How to watch the X-Men movies in order

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) grimaces in "Deadpool & Wolverine"

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)

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Where to watch the 'X-Men' movies
How to watch 'X-Men' movies in order of release
How to watch 'X-Men' movies in chronological order

Trying to watch the "X-Men" movies in order used to be difficult. But now that Disney owns Marvel Studios and Twentieth Century Fox, you just need Disney Plus. That includes the most recent release in the "X-Men" — 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine" — which is the first "X-Men" movie to exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So now that it's never been easier to watch the "X-Men" movies there's no point beating around the bush with adamantium claws. Here's how to watch all of the "X-Men" movies in order, including the "Deadpool" movies.

Where to watch the 'X-Men' movies

As mentioned earlier, finding the "X-Men" movies on a single service is now incredibly easy. All you need is a Disney Plus subscription.

How to watch 'X-Men' movies in order of release

In our opinion, the best way to watch the "X-Men" movies is in the order they were released. It'll make the most sense that way.

Granted, that spans a lot of time. The first movie — "X-Men" — was released in 2000, 24 years before this year's "Deadpool & Wolverine."

But despite this, the original "X-Men" movies still hold up and paved the way for the big-budget superhero movies that followed it, including Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," Christopher Nolan's Batman movies and — of course — the MCU films.

Here's the list of how to "X-Men" movies in order of release date:

"X-Men" (2000)
"X2" (2003)
"X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006)
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009)
"X-Men: First Class" (2011)
"The Wolverine" (2013)
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014)
"Deadpool" (2016)
"X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016)
"Logan" (2017)
"Deadpool 2" (2018)
"Dark Phoenix" (2019)
"The New Mutants" (2020)
"Deadpool & Wolverine" (2024)

How to watch 'X-Men' movies in chronological order

Because the events of the "X-Men" movies take place across several decades, multiple realities and even multiple franchises, watching them in chronological order of events can get a little tricky. But it's a fun and worthwhile binge for those who've already seen the movies more than once.

By chronological order, the viewing order starts with "First Class," which is set primarily in 1962 and follows a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) as they embrace their mutant personas of Professor X and Magneto, respectively. Then, we jump to "Days of Future Past," in which Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is sent back to the '70s to prevent a future in which killer-robot Sentinels destroy the X-Men.

Sophie Turner — (Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox)

But after "X-Men: Days of Future Past" things get a little confusing because after that movie, the films are split into two timelines. One timeline comprises the first "X-Men" trilogy and the first two Wolverine movies. The other timeline features the movies with the newer McAvoy-led "X-Men" cast and "Logan."

To make this as simple as possible, we've arranged the movies by the years in which they primarily take place, regardless of timeline. Of course, you could watch them in two chunks based solely on classic and new timelines if you felt so inclined.

"X-Men: First Class" (2011) — set primarily in 1962
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014) — set primarily in 1973
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) — set primarily in the 1970s
"X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) — set in 1983
"Dark Phoenix (2019) — set in the 1990s
"X-Men (2000) — set primarily in the early aughts
"X2: X-Men United (2003) — set primarily in the mid-aughts
"X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) — set primarily in the mid-aughts
"The Wolverine (2013) — set in 2013
"Deadpool (2016) — set in 2016
"Deadpool 2 (2018) — set around 2018
"The New Mutants (2020) — set in the mid-to-late 2020's
"Logan (2017) — set in 2029
"Deadpool & Wolverine" — set after the events of "Logan"

We don't recommend this order for first-time viewers, because this viewing makes numerous plot holes more obvious, and these might confuse more than entertain. But if you're willing to suspend your disbelief and just go along for the ride, you'll enjoy it.

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Malcolm McMillan is a Streaming Editor for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.

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