JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
Aug 27, 2024
Table of Contents
Marvel has gained great popularity since their first avengers film (‘The Avengers’), winning loyal fans all over the world by establishing seamlessly integrating characters, plot lines, and events across MCU movies and TV shows. They found a clever way to keep their audience engaged and it has worked. Perhaps the only downside is that the timeline for all the plot lines and events can get a bit lost between each film or show released. So, here is a full guide to the Marvel universe and how to watch every 34 films in order.
1) ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011)
‘Captain America: The First Avender’ stars Chris Evans as Captain America (Steve Rogers) and it deals with themes such as teamwork, standing up for what you believe in, loyalty and friendship.
‘Captain Marvel’ stars Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and deals with themes of identity and self-discovery, responsibility, empowerment and strength, sexism against women, deception and manipulation, psychological abuse, the complexity of war, friendship and loyalty.
Cinematography: Ben Davis | Editor: Debbie Berman, Elliot Graham
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | Writer: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant, Lars P. Winther
3) ‘Iron Man’ (2008)
‘Iron Man’ stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man (Tony Stark) and it deals with themes of redemption and transformation, the ethics of technology and the use of it in society, identity and responsibility, corporate greed and corruption, isolation and vulnerability, capitalism, the use of power.
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique | Editor: Dan Lebental
Director: Jon Favreau | Writer: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway | Producers: Victoria Alonso, Ari Arad, Kevin Feige
4) ‘Iron Man 2’ (2010)
In ‘Iron Man 2’, Robert Downey Jr. comes back as Iron Man (Tony Stark). The sequel deals with themes such as legacy and responsibility, identity and self-destruction, ethics of technology, the burden of power, flawed heroes and human connection, friendship and trust.
‘The Incredible Hulk’ stars Ed Norton as Hulk and deals with themes such as identity and duality, isolation and loneliness, power and responsibility, redemption, and science and ethics.
Length: 112 minutes
Released date: June 13, 2008
Cast: Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt
Cinematography: Peter Menzies Jr. | Editor: Rick Shaine, Vincent Tabaillon, John Wright
Director: Louis Leterrier | Writer: Zak Penn | Producers: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, Gale Anne Hurd, Kurt Williams
6) ‘Thor’ (2011)
‘Thor’ stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor and it deals with themes such as inner strength, resilience, and hope, as well as humility and the importance of falling in love.
In ‘Thor’, Chris Hemsworth comes back as Thor and the sequel deals with themes such as the responsibilities that come with taking on the throne, good versus evil and the importance of family. The film also features characters from Norse mythology, including Thor, Odin, and Loki.
Robert Downey Jr. comes back once again as Iron Man (Tony Stark) in the last film of the “Iron Man” trilogy: ‘Iron Man 3’. The third installment deals with themes such as outside versus inside beauty, selflessness, hubris, identity, anxiety, curiosity, humility, moral compass, political cynicism, pacifism.
Cinematography: John Toll | Editor: Peter S. Elliot, Jeffrey Ford
Director: Shane Black| Writer: Drew Pearce, Shane Black | Producers: Kevin Feige
10) ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014)
In ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, Chris Evans comes back as Captain America (Steve Rogers) and it deals with themes such as trust issues, the importance of the truth and sticking to your truth, adjusting to the modern world, and that fear does not equal freedom.
Cinematography: Trent Opaloch | Editor: Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely | Producers: Kevin Feige, Nate Moore
11) ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket. The film deals with themes such as tolerance and diversity, loss, teamwork, friendship, and helping others.
Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket come back in a second installment of the ‘Guardian of the Galaxy’, with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’. The sequel deals with themes such as chosen family, biological bonds and rebellion.
Our Avengers come back for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, which deals with themes such as actions have consequences, protecting the weak, the nature of artificial intelligence, and inner conflicts.
‘Ant-Man’ stars Paul Rudd as Ant-Man and deals with themes such as father-child relationships, loyalty, forgiveness and redemption, second chances, and loss and grief.
Cinematography: Russell Carpenter | Editor: Dan Lebental, Colby Parker Jr.
Director: Peyton Reed | Writer: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant, Brad Winderbaum
15) ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
In ‘Captain America: Civil War’, Chris Evans comes back as Captain America (Steve Rogers) for another of the “Captain America” films with ‘Captain America: Civil War’. The third installment deals with themes such as trust issues, the importance of the truth and sticking to your truth, adjusting to the modern world, and that fear does not equal freedom.
Cinematography: Trent Opaloch | Editor: Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Kevin Feige, Christoph Fisser, Henning Molfenter, Júlio Uchoa, Charlie Woebcken
16) ‘Black Widow’ (2021)
‘Black Widow’ stars Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) and deals with themes such as feminism, over sexualization of women, found / non-biological families, trauma, trust, loyalty, disillusionment with the state, and child trafficking.
Cinematography: Gabriel Beristain | Editor: Leigh Folsom Boyd, Matthew Schmidt
Director: Cate Shortland | Writer: Eric Pearson | Producers: Zakaria Alaoui, Mitchell Bell, Per Henry Borch, Brian Chapek, Leifur B. Dagfinnsson, Howard Ellis, Kevin Feige, Adam Goodman
17) ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017)
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ stars Tom Holland as Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and it deals with themes such as community, the importance of communication, courage and perseverance, coming-of-age, and the importance of being responsible. After all, “with great power, comes great responsibility”.
Cinematography: Salvatore Totino | Editor: Debbie Berman, Dan Lebental
Director: Jon Watts | Writer: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Eric Hauserman Carroll, Kevin Feige, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal
In ‘Black Panther’, Chadwick Boseman stars as Black Panther (King T’Challa) and it deals with themes such as culture and tradition, identity, justice, climate literacy, representation, and blackness.
