But before you get watching, we’ve assembled a handy guide to the MCU below to help show how Captain Marvel’s story fits into the franchise’s overarching, 23-film narrative. (Despite being the 21st entry in the series, Captain Marvel is the second entry chronologically – like we said, slightly confusing.)

Check out our snapshot history of the MCU below before scrolling down to the timeline. Then, you’ll finally be ready to settle in with the action-packed, unforgettable Captain Marvel…

The Marvel Cinematic Universe in a nutshell

Back in 2005, film producer Kevin Feige had the bright idea of combining Marvel’s Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk) into a singular, far-reaching, revolutionary cinematic series encompassing multiple films and culminating in one gigantic, all-star blockbuster.

Risky as the move was (what with their other characters Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four all raking in huge amounts of dosh at other film studios) Marvel created their own independent studio with a measly $500 million loan and set in motion a narrative that would literally last a decade.

Iron Man (2008) saw the start of what Feige tentatively titled the “Marvel Cinema Universe”, with The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) all introducing the other key players in cinema’s greatest superhero team – The Avengers – before the eponymous blockbuster was released in 2012.

Over the next few years, more characters were introduced and the franchise even journeyed into the stars before, at long last, Feige’s dream became a reality in the superhero team-up movie to end all superhero team-up movies – Avengers: Endgame.

Though she made her solo film debut in her own, aforementioned flick (becoming the first female MCU character to do so in the process) Captain Marvel finally met up with the rest of the Avengers in Endgame, to the delight of millions of fans.

So, now that you’re all up to date with the long and illustrious history of cinema’s most epic film franchise, click/hover on the handy graphic below to see when each MCU movie was released and the year in which the action takes place.

Still feeling Marvel-lous?

If all this superhero talk has left you with a rather sizeable, spandex-shaped hole in your life, check out our Marvel hub for even more shield-throwing, hammer-smashing goodness.

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