How to watch the X-Men movies in order (release and chronological)

X-Men movies in order: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine with the rest of the X-Men in the the movie X-Men 2. — (Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Disney)

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Release order
Chronological order(s)

With the MCU dripfeeding mutants and a new X-Men movie on the way, it's about time to break out the boxsets and watch the X-Men movies in order. That counts double if you want the likes of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to hit even harder.

But with X-Men's cinematic history stretching out over a quarter of a century and encompassing multiple legacy casts (including a handful that have made the jump to Marvel Studios) then you might be forgiven for confusing your Apocalpyses from your Days of Future Past.

To help, we've got a guide on watching the X-Men movies in release order and chronological/timeline order. For more on the wider MCU, we even have a guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

How to watch the X-Men movies in release date order

Best for: Our recommended viewing experience in 2026

By watching all the 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. It will also make life a lot easier as the MCU X-Men movies are released. Trust us.

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. You'll also find all the Marvel movies on the platform too, making it the best streaming service for any mutant marathon.

How to watch the X-Men movies in order: chronological order(s)

X-Men movies in order: James McAvoy as Charles Xavier in the movie X-Men First Class. — (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

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 scrolling down a little further and 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 quite line up as neatly as you would hope.

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 and will likely just keep on getting more convoluted (and potentially redundant) once we see potential X-Men appearances in the upcoming Avengers movies (Doomsday and Secret Wars) as well as the confirmed X-Men reboot. So it's best to skip this version, in our opinion.

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 the vast majority takes place in 1973, with the 'future' setting being used as a plot device.

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 tenuous at best.

The X-Men movies in chronological order: The two X-Men timelines

X-Men movies in order: Sophie Turner as Jean Grey in the movie Dark Phoenix. — (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

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.

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