set a century before Kirk, in humanity's first years of deep-space travel.
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them2016 · Harry Potter · released #9, chronologically #1
Newt Scamander loses a case full of creatures in 1926 New York.
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald2018 · Harry Potter · released #10, chronologically #2
Grindelwald escapes and starts building a following in Paris.
- Alien vs. Predator2004 · Alien · released #9, chronologically #1
2004, Antarctica. Chronologically first, and contradicted by everything Ridley Scott made afterwards.
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem2007 · Alien · released #10, chronologically #2
A small-town sequel widely regarded as the low point of both franchises.
- Transformers One2024 · Transformers · released #8, chronologically #1
Animated, set on Cybertron. How Orion Pax and D-16 became Optimus Prime and Megatron.
- X-Men: Apocalypse2016 · X-Men · released #9, chronologically #2
1983. An ancient mutant wakes up and decides to start over.
- The Nun2018 · The Conjuring · released #8, chronologically #1
1952 Romania. Chronologically first in the entire universe, and the weakest place to start.
- The Rings of Power (Season 1)2022 · Middle-earth · released #7, chronologically #1
The Second Age: how the rings were forged, thousands of years before Bilbo.
- The Rings of Power (Season 2)2024 · Middle-earth · released #8, chronologically #2
Sauron works from inside as the rings spread across Middle-earth.
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Season 1)2023 · MonsterVerse · released #7, chronologically #1
Two timelines (1950s and 2015) following the founding of Monarch. Chronologically the earliest story here.
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Season 2)2026 · MonsterVerse · released #8, chronologically #2
The organisation's history continues, still moving between decades.
- X-Men: First Class2011 · X-Men · released #7, chronologically #1
1962. Charles and Erik meet, and the Cuban Missile Crisis goes differently.
- Minions & Monsters2026 · Despicable Me · released #7, chronologically #1
Set in 1920s Hollywood, where a tribe of Minions crashes a film set and becomes famous. Chronologically first by decades.
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles1992 · Indiana Jones · released #6, chronologically #1
Indy from age ten through the First World War. Chronologically first, and entirely optional.
- Untitled Ocean's Prequel2027 · Ocean's · released #6, chronologically #1
Danny Ocean's parents at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Margot Robbie. Dated for June 2027.
- Puss in Boots2011 · Shrek · released #6, chronologically #1
A prequel, set before Puss ever meets Shrek.
- Predator: Killer of Killers2025 · Predator · released #6, chronologically #1
An animated anthology of three hunts. A Viking in 841, a samurai in 1609, and a pilot in 1942.
Common questions
Should I watch prequels first?
No. A prequel made after the fact is written for an audience that already knows how the story ends, so its explanations are staged as revelations. Watch it in release order and it pays something off; watch it first and it explains something you had no reason to wonder about.
How many franchises have a prequel released out of order?
17 of the franchises on this site have at least one title that opens the chronology but arrived well down the release schedule.
Is Star Wars an exception?
No, and it is the clearest case. The prequel trilogy was made after the original, and the single most famous reveal in the series is destroyed by watching Episode I first.