How to Watch the X Men Movies in Order

Witness the evolution of this mutant superhero team

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Chris Compendio
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Chris Compendio has been writing about tech since 2016. While Chris specializes in gaming, their bylines include Paste Magazine, MSN, and more.
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Chris Compendio
Updated on November 20, 2020
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Chris Selph
Lifewire Technology Review Board Member
Chris Selph is a CompTIA-certified technology and vocational IT teacher. He also serves as network & server administrator and performs computer maintenance and repair for numerous clients.
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Article reviewed on Feb 15, 2021
Chris Selph

The X-Men films from 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios under Disney) were a trailblazer for superhero films. However, with so many changing hands and visions in the course of two decades, the viewing order for the series and the larger X-Men timeline as a whole is a bit muddy.

After Disney's acquisition of Fox, streaming the X-Men films is a much easier task, as the titles are slowly migrating to Disney+. Otherwise, you can rent all of these movies on digital storefronts such as iTunes, Amazon Video, or Vudu.

This guide only covers the X-Men and mutant films produced by 20th Century Fox. The franchise is unconnected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is also available to stream, and consists of the original X-Men trilogy, a prequel X-Men Beginnings series, an informal trilogy of Wolverine films, two Deadpool films, and a horror spin-off called The New Mutants. X-Men TV shows such as The Gifted and Legion are not included.

How to Watch X-Men Movies in Order of Release

By far the most coherent way to watch the X-Men films is in the order of their theatrical and home releases. From there, you can witness how the franchise evolved and changed in style.

Movie Release Date Where to Watch
X-Men July 2000 Disney+
X2 May 2003 Disney+
X-Men: The Last Stand May 2006 not yet available
X-Men Origins: Wolverine May 2009 STARZ
X-Men: First Class June 2011 HBO Max
The Wolverine July 2013 Disney+
X-Men: Days of Future Past May 2014 Disney+
Deadpool February 2016 Hulu
X-Men: Apocalypse May 2016 Disney+
Logan March 2017 FX Now
Deadpool 2 May 2018 Hulu
Dark Phoenix June 2019 HBO Max
The New Mutants August 2020 not yet available

How to Watch X-Men Movies in Chronological Order

Want to watch the X-Men films in the order in which they take place? It's a complicated ordeal, with retcons, time travel, and continuity errors. Here's our best shot at making sense of the tangled timeline.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a time travel crossover between the original X-Men trilogy and the X-Men Beginnings prequel series. The 2023 segments of the film take place several years after The Wolverine. For the purposes of this list, the film counts as an X-Men Beginnings entry.

Movie Subseries Timing Where to Watch
X-Men: First Class X-Men Beginnings 1962 HBO Max
X-Men: Days of Future Past X-Men Beginnings 1973/2023 Disney+
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Wolverine Trilogy 1979 STARZ
X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men Beginnings 1983 Disney+
Dark Phoenix X-Men Beginnings 1992 HBO Max
X-Men X-Men Trilogy Early 2000s Disney+
X2 X-Men Trilogy Shortly after X-Men Disney+
X-Men: The Last Stand X-Men Trilogy A few years after X2 not yet available
The Wolverine Wolverine Trilogy Several years after X-Men: The Last Stand Disney+
Deadpool Deadpool Time not specified, presumably 2016 Hulu
Deadpool 2 Deadpool A few years after Deadpool Hulu
The New Mutants N/A "Present-day," according to the director not yet available
Logan Wolverine Trilogy 2029 FX Now
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