The Best Order To Watch The X-Men Movies (2024)

The X-Men movies are rising in relevance again as mutants continue to appear throughout the MCU's Multiverse Saga, but for anyone who wants to revisit the Fox films, there are a couple of possible viewing orders to choose from. The Fox Marvel movie universe cspanned 20 years, starting with X-Men (2000) and closing with The New Mutants (2020). The X-Men movies have highs and lows, but there's little doubt that the franchise was instrumental in ushering in the modern age of superhero movies.

The thirteen X-Men movies contain multiple time jumps, showing footage from 1944 to 2029. The number of prequels and reboots this timeline includes can make it difficult to follow the continuity of the Fox X-Men movies. There's no avoiding the series's many internal contradictions and inconsistencies (particularly with Wolverine's X-Men movie timeline), but understanding which movie falls where can help deliver the best possible X-Men viewing experience.

How To Watch X-Men Movies In Release Order

The X-Men movie release order starts out simple enough with a number of direct sequels and a prequel. However, things do get a bit muddied as the X-Men prequel series and Wolverine solo movies begin to intertwine. Deadpool continues the trend of the franchise timeline jumping around, and, by the time Logan, Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix, and The New Mutants released between 2017 and 2020, the X-Men franchise is covering several different decades simultaneously.

However, even though the Wolverine and X-Men prequel movies don't make much sense with the timeline established in the original movies, every X-Men movie so far does take place within the same continuity. This is perhaps most difficult to reconcile with Deadpool 2, which offers very different takes on previously established characters Colossus and Juggernaut.

How To Watch X-Men Movies In Chronological Order

Following the franchise in chronological order does offer a different viewing experience as it opens with early years and origins before continuing into massive battles between armies of mutants. The first half of the list shows the formation of the X-Men up until their final battle in X-Men: The Last Stand. After that, it's heavily focused on the characters of Wolverine and Deadpool and doesn't necessarily move forward with the overall group. Despite being put into chronological order, the timeline of these movies is still very difficult to follow.

The New Mutants doesn't really affect the franchise's overall timeline. It focuses on its own story outside the X-Men, which is very similar to how the two Deadpool films are in this universe (though seems set to have major MCU ramifications). Those three movies can be watched at any point without spoiling the remaining movies.

The Best Viewing Order For X-Men Movies

Ultimately, it comes down to preference, but the messy X-Men movie timeline means that there isn't as much to gain from a chronological viewing experience as there may be with other franchises. However, a third option may, in fact, be better than either approach. With multiple continuities that crossover but also work well as individual viewing experiences, it works particularly well to view each sub-series in the broader X-Men continuity at once. Doing so would mean watching the X-Men original trilogy, then the prequel series, then the Wolverine movies, and finally Deadpool 1 & 2 and The New Mutants.