Cinematography: Rachel Morrison | Editor: Debbie Berman, Michael P. Shawver
Director: Ryan Coogler | Writer: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant, Genevieve Hofmeyr, Danny ‘Yun Tae’ Kang
19) ‘Doctor Strange’ (2016)
‘Doctor Strange’ stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange and the film deals with themes such as Strange’s nature, sacrifice, and the conflict between Strange and Mordo.
Cinematography: Ben Davis | Editor: Sabrina Plisco, Wyatt Smith
Director: Scott Derrickson | Writer: Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant
20) ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017)
In ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, Chris Hemsworth comes back as Thor. The sequel deals with themes such as resilience, fighting for what’s right, facing change, positive traits, diversity, evil and indifference, and leadership.
Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe | Editor: Zene Baker, Joel Negron
Director: Taika Waititi | Writer: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher L. Yost | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant
21) ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’ (2018)
In ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’, Paul Rudd comes back as Ant-Man (Scott Lang). The sequel deals with themes such as forgiveness, redemption, teamwork, courage, and trust.
Cinematography: Dante Spinotti | Editor: Dan Lebental, Craig Wood
Director: Peyton Reed | Writer: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Stephen Broussard, Kevin Feige, Lars P. Winther
Our Avengers come back for a third installment of “The Avengers” films: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. The film deals with themes such as waiting for resolution, the threat of death, the consequences and aftermath of fighting a villain, Thanos as a version of Christ, teamwork, courage, loss, sacrifice, and the importance and significance of the Infinity Stones.
Cinematography: Trent Opaloch | Editor: Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Kevin Feige, Edu Sallouti, Nicholas Simon
23) ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Our Avengers come back for a fourth installment of “The Avengers” films: ‘Avengers: Endgame’. The film deals with themes such as time, family values, community, teamwork, courage, self-sacrifice, heroism, and the collective good.
Cinematography: Trent Opaloch | Editor: Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Kevin Feige, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Edu Sallouti, Jen Underdahl
24) ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019)
In ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, Tom Holland comes back as Spider-Man (Peter Parker). The sequel deals with themes such as responsibility, balancing personal needs with the greater good, grief, trusting your gut, and disillusionment.
Cinematography: Matthew J. Lloyd | Editor: Leigh Folsom Boyd, Dan Lebental
Director: Jon Watts | Writer: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers | Producers: Kevin Feige, David Minkowski, Amy Pascal, Matthew Stillman
25) ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (2021)
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi (Shaun) and it deals with themes such as friendship and redemption of family, found family, and the responsibility of power.
Cinematography: Bill Pope | Editor: Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, Nat Sanders, Harry Yoon
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton, Dave Callaham, Andrew Lanham | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant, Jonathan Schwartz
‘Eternals’ stars Gemma Chan as Sersei, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Ma Dong-seok as Gilgamesh. The film deals with themes such as faith and belief, motherhood, evolution, biblical parallels, opposing ideals regarding duty, and humanity.
Cinematography: Ben Davis | Editor: Dylan Tichenor, Craig Wood
Director: Chloé Zhao | Writer: Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Kevin Feige, Nate Moore, Juan Cano Nono, Helen Pollak, Andreas Wentz
27) ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021)
In ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, Tom Holland comes back as Spider-Man (Peter Parker). The third installment deals with themes such as restorative justice, responsibility and power, second chances, community and hope, and growing up.
Cinematography: Mauro Fiore | Editor: Leigh Folsom Boyd, Jeffrey Ford
Director: Jon Watts | Writer: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Chris Buongiorno, Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal
28) ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (2022)
In ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, Benedict Cumberbatch comes back as Doctor Stephen Strange. The sequel deals with themes such as multidimensional travel, multiverse travel, the destructive power of deep regret, violence, sorcery and witchcraft, letting go of ego, the necessity of choice, and trust building / trust issues.
In ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, Letitia Wright as Shuri and Angela Bassett as Ramonda come back for a second installment, now with bigger roles in the absence of Chadwick Boseman. The film deals with themes such as vulnerability, grief is a natural part of life, the responsibility of becoming a leader, accountability, colonialism, international diplomacy, cultural empathy, BIPOC allyship.
In ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’, Paul Rudd comes back as Ant-Man (Scott Lang). The third installment deals with themes such as the importance of family, the difficult choice between family and the multiverse, redemption, the importance of communication, quantum physics, courage, empathy, teamwork, and the future of the MCU – with the introduction of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
Cinematography: Bill Pope | Editor: Adam Gerstel, Laura Jennings
Director: Peyton Reed | Writer: Jeff Loveness | Producers: Mitchell Bell, Stephen Broussard, Kevin Feige, Helen Pollak, Laura Stoltz
32) ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ (2023)
In ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’, our favorite space squad comes back, this time fairly divided, while we explore Rocket’s origin story. In the third installment, we see themes such as tolerance and diversity, found family, loss, grief, technology, religion, trauma, empathy, and utopianism are dealt with.
In ‘The Marvels’, Brie Larson comes back as Captain Marvel and now we have Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan). The film deals with themes such as identity, good versus evil, competition, justice and judgment, power, perseverance, chosen family, and the future of the MCU (some setups for future films are established).
Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt | Editor: Catrin Hedström, Evan Schiff
Director: Nia DaCosta | Writer: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik | Producers: Kevin Feige, David J. Grant
34) ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024)
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ stars Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (Wade Wilson) and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (Logan). The film deals with themes such as the struggle to find meaning, the multiverse, friendship, the pursuit of purpose.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
