How to watch all the X-Men movies in order (release and chronological)
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It's time to watch all the X-Men movies in order because the mutants have officially joined the MCU. While a proper reboot has yet to be announced (and X-Men '97 is, sadly, not canon), our favorite gang of heroes has made plenty of appearances in the Marvel timeline and is even front-and-center in some upcoming Marvel movies and shows.
But as we all know, the MCU (in all its multiverse glory) can be confusing. And, with a variant of Charles Xavier showing up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Kamala Khan discovering she's a mutant in Ms. Marvel, and Logan returning in Deadpool & Wolverine, there's a lot of X-Men lore to keep track of. But no worries, we've figured it all out so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy. Below, we have a guide that follows all the X-Men movies' release order and a slightly more complicated chronological order.
And if you were wondering where Deadpool & Wolverine fits into the timeline, don’t worry because we also have that covered. However, even after watching the Deadpool & Wolverine post-credits scene we still aren’t sure about the future X-Men movies over at Marvel Studios, so be sure to keep an eye on this page! In the meantime, let's dive into the 14 films we can rewatch right now.
How to watch the X-Men movies in order: release order
Best for: Our recommended viewing experience.
By watching the all X-Men movies in release order, newcomers get to experience the stories as everyone else did, plus it's simply much easier than attempting to make any kind of sense of the time-traveling and parallel universes. Trust us.
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The Wolverine
Side note: Days of Future Past: The Rogue Cut takes place in a future that is erased by the time the credits roll, so don’t beat yourself up if you’d prefer to watch the theatrical cut or don’t want to give up precious hours to watch them both.
And, don't forget, nearly all the X-Men movies are on Disney Plus, so be sure to catch them there.
How to watch the X-Men movies in order: chronological order(s)
Things are about to get a little complicated. Now, there are a few ways this can be done. First up, we have The Easy Way, which puts all the X-Men movies into a strict order of when they are set – so we go from the '60s to the far future. This, unfortunately, leads to some issues as Dark Phoenix does not lead particularly nicely into the first X-Men, and then you also have the fact the Dark Phoenix catastrophe happens again with Jean Grey in The Last Stand... This one's a very literal chronological order without taking in varying timelines.
Instead, you're perhaps better off taking into account the multiple timelines that are caused when Days of Future Past erases the future we knew in the original trilogy. This one starts with X-Men: First Class, which technically applies to both timelines, and goes right up until the far future and the catastrophe that prompts Wolverine to travel back to 1973 and stop the Sentinels. It will perhaps make more sense if we show you the order – but, in short, there are two timelines that don't line up...!
The X-Men movies in chronological order: The easy way
Best for: No one, really... This one's just a literal timeline of events without taking into account multiple timelines. It also doesn't align with the MCU when you read our guide on how to watch all the Marvel movies in order, so it's best to skip this version.
X-Men: First Class
X-Men Days of Future Past
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men: Apocalypse
Dark Phoenix
New Mutants
X-Men
X2: X-Men United
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Wolverine
Deadpool
Deadpool 2
Logan
Deadpool & Wolverine
It could be argued that Days of Future Past should be last here, in its setting of 2023, but a whole lot of it takes place in 1973, so switch that about as you like according to taste.
And Deadpool 2 also references Wolverine’s death in Logan, the latter of which is set in 2029, so let’s assume Deadpool marches to the beat of his own drum. I mean, Deadpool & Wolverine is also filled with timeline jumping and multiverse hopping, so the Merc with a Mouth's position in this cinematic universe is a bit of a tricky one, to say the least.
The X-Men movies in chronological order: The two X-Men timelines
The Prime timeline
X-Men: First Class
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men
X2: X-Men United
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Wolverine
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Second timeline
X-Men: First Class
X-Men: Days of Future Past (past events)
X-Men: Apocalypse
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
New Mutants
Deadpool
Deadpool 2
Logan
Deadpool & Wolverine
There are a lot of issues with the X-Men timelines, so many that they probably warrant a whole article of their own. Yet, by taking the series as two timelines, which almost works in release order, you can just about grasp and understand the series.
We would suggest simply ignoring any inconsistencies. The X-Men series, after all, came way before the MCU, which established how movies should relate to one another. It’s therefore no use trying to apply real-world logic to a world of mutants and mad scientists (we’re looking at you, Bolivar Trask), but that’s what’s so special about the X-Men: they’re a microcosm for real-world prejudice in a fantasy world full of superheroes – and we love them for it.
For more, check out our guide on the best Marvel movies of all time and the best Wolverine stories to read right now. We also have a page breaking down the likelihood of a Deadpool 4 if you are curious to see what possible future Wolverine may have in the MCU.