You’ve probably been there. You sit down, pop on Disney+, and decide it’s finally time to tackle the mutants. Then you realize there are like 14 movies, half the actors change halfway through, and characters who definitely died in 2006 are somehow walking around fine in 2014.
Honestly, trying to figure out the all x men movies order is a headache. It's not like the MCU where everything fits into a nice, neat box. The X-Men franchise is a sprawling, beautiful, often frustrating disaster of continuity errors and retcons.
But here's the thing: it’s also home to some of the best superhero storytelling ever put on film. From the gritty, Western vibes of Logan to the colorful 80s cheese of Apocalypse, there is a lot to love. You just need a roadmap so you don't get lost in the temporal weeds.
The "I Just Want to Understand the Plot" Release Order
If it’s your first time, do not—I repeat, do not—try to watch these chronologically. You’ll be confused why the special effects get worse as the "time" goes forward. The best way to experience the X-Men is exactly how the rest of the world did: in the order they hit theaters.
- X-Men (2000): This is where it started. Hugh Jackman was a literal nobody, and leather suits were peak cinema.
- X2: X-Men United (2003): Widely considered one of the best sequels ever. That White House opening scene with Nightcrawler? Still unmatched.
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006): Kinda controversial. It tries to do too much, kills off major characters, and basically forced the studio to invent time travel later just to fix it.
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009): We don't talk about the Deadpool in this movie. Seriously. It’s a prequel, but it’s... rough.
- X-Men: First Class (2011): A total breath of fresh air. We go back to the 60s to see how Xavier and Magneto became "frenemies."
- The Wolverine (2013): A solo Logan trip to Japan. Better than Origins, but still feels a bit like a side quest.
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014): The big one. This movie connects the old cast with the new cast and literally resets the timeline so the bad movies "didn't happen."
- Deadpool (2016): Pure chaos. Ryan Reynolds finally gets to play the real Wade Wilson.
- X-Men: Apocalypse (2016): The 80s version of the team faces an ancient god. It’s a bit CGI-heavy, but Oscar Isaac is in there somewhere under all that purple makeup.
- Logan (2017): Not just a good superhero movie—a good movie. It’s bleak, R-rated, and will make you cry.
- Deadpool 2 (2018): More jokes, more blood, and the introduction of Cable.
- Dark Phoenix (2019): A second attempt at the Jean Grey story. It was the "end" of the Fox era, and it felt a bit rushed.
- The New Mutants (2020): A weird horror-adjacent spinoff that got delayed for years. It’s mostly its own thing.
- Deadpool & Wolverine (2024): The massive bridge into the MCU. This is where the multiverse stuff really kicks in.
Watching All X Men Movies Order Chronologically (For the Brave)
So you’ve seen them all and you want to feel the flow of time? Good luck. Because of Days of Future Past, the timeline literally splits in two. If you want to follow the "actual" years the stories take place, it looks something like this:
The 1944–1973 "Unified" Era Everything starts with the opening of X-Men: First Class (1962). You see the Cuban Missile Crisis and the formation of the school. Technically, the 1800s flashback in Origins: Wolverine comes first, but it's just a montage.
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The Split In 1973 (during Days of Future Past), Logan goes back in time. This creates two paths.
Path A (The Original Timeline): This leads to X-Men Origins: Wolverine (set in 1979), then the original trilogy (X-Men, X2, Last Stand), then The Wolverine (2013), and finally the dark, Sentinel-filled future of 2023 seen at the start of Days of Future Past.
Path B (The Revised Timeline): Because Logan changed the past, we get a new history. This leads to X-Men: Apocalypse (1983), Dark Phoenix (1992), and eventually the modern-day Deadpool movies.
Where does Logan fit?
That’s the million-dollar question. James Mangold, the director, has often said Logan (set in 2029) is sort of its own thing. It's a possible future, but maybe not the only future. In Deadpool & Wolverine, they clarify that Logan's death is a "fixed point" for his specific universe, which adds another layer of multiversal weirdness.
The Secret Ingredient: Why the Order Matters in 2026
We are now in the era of Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Marvel is officially pulling the X-Men into the main MCU fold. If you haven't kept up with the all x men movies order, you're going to be very confused when Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellen (who are rumored to return yet again) show up.
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The MCU isn't just rebooting these characters; they are playing with the "Legacy" versions.
Seeing the original 2000s cast meet the Avengers is the ultimate fan service, but it only works if you have the emotional connection from those early films. You need to see the 24-year journey of Hugh Jackman's Logan to appreciate why his appearance in the MCU is such a big deal.
Common Misconceptions About the Timeline
Most people think First Class is a hard reboot. It isn't. It was always intended to be a prequel to the 2000 movie, even if the ages of characters like Emma Frost don't quite line up.
Another big mistake? Thinking The New Mutants is part of the MCU. It’s not. It was the very last gasp of the Fox-produced X-Men movies. It exists in a weird limbo where it references the X-Men but doesn't really interact with them.
Then there’s the Deadpool problem. Wade Wilson knows he’s in a movie. He literally makes fun of the timeline confusion in Deadpool 2 when he visits the X-Mansion and sees the younger Apocalypse cast. Don't try to use logic with Deadpool. It'll just hurt your brain.
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Making the Most of Your Rewatch
If you want the "Perfect Experience" without watching all 14 films, I’d suggest the "Greatest Hits" Order:
- X-Men (to meet the team)
- X2: X-Men United (for the peak original vibe)
- X-Men: First Class (for the origin)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (to bridge the gap)
- Deadpool (for the laughs)
- Logan (for the heart)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (for the grand finale)
This gives you the essential story beats without the filler of Dark Phoenix or the frustration of The Last Stand.
To get ready for the 2026 MCU expansion, focus on the Multiverse themes. Pay attention to how Days of Future Past and Deadpool & Wolverine handle "Anchor Beings" and timeline branches. That’s clearly where Kevin Feige is taking the X-Men next.
Start with the original 2000 X-Men tonight. It’s dated, sure, but that score and the chemistry between Stewart and McKellen are still magic. Once you finish that, move straight to X2. By the time you get to the time-traveling shenanigans of the later films, you'll at least know who everyone is before the world starts blowing up again.