It's a truth universally acknowledged: The longer a comic book franchise continues, the more complicated its timelines and multiple universes become. And Marvel's X-Men have been around (in print at least) since 1963. The characters created byStan LeeandJack Kirbybegan showing up in animated TV series not long after that, but it took until the year 2000 for Hollywood to put them in a live-action blockbuster. Since X-Menhit theaters, 12 more movies in the series have followed, with still more on the horizon. And while it's easy enough to see the order in which they were released, figuring out where each falls in the broader timeline is slightly more difficult. To help the sticklers out there, we've organized all the X-Menmovies in chronological order. We've even thrown in some advice as to where to slot in the live-action TV series.
Read on to learn more about theX-Menmovies and how to watch them, whether you prefer to do it in release or timeline order.
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TheX-MenMovies in Chronological Order
1. X-Men: First Class(2011)
Released 11 years after the X-Men's first big-screen outing, the action of X-Men: First Classprecedes it in the timeline. It begins with a flashback to Erik Lehnsherr, who will later be known as Magneto, as a child in a concentration camp in 1944. But the majority of the movie takes place in the '60s, as the X-Men are founded. In First Class,James McAvoy andMichael Fassbendermake their debuts as Charles Xavier and adult Erik, respectively.
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past(2014)
If you want to complicate your chronological watch, you could do that starting here. The sequel toFirst Classcreates an alternate timeline, as Logan, AKA Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), goes back in time to change the course of some catastrophic events. He travels from a dystopian 2023 back to the '70s, where he finds Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters closed and the X-Men scattered around the world.
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine(2009)
As a prequel to 2000'sX-Men(still a ways down this list!), this Wolverine spotlight film mostly takes place in 1979. However, it starts with a chronicle of Logan's life that runs from the 1840s through various major wars, including Vietnam. A few years after that, some (very) bad blood with his brother leads Logan to leave his peaceful homestead and join the Weapon X program, which is how he gets his signature adamantium claws.
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4. X-Men: Apocalypse(2016)
Should you want to be strict about it, you could putX-Men: Apocalypseat the very (like,very) beginning of the timeline, as it traces its titular villain all the way back to 3600 B.C. Our X-Men (still the younger versions of the other 2010s films) don't encounter him until the early '80s, though.
This film is notable for introducing more key characters, including this series' incarnations of Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner).
5. Dark Phoenix (2019)
As the title suggest, this sequel to the other prequels tracks Jean's transformation into the uber-powerful but also chaotically destructive Phoenix after being imbued with the Phoenix Force during an X-Men mission to space. (Just go with it.) The movie takes place in 1992, making Erik/Magneto canonically age 63 in this scene. (Again, just go with it.)
6. X-Men(2000)
Years of development of the Marvel Comics property finally led to the first live-action feature film featuring the heroes in 2000. This one introducedPatrick Stewartas Charles Xavier,Ian McKellenas Magneto, Jackman as Wolverine,Halle Berryas Storm, and Famke Janssenas Jean Grey, among others. X-Menis set in the present, meaning that your chronological watch has officially crossed over in the new millennium.
7. X2: X-Men United(2003)
InX2, set a few years afterX-Men, Xavier's school is raided by the anti-mutant Colonel Stryker (Brian Cox), and the professor is kidnapped. To save him, the X-Men, who seek to live peacefully alongside normal humans, have to enlist the help of Magneto, who sees humans as the enemy.
8. X-Men: The Last Stand(2006)
The trilogy that began with 2000'sX-Menends withThe Last Stand—another take on the Phoenix storyline. It also involves the creation of a "cure" for mutants, giving our heroes the choice between remaining extraordinary or fully assimilating into humanity. Unfortunately the trilogy ended on a low note: The Last Stand did not fare nearly as well with critics as the first two movies.
9. The Wolverine(2013)
DespiteThe Last Standbeing something of a disappointment, Jackman's version of Logan/Wolverine lived on to fight another day at the multiplex. ThoughThe Wolverinebegins with a scene set during World War II, the majority of it takes place after the events of the prime '00s trilogy, when Logan travels back to Japan and becomes immersed in a conspiracy involving an old friend.
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10. Deadpool(2016)
After making his first appearance as a villain in X-Men Origins: Wolverine,Ryan Reynoldsreturned as a much more irreverent, foul-mouthed version of the character is his own spinoff movie. It makes plenty of references to Xavier's team, but the only official X-Men member who shows up is Colossus.
11. Deadpool 2(2018)
The firstDeadpoolwas a massive hit, so naturally it was quickly followed by a sequel. It's not totally clear when eitherDeadpoolorDeadpool 2take place, but they likely exist within the alternate timeline created by Logan inDays of Future Past. Either way, this one is even more tied to the X-Men canon, as Deadpool and his compatriots hide out at X-Mansion and form the X-Force—a sort-of militia-esque offshoot of the X-Men.
12. The New Mutants (2020)
Released to very little fanfare amid the COVID lockdown,The New Mutantsis another spinoff that lives in the nebulous space post-Last Standand prior toLogan. Looper points out that Xavier's School is still operational during the events of this film and that a character has a vision of young Laura in a Transigen facility, meaning that you can slot this side story about a group of teen mutants being held captive in beforeJames Mangold's2017 Wolverine spotlight film.
13. Logan(2017)
Logan, representing a major thematic shift in the franchise, is also the end of the line as far as the timeline is concerned. (For now.) Set in 2029, it reunites Jackman's Wolverine with Stewart's Xavier, who is 97 and struggling with dementia—a dangerous condition given his mutation. They end up on the run with a little girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), who was created from Logan's DNA to be used as a weapon.
Logan gives Wolverine and Xavier one heck of a send off—though both have since reprised their characters (Jackman in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine and Stewart in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), thanks to some mind-bendy comic book logic.
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The Live-ActionX-MenShows
1. The Gifted (2017-2019)
The Giftedfollows a family that goes into hiding with a group of other individuals with extraordinary abilities when their two children begin to show evidence of mutations. They can't just send them off to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, because in this world, the X-Men have disappeared. In an interview with ComicBook.com, The GiftedshowrunnerMatt Nixconfirmed that the series takes place in an anti-mutant timeline created inDays of Future Past, as he was instructed to "stay out of the way of the movies."
"It doesn't touch your movie timeline because it's the timeline you erased," he said he told executives. "Just give me that and then I'll do that."
Given that logic, you could watchThe GiftedafterDays of Future Past, or just save it until after you finish the movie timeline.
2. Legion (2017 -2019)
Marvel Comics character David Haller, AKA Legion, got a trippy series of his own in the late 2010s. Dan Stevensstarred as Xavier's son, who's institutionalized when his mutation is mistaken for mental illness. As reported by Inverse, showrunner Noah Hawleyhas always been cagey about whereLegionmay fall in the timeline, noting that even the time period is kept purposely vague. However, he did note that "in the [Days of Future Past], mutants became public knowledge, and our idea is that they're not public knowledge." Either way,Legionis truly its own beast, and it fully stands alone.
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The X-Men Movies in Release Order
- X-Men
- X2: X-Men United
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- X-Men: First Class
- The Wolverine
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Deadpool
- X-Men: Apocalypse
- Logan
- Deadpool 2
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix
- The New Mutants
