Watch order guides
The reasoning behind each order: what to watch first, what you can skip, and why the arguments happen at all.
MCU
The MCU watch order, settled
Every Marvel Cinematic Universe film, series and special in the order Marvel released them: plus the shorter path through it if you only want the main throughline.
Read the guideMCU
The MCU in chronological order
The full Marvel timeline, from ancient history to the multiverse. Every film and series arranged by when it happens rather than when it came out.
Read the guideDC
DC movies in order
DC has never had one timeline. Here is every continuity, kept separate, each in the order that actually works.
Read the guideStar Wars
The Star Wars watch order
Every film and series, in the order they came out or the order they happen, plus an honest answer on which to pick, and what the Machete order is really for.
Read the guideFast & Furious
Fast & Furious, in the order that works
This is the one franchise where release order is the wrong answer. Tokyo Drift came out third and is set sixth, and the films were rewritten around that fact.
Read the guideHarry Potter
Harry Potter movies in order
Eight films at Hogwarts and three set sixty years earlier. The order is simple; the only real question is where Fantastic Beasts goes.
Read the guideX-Men
X-Men movies in order
Thirteen films, two casts and a continuity the series rewrote halfway through. Here is the order, and why no order fixes it completely.
Read the guideMiddle-earth
The Lord of the Rings, in order
Two trilogies, an anime prequel and a streaming series. The order is short; the two real questions are where The Hobbit goes and which cuts to watch.
Read the guideThe Conjuring
The Conjuring movies in order
Ten films across four decades and three sub-series. This is one of the few horror franchises where watching by timeline improves it.
Read the guideJames Bond
James Bond movies in order
Twenty-five official films across sixty years. Only five of them tell a continuous story, which makes the starting point more important than the order.
Read the guideStar Trek
The Star Trek watch order
Sixty years, eleven centuries and two timelines. The honest advice is that you should not try to watch it in any single order at all.
Read the guideAlien
Alien movies in order
A series that runs from 2093 to 2379, made in almost the opposite order, with two crossovers the franchise has quietly disowned.
Read the guidePredator
Predator movies in order
Made forwards, set backwards. The recent films reach back to 1719 and 841 AD, turning an action series into a very long hunting record.
Read the guideApes
Planet of the Apes, in order
Two separate continuities, one remake nobody counts, and an original series that folds back on itself.
Read the guideJurassic Park
Jurassic Park movies in order
Seven films across thirty years, and refreshingly, no timeline puzzle at all.
Read the guideJohn Wick
John Wick movies in order
Four chapters that run in a straight line, plus a prequel series and a spin-off set in the middle of the story.
Read the guideTerminator
Terminator movies in order
Two great films, and four incompatible attempts to continue them. The order matters less than knowing which sequels cancel which.
Read the guideHalloween
Halloween movies in order
Thirteen films, five mutually exclusive timelines, and one entry with no Michael Myers in it at all.
Read the guideIndiana Jones
Indiana Jones movies in order
Five films, and the second one is a prequel. That is the whole puzzle.
Read the guideMission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible movies in order
Eight films in release order, which is also story order. The only thing to know is where they stop being standalone.
Read the guideHunger Games
Hunger Games movies in order
Four films forward, two prequels back, and the prequels only work if you watch them second.
Read the guideMonsterVerse
MonsterVerse movies in order
Legendary's Godzilla and Kong universe was released badly out of order. Chronological order fixes it.
Read the guideSaw
Saw movies in order
Ten films, and the newest one is set second. Saw is built out of retroactive continuity, which makes chronological order unusually rewarding.
Read the guideDespicable Me
Despicable Me movies in order
Seven films, and the newest one is set eighty years before the first. One of the biggest release-versus-story gaps anywhere.
Read the guideTransformers
Transformers movies in order
Five Bay films, a soft reboot that quietly replaced them, and an animated origin set before all of it.
Read the guideThe Matrix
The Matrix movies in order
Four films in a straight line, plus one animated anthology that is the actual beginning of the story.
Read the guidePirates
Pirates of the Caribbean in order
Five films, no timeline tricks. The only thing worth knowing is which ones are actually connected.
Read the guideRocky
Rocky and Creed movies in order
Nine films across almost fifty years, in a straight line. One of the longest continuous character stories in cinema.
Read the guideThe Godfather
The Godfather in order
Three films, watched in order. But the genuinely chronological version is not a reordering. It is a different edit.
Read the guideMad Max
Mad Max movies in order
Five films, one clean prequel, and a continuity its own director refuses to pin down.
Read the guideBourne
The Bourne movies in order
Four films in a straight line, and one that takes place during the third.
Read the guideParanormal Activity
Paranormal Activity in order
Seven films, and hardly any of them happen when they were released. This is the series chronological order was invented for.
Read the guideInsidious
Insidious movies in order
Six films, and the third and fourth are both prequels. Chronological order costs nothing and gains a character arc.
Read the guideBlade Runner
Blade Runner in order
Two films, three short films made to bridge them, and a series set fifty years later. Chronological order is simply better here.
Read the guideGhostbusters
Ghostbusters movies in order
Four films in one continuity, and a 2016 reboot that belongs to nothing.
Read the guideKarate Kid
Karate Kid and Cobra Kai in order
Forty years, two separate continuities, and a 2025 film that finally welds them together.
Read the guideStar Wars
Star Wars in chronological order
The full timeline, from a century before the prequels to thirty-five years after the Battle of Yavin. Excellent as a rewatch, risky as a first watch.
Read the guideStar Trek
Star Trek in chronological order
Eleven centuries, in order. It is a fascinating map and a genuinely bad viewing plan.
Read the guideMCU
Which Marvel movies can you skip?
Seventy-five titles is a lot. Here is the throughline, and honest permission to skip the rest.
Read the guideDC
The new DCU watch order
James Gunn's reboot, in order. Short, current, and the only DC continuity that is still being built.
Read the guideHarry Potter
The Wizarding World in chronological order
Fantastic Beasts first, then Hogwarts. It is a clean split, and still the wrong way to watch it.
Read the guideMCU
What to watch before Avengers: Doomsday
Doomsday pulls from three separate continuities. Here is the shortest honest catch-up.
Read the guideSpider-Man
Spider-Man movies in order
Three live-action Peter Parkers, one animated Miles Morales, and a Sony universe with no Spider-Man in it at all.
Read the guideBack to the Future
Back to the Future in order
Three films, four time periods, and the one franchise where chronological order is a category error.
Read the guideTwilight
Twilight movies in order
Five films, four books, one continuous story. No prequels, no reboots, nothing to untangle.
Read the guideElm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street in order
Six sequels in one line, a meta-sequel set in the real world, a crossover, and a remake.
Read the guideFriday the 13th
Friday the 13th movies in order
Twelve films, and two facts that surprise almost everyone who starts the series.
Read the guideFinal Destination
Final Destination movies in order
Six films, and one of them is secretly a prequel, but you must not find that out first.
Read the guideChristopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan movies in order
Thirteen films across three decades. The order is easy; the useful question is which one you open with.
Read the guideQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino movies in order
Nine films by his own count, ten by everyone else's. Here is the order, and where to begin.
Read the guideMartin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese movies in order
Sixty years and more than twenty-five features. Here are the ones that matter, and the one to open with.
Read the guideDenis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve movies in order
Eight English-language and Quebec features, all standalone except Dune. Here is where to begin.
Read the guideStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick movies in order
Thirteen features, no two in the same genre. The order is simple; the entry point is not.
Read the guideSteven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg movies in order
Fifty years and more than thirty features. Here are the ones that matter, and where to start.
Read the guideDavid Fincher
David Fincher movies in order
Thirteen features, one of which he refuses to claim. Here is the order and where to begin.
Read the guideWes Anderson
Wes Anderson movies in order
Twelve features, and a style so consistent that the entry point matters more than the sequence.
Read the guideRidley Scott
Ridley Scott movies in order
Two of the greatest science fiction films ever made, and forty-five years of wildly uneven output around them.
Read the guideJames Cameron
James Cameron movies in order
Nine films he claims, four of which have held the record for highest-grossing ever made.
Read the guideAlfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock movies in order
Fifty-plus films across six decades. Here are the ones that matter, and the one to open with.
Read the guideBong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho movies in order
Eight films, none of which stay in the genre they start in.
Read the guideDune
Dune movies in order
Three separate adaptations of the same books, plus a prequel series set ten millennia before Paul Atreides was born.
Read the guideShrek
Shrek movies in order
Four Shrek films, two Puss in Boots spin-offs, and a fifth arriving for the twenty-fifth anniversary.
Read the guideToy Story
Toy Story movies in order
Five films in a straight line, and one that is a film inside the films.
Read the guideAvatar
Avatar movies in order
Three films, one continuous story, and gaps long enough that the cast aged into them.
Read the guideScream
Scream movies in order
Seven films, one continuity, no reboots. For a long-running horror series that is genuinely remarkable.
Read the guideDie Hard
Die Hard movies in order
Five films, in order, with one of the steepest quality declines in any franchise.
Read the guideHayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki movies in order
Twelve films across forty-four years, and most of them have no villain at all.
Read the guideThe Coen Brothers
Coen Brothers movies in order
Twenty-one films about people who are not nearly as clever as they believe.
Read the guidePeter Jackson
Peter Jackson movies in order
From a splatter comedy shot in his mother's kitchen to seventeen Academy Awards.
Read the guideRobert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis movies in order
Twenty-two films, each one built around a technical problem nobody had solved yet.
Read the guideGuillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro movies in order
Thirteen films, and in almost every one the monster is the sympathetic character.
Read the guidePaul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson movies in order
Ten films in thirty years, and almost all of them are about somebody who needs something badly.
Read the guideAkira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa movies in order
Thirty films across fifty years, and a startling amount of modern cinema is downstream of them.
Read the guideJohn Carpenter
John Carpenter movies in order
Eighteen films, most of them about a small group trapped somewhere with something.
Read the guideSergio Leone
Sergio Leone movies in order
Seven films, and the third one is a prequel to the two before it.
Read the guideFrancis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola movies in order
Four films between 1972 and 1979 that nobody has matched, and fifty years of everything else.
Read the guideGeorge Miller
George Miller movies in order
The same director made Mad Max: Fury Road and a tap-dancing penguin musical, and meant both.
Read the guideEdgar Wright
Edgar Wright movies in order
Eight films, and a trilogy that is only a trilogy because of the ice cream.
Read the guideJordan Peele
Jordan Peele movies in order
Three films, each one less willing to explain itself than the last.
Read the guideGreta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig movies in order
Three solo features, the biggest film of 2023, and Narnia next.
Read the guideWicked
Wicked movies in order
Two films from one stage musical, and a 1939 classic that happens after both of them.
Read the guideKnives Out
Knives Out movies in order
Three murder mysteries, one detective, and no continuing story at all.
Read the guideKingsman
Kingsman movies in order
Two spy comedies and a First World War prequel that came out last.
Read the guideMen in Black
Men in Black movies in order
Three films with Smith and Jones, and one spin-off with neither.
Read the guideSonic
Sonic movies in order
Three films, a six-episode series in the middle, and a fourth dated for 2027.
Read the guideOcean's
Ocean's movies in order
A 1960 original, the trilogy that remade it, a spin-off, and a prequel on the way.
Read the guideResident Evil
Resident Evil movies in order
Nine titles, four separate continuities, and not one of them connects to another.
Read the guideThe Purge
The Purge movies in order
Five films and a series in one continuity, with the prequel arriving fourth.
Read the guideEvangelion
Evangelion watch order
Two continuities, a film that replaces an ending rather than following it, and one entry almost nobody needs.
Read the guideFullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist watch order
Two adaptations of one manga. The question is not what order. It is which one.
Read the guideAttack on Titan
Attack on Titan watch order
One straight line, chopped into parts that aired years apart and are numbered differently everywhere.
Read the guideDemon Slayer
Demon Slayer watch order
Sequential, with one arc that exists twice and catches almost everybody.
Read the guideJujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen watch order
A prequel released in the middle, and the middle is exactly where it should stay.
Read the guideChainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man watch order
Two things to watch, in the obvious order. The only question worth asking is what the film actually is.
Read the guideDC
Every Batman actor, in order
Six actors since 1989, across five continuities that mostly have nothing to do with one another, and one actor who plays the part in two of them, thirty-four years apart.
Read the guideSpider-Man
Every Spider-Man actor, in order
Three live-action Peter Parkers across twenty-four years, three separate continuities, and one film that puts all three of them in the same room.
Read the guideDC
Every Joker actor, in order
Four film Jokers who get a name, a fifth who does not, and no two of them in the same story.
Read the guideBleach
Bleach watch order
The order is a straight line. The only real decision is how much of it you sit through.
Read the guideNaruto
Naruto watch order
Two series, eleven films, and about seven hundred episodes. Roughly a third of it is optional.
Read the guideMCU
What to watch before Spider-Man: Brand New Day
A short list, and one surprising addition from a corner of the MCU that has nothing to do with Spider-Man.
Read the guideMCU
The Punisher watch order
One special, one series it follows on from, and a Netflix run that came first.
Read the guideDefenders Saga
The Defenders Saga watch order
Thirteen seasons across six shows, and for once the date order is the right order.
Read the guideNaruto
Boruto watch order
Two hundred and ninety-three episodes, and the published filler counts for them run from 28 to 206.
Read the guideDespicable Me
What to watch before Minions & Monsters
Nothing, as it turns out. It is the earliest film in the franchise by about forty-five years.
Read the guideMCU
What to watch before VisionQuest
Four entries carry Vision from the day he is built to the blank copy this series picks up.
Read the guideHunger Games
What to watch before Sunrise on the Reaping
Nothing is required. Two films make it land about twice as hard.
Read the guideDune
What to watch before Dune: Part Three
Two films are required. Everything else with Dune on it is optional, and one part of it is ten thousand years away.
Read the guideBlade Runner
What to watch before Blade Runner 2099
Two films, three shorts and an animated series, spread across eighty years of one timeline.
Read the guideX-Men
Which X-Men movies can you skip?
Thirteen films across two timelines that stop agreeing with each other halfway through.
Read the guideDC
Which DC movies can you skip?
Most of DC is not a series at all, which means most of it can be skipped without any consequence.
Read the guide