GameTimeline

Watch order

X-Men watch order

Fox’s X-Men theatrical films from X-Men (2000) through Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)—US release order on one tab, a practical chronology on the other. Days of Future Past soft-reboots continuity; TV shows stay FAQ-only.

Updated August 2026

Release order

When each X-Men film opened in US theaters—from X-Men (2000) through Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). This is the path that matches how Fox shipped jokes, casting changes, and the DOFP reboot.

  • Recommended first path → Release tab start to finish
  • Chronology-curious → Story tab, then reread FAQ on DOFP
  • Wolverine focus → Origins (optional) → The Wolverine → Logan
  • Deadpool lane → Deadpool → Deadpool 2 → Deadpool & Wolverine
Story order tips

A practical chronological pass (First Class → DOFP → … → Logan → Deadpool & Wolverine). Fox continuity is messy on purpose—FAQ covers dual timelines and what to soft-skip.

  • Earliest → First Class (1962)
  • Reboot hinge → Days of Future Past (1973 past)
  • Revised 80s/90s → Apocalypse then Dark Phoenix
  • Finale flavors → Logan (~2029) then Deadpool & Wolverine (multiverse)

Timeline

When each season premiered in the US. Expand a row for dates and where it fits in your watch order.

Release order

  1. X-Men

    X-Men

    TheatricalStreamingOriginal trilogyLive-action

    Professor Xavier’s students clash with Magneto’s Brotherhood as Senator Kelly pushes a mutant registration war—the film that launched modern comic-book cinema.

    Overview
    Bryan Singer’s grounded ensemble established Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey for a generation. Practical suits and political allegory set Fox’s mutant house style for two decades.
    Related games
    No MCU prerequisite. TV series like The Gifted are FAQ-only on this page.
    Where it fits
    Start here on the Release tab. Chronology fans jump to First Class first, then circle back—both paths are valid.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release July 14, 2000 (20th Century Fox).
  2. X2

    X2

    TheatricalStreamingOriginal trilogyLive-action

    William Stryker infiltrates the mansion and weaponizes Cerebro while Nightcrawler’s White House attack frames mutants as terrorists.

    Overview
    Often ranked the peak of the original trilogy—tighter stakes, richer Mystique and Magneto politics, and deeper Wolverine/Stryker mythology.
    Related games
    No series required. Stryker threads echo into Origins: Wolverine.
    Where it fits
    Watch after X-Men (2000). Essential before Last Stand if you want the classic arc uninterrupted.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release May 2, 2003.
  3. X-Men: The Last Stand

    X-Men: The Last Stand

    TheatricalStreamingOriginal trilogyLive-action

    A “cure” divides mutantkind as Jean Grey’s Phoenix power returns—and the original trilogy’s roster pays a heavy price.

    Overview
    Brett Ratner closes the first trilogy with spectacle and controversial character exits. Later films treat some outcomes as timeline-mutable after Days of Future Past.
    Related games
    Dark Phoenix later retells a Phoenix crisis in the revised timeline—FAQ covers the double-Phoenix problem.
    Where it fits
    Finish the 2000–2006 trilogy here on Release order. Chronology still places it after the 2000s present-day block.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release May 26, 2006.
  4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

    X-Men Origins: Wolverine

    TheatricalStreamingWolverineLive-action

    Logan and Victor Creed’s Weapon X past unfolds across wars and experiments—Deadpool’s first live-action appearance is notoriously different here.

    Overview
    A Wolverine-centric prequel that fills Stryker lore but conflicts with later continuity resets. Useful as character color, shaky as hard canon after DOFP.
    Related games
    The Wolverine and Logan continue Hugh Jackman’s Logan with very different tones.
    Where it fits
    Release order places it between Last Stand and First Class. Many chronology guides still slot it ~1979; others soft-skip after the timeline reboot—see FAQ.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release May 1, 2009.
  5. X-Men: First Class

    X-Men: First Class

    TheatricalStreamingPrequelLive-action

    Young Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr forge (and shatter) a friendship during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    Overview
    Matthew Vaughn’s stylish 1960s prequel recasts Magneto and Xavier’s origin and becomes the springboard for the revised timeline after DOFP.
    Related games
    Leads into Days of Future Past’s 1973 mission. Apocalypse continues this younger cast.
    Where it fits
    Story-tab opener for most chronological lists. Release-order viewers meet it mid-run after Origins.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release June 3, 2011.
  6. The Wolverine

    The Wolverine

    TheatricalStreamingWolverineLive-action

    Logan travels to Japan, faces the Yashida clan’s immortality schemes, and confronts a quieter, wounded version of the character.

    Overview
    James Mangold’s samurai-tinged standalone deepens Logan’s guilt after the original trilogy. Sets Mangold up for Logan’s finale years later.
    Related games
    Watch Logan afterward for the emotional endpoint of this Wolverine lane.
    Where it fits
    Best after the original trilogy. Softly tied to broader X-continuity—fine as a Logan character study.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release July 26, 2013.
  7. X-Men: Days of Future Past

    X-Men: Days of Future Past

    TheatricalStreamingTimeline bridgeLive-action

    Future Sentinels hunt surviving mutants; Wolverine’s mind is sent to 1973 to stop the path that creates that apocalypse.

    Overview
    The franchise’s soft reboot—bridging original-trilogy futures with the First Class cast. Continuity after this film is the “revised” timeline.
    Related games
    Explains why Last Stand outcomes may not “stick.” FAQ details dual-timeline viewing.
    Where it fits
    Release-order hinge after The Wolverine. On Story it sits early (1973) right after First Class. Do not skip if you care how Apocalypse/Dark Phoenix connect.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release May 23, 2014.
  8. Deadpool

    Deadpool

    TheatricalStreamingDeadpoolLive-action

    Wade Wilson becomes an unhinged mercenary after Weapon X abuse—R-rated meta comedy outside the PG-13 X-house style.

    Overview
    Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and proves Fox mutants could thrive as irreverent spin-offs.
    Related games
    Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine continue Wade. Origins’ Deadpool is a different depiction—FAQ note.
    Where it fits
    Release order after DOFP. Chronology treats it as modern-day and loosely tethered—watchable almost anytime after you know Wolverine exists.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release February 12, 2016.
  9. X-Men: Apocalypse

    X-Men: Apocalypse

    TheatricalStreamingRevised timelineLive-action

    Ancient mutant En Sabah Nur rises in 1983 as Xavier’s young team faces a godlike threat—and a transforming Jean Grey.

    Overview
    Continues the revised timeline’s younger X-Men. Mixed reception, but it carries First Class/DOFP casting forward.
    Related games
    No series required. New Mutants is a separate horror-tinged lane.
    Where it fits
    Watch after Days of Future Past on either tab. Dark Phoenix follows this era next.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release May 27, 2016.
  10. Logan

    Logan

    TheatricalStreamingWolverineLive-action

    A weary Logan protects young Laura in a near-future wasteland where the X-Men are gone—Mangold’s elegy for the character.

    Overview
    R-rated Western drama that treats mutants as fading myth. Widely considered the artistic peak of Fox’s Wolverine films.
    Related games
    Emotionally follows The Wolverine more than Apocalypse. Deadpool 2 jokes about it—optional meta.
    Where it fits
    Release order after Apocalypse. Story places it last among “set on one Earth” films before Deadpool & Wolverine’s multiverse hop (~2029).
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release March 3, 2017.
  11. Deadpool 2

    Deadpool 2

    TheatricalStreamingDeadpoolLive-action

    Wade builds X-Force to protect Russell while Cable arrives from a grim future—larger set pieces, same meta voice.

    Overview
    Expands Deadpool’s found family and leans into time-travel gags that wink at X-continuity without requiring homework.
    Related games
    Leads into Deadpool & Wolverine’s MCU handoff years later.
    Where it fits
    Watch after Deadpool. Fine before or after Logan; jokes land better if you know both.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release May 18, 2018.
  12. Dark Phoenix

    Dark Phoenix

    TheatricalStreamingRevised timelineLive-action

    In 1992, Jean’s cosmic power overwhelms the revised-timeline X-Men as space tragedy turns intimate betrayal.

    Overview
    Fox’s second swing at the Phoenix saga in the post-DOFP continuity. Closes the main First Class-era film arc before New Mutants.
    Related games
    Conflicts tonally with Last Stand’s Phoenix story—FAQ explains living with both.
    Where it fits
    Watch after Apocalypse. Release order sits near the end of Fox’s run; Story places it in 1992 before the 2000s trilogy block.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release June 7, 2019.
  13. The New Mutants

    The New Mutants

    TheatricalStreamingSpin-offLive-action

    Young mutants held in a hospital-prison face horror-tinged trauma and reality-bending threats.

    Overview
    A late Fox spin-off with a darker genre tilt, loosely attached to Xavier’s world rather than the main team soap opera.
    Related games
    Skip-safe if you only want Wolverine/Deadpool/mainline X-arcs.
    Where it fits
    Optional for saga completionists. Chronology guides often park it in a vague modern slot; Release order places it before Deadpool & Wolverine.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release August 28, 2020.
  14. Deadpool & Wolverine

    Deadpool & Wolverine

    TheatricalStreamingMCU bridgeLive-action

    Wade drags a Wolverine variant through TVA/void chaos—a love letter to Fox mutants that docks with the MCU multiverse.

    Overview
    Disney-era bridge film packed with legacy cameos. Continuity is intentionally elastic; Sacred Timeline rules are secondary to character reunion energy.
    Related games
    See MCU movies in order for Avengers-era Multiverse context. No required Disney+ series before this movie.
    Where it fits
    Release-order finale for this page. Also listed on the MCU movies timeline—here it closes the Fox X/Deadpool lane.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release July 26, 2024 (Marvel Studios / Fox legacy).

FAQ

Release vs chronology, DOFP reboot, Origins skip debate, and the MCU handoff.

Watch order

Open the Story tab for a practical film chronology:

1. First Class (1962)
2. Days of Future Past (1973 past / future frame)
3. Origins: Wolverine (~1979, optional)
4. Apocalypse (1983) → Dark Phoenix (1992)
5. Original trilogy present (X-Men → X2 → Last Stand)
6. The Wolverine → Deadpool films → New Mutants → Logan → Deadpool & Wolverine

Guides disagree on Origins after DOFP—see the Origins FAQ.

Timelines

Days of Future Past sends Wolverine to 1973 to alter history, creating a revised timeline where younger First Class-era casts continue into Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. Some original-trilogy outcomes no longer “stick,” which is why Phoenix happens again in different form. Treat DOFP as the hinge—not a reason to delete the 2000 trilogy from Release order.

Many fans soft-skip it on chronology passes after Days of Future Past because its Deadpool depiction and some Weapon X beats clash with later films. On Release order, keep it—it is how Fox expