How to watch the X-Men movies in order: chronological and release date
Want to know how to stream the X-Men movies in order? TechRadar has got all of your bases covered
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Welcome to TechRadar’s X-Men movies in order guide. In this article, you’ll find a definitive account of how to stream every mutant-starring film ever made. That includes the 13Marvelmovies that were produced by 20th Century Fox, as well asDeadpool and Wolverine, the first X-Men-centric flick that’s set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Working out how to stream every X-Men film isn’t as straightforward as it seems, though. Indeed, due to the messy nature of when the superteam’s live-action movies take place, there are a number of timelines to take into account. Luckily, our entertainment experts are on hand to guide you on your X-Men movies in order quest. So, without further ado, here’s how to stream all of the X-Men films in order of chronology and their release dates.
Stream the X-men movies on Disney PlusAll 13 X-Men movies to date are available on Disney Plus, so you’ll need a subscription to watch them.
Disney Plus Basic – its ad-supported tier – costs $7.99 (US) / £4.99 (UK) a month. Meanwhile, the Premium tier will set you back $10.99 / £10.99 per month or $109.99 / £109.99 annually. There’s also an extra ad-free Standard tier in the UK, which is priced at £7.99 / £79.90.In Australia, you can only purchase the Standard tier for AU$13.99 / $139.99, or the Premium tier (with 4K UHD and HDR video, and Dolby Atmos sound) for AU $17.99 / $179.99.
For more details about how much a subscription costs where you live, check out ourDisney Plus priceguide.
How to watch the X-Men movies in release date order
Best for:first-time viewers.
About to embark on your first-ever X-Men movie marathon? You’ll want to start by watching the X-Men movies in release date order. It’s a far simpler process to follow as you’ll just be streaming every mutant movie in the order that they were released in theaters, starting with 2000’sX-Menand ending with 2020’sThe New Mutants(NB:Deadpool 3will become the latest addition to this section once it launches on July 26).
Watching the films this way also means you won’t have to deal with the convoluted and messy X-Men movies in chronological order, either, which requires its own detailed section to explain what the heck is going on. So, if you’re a newcomer to this film franchise, viewing the X-Men films in order of release date is the best place to start.
How to watch the X-Men movies in chronological order
Best for:long-time fans who want a different viewing experience.
This is where things get incredibly complex because even the X-Men’s supercomputer known as Cerebro would struggle to get its circuits around the intricacies of their live-action timeline.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
On the surface, streaming the X-Men movies in order of their canonical chronology should be fairly straightforward. However, things are much more complicated – as evidenced by the below list of watching the X-Men films in order of chronology (NB:we haven’t included Deadpool’s first two movies in the list below as it’ll only further complicate matters, but we’ve addedDeadpool 3due to its ties toLogan):
Confused? Allow us to explain. Ignoring the numerous flashbacks to the 19th century (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and World War II (X-Men,X-Men: First Class, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, andThe Wolverine), the mutants’ screen story actually begins inX-Men: First Class,which is set in 1962, and continues inX-Men: Days of Future Past., whose primary narrative occurs in 1973.
Next, while some key scenes inX-Men Origins: Wolverinetake place that same year (i.e. 1973), the majority of this Wolverine-led flick – notably the scenes where James ‘Logan’ Howlett acquires his adamantium skeleton – is set in 1979. An augmented, rage-filled Wolverine next appears inX-Men: Apocalypse; a film set in 1983. The X-Men movie prequel saga concludes withX-Men: Dark Phoenix. It’s set in 1992, FYI.
After that we finally get the originalX-Menfilm, which was set in an undefined “near future” in the year 2000.X-Men 2andX-Men: The Last Standfollow it in a relief-inducing linear fashion.
We also know that 2013’sThe Wolverinetakes place afterX-Men: The Last Stand, as Logan is still coming to terms with being forced to kill Jean Grey in the latter.The Wolverine’s end-credits sequence then takes place two years after the rest of the movie, as Professor Xavier and Magneto return to warn Logan about “dark forces building a weapon that could bring about the end of our kind”, which leads us nicely onto the 2023-set parts ofX-Men: Days of Future Past.
It’s worth noting, however, that this timeline ceases to exist after Wolverine’s time-travelling exploits in the movie, which end up saving the day – or so it appears. The grimdarkLogantakes place in 2029, a time period when the X-Men are a thing of the past and very few mutants remain. So much for saving the day, eh?
To further complicate matter,Deadpool and Wolverine, which takes place in 2024, confirms that not only does Deadpool share a universe withLogan’s version of Wolverine (a timeline designated Earth-10005), but also that it’s a film that dips in and out of the ever-expanding and increasingly convoluted MCU.
Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple (if the above can be described as much). Indeed, while the above dates (mostly) fit together, there are numerous contradictions in this timeline.
In 2000’sX-Men, Xavier reveals he met Magneto when they were 17 but, inFirst Class, we learn that their first meeting took place when both were adults. A hairless Xavier is seen walkingandusing his psychic abilities in the 1979 parts ofX-Men Origins: Wolverine, yet he’s paralyzed in 1962’sX-Men: First Class, and doesn’t lose his hair untilX-Men: Apocalypse.(NB: he’s able to walk in the 1973 portion ofDays of Future Pastdue to an experimental drug that suppresses his psychic abilities).
The end-credits scene fromThe Wolverineonly adds to the confusion. The old Xavier was last seen being vaporized inX-Men: The Last Stand,yet he’s back in one piece here, while the older Magneto has regained the mutant abilities he lost in the same movie. Neither mystery is explained in a future flick. The scene also shows Wolverine wielding bone claws, having lost his adamantium adornments earlier in the movie – yet, by the timeDays of Future Pastrolls around, he’s back to adamantium. Again, nobody explains why.
And then there’s the fact that Jean Grey lives through the Dark Phoenix sagatwice. But hey, we’ve gone down enough rabbit holes, so let’s leave that discussion for another time.
Admittedly, some of these contradictions can be explained away as continuity errors, while others start to make a bit more sense when you look at the X-Men universe as distinct timelines.
For example, ground zero for any X-Men movies in order guide is the 1973 segment ofX-Men: Days of Future Past. With Wolverine traveling back in time and teaming up with the ’70s X-Men squad to prevent the creation of the Sentinels, they sidestep the future that led to mutant armageddon in the so-called ‘Prime timeline’. This creates an alternative sequence of events (to the future portion ofDays of Future Past) that leads intoX-Men: ApocalypseandX-Men: Dark Phoenix.
We see evidence of the ‘repaired’ timeline by the end ofDays of Future Past, too, with Logan/Wolverine returning to an unfamiliar future in which Cyclops and Jean Grey, played by original actors James Marsden and Famke Janssen, are still alive (they did inThe Last Stand). We also see Kelsey Grammer’s version of Beast, who was also last seen inThe Last Stand, and whose subsequent death Logan references inDays of Future Past.The new timelines, then, look something like this:
Prime X-Men timeline
‘Repaired’ timeline (post-Days of Future Past)
It’s unclear which branch of the X-Men timeline leads intoLoganandDeadpool and Wolverine. A (non-canon) deleted scene mention Jean Grey’s death, suggesting it was originally planned as a continuation of the ‘Prime timeline’. That said, Xavier also refers to Logan and Jean being married before he killed her, so – seeing as they were never officially a couple in the movies – previously, this suggested thatLoganexists in its own distinct timeline. However, we now know that Deadpool and 20th Century Fox’s complex X-Men universe take place on Earth-10005, so we can throw away that particularLogantheory.
Lastly,The New Mutants, plus TV showsLegionandThe Giftedshould be regarded as their own distinct entities, completely separate from the other X-Men timelines.
How to watch the X-Men movies in order: distinct film series
As we’ve alluded to, the X-Menmovies don’t really exist as one continuous saga. Instead, there were several mini-franchises within 20th Century Fox’s overall franchise until the studio was bought by Disney in 2019. For that reason, it’s easier to think of them in granular terms, rather than getting hung up on how they fit together as one big entity.
Here, then, is how to stream each batch of X-Men movies in order, including how to watch the Deadpool films in order:
Original X-Men trilogy
Prequel X-Men quadrilogy
Wolverine film trilogy
Deadpool movie trilogy
Other X-Men flicks
Where to watch the X-Men movies in order
Good news, everyone! The first 13 X-Men movies are available onDisney Plusin the US, UK, and Australia. Various films are also available to watch on other streamers, includingMax, Fubo, and Starz. But, with each one viewable on Disney’s primary platform, why would you look anywhere else?
We don’t know whenDeadpool 3will join its brethren on one of thebest streaming services, but you should bookmark ourDeadpool and Wolverineon Disney Plusguide to find out more about its official streaming launch date when it’s announce.
The X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Although 20th Century Fox’s X-Menfranchise came to an end withThe New Mutants, the group have slowly made the leap to the MCU in recent years. A new X-Menfilm hasn’t been announced by the comic titan, but it’s only a matter of time. Not only that, but Marvel President Kevin Feige has teased that, post-Deadpool and Wolverine, we’ll be entering the MCU’s Mutant Era (perThe Playlist). Exciting times lie ahead, then.
That all said, some mutants made their MCU debuts prior toDeadpool 3. Indeed, a version of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X appeared briefly in a parallel universe in May 2022’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,while ‘the M-word’ –mutant – was mentioned for the first time inMs. Marvel(alongsidea tease of the theme from the classic ’90s X-Men cartoon) one month later.
Before 2022 ended, another mutant in Namor, who debuted inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, was also unveiled. The mid-credits sequence from November 2023’sThe Marvelssaw Monica Rambeau landing in a parallel universe where the X-Men – including the returning Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) as Beast – are very much alive and kicking, too. Oh, and the launch of season 1 ofX-Men 97in March also heralded the superteam’s return – albeit in animated form and in a completely separate universe to the MCU.
As forDeadpool and Wolverine, it’s more of a celebration of Fox’s defunct X-Men film franchise than an instigator for the group’s MCU arrival. Read ourDeadpool and Wolverineending explainedarticle to find out more about what impact, if any, it has on the MCU’s future.
Every X-Men movie ranked, from worst to best
Much like their MCU counterparts – learn more in ourMarvel movies in orderguide – the X-Men movies vary in quality. Unsurprisingly, that means fans and critics alike have had plenty to say about them over the past 24 years. Below, then, we’ve ranked the X-Men movies in order of their critical ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. Read on to see if you agree with how they’re rated:
For more Marvel-based coverage, read our guides onMarvel Phase 5,The Fantastic Four,Agatha All Along, andhow to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.
Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard’s happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he’ll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard’s name was Winter.
Red One isn’t perfect but it proves we need more action-packed Christmas movies
Scotland vs South Africa live stream: how to watch 2024 rugby union Autumn International online from anywhere
NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Sunday, November 10 (game #252)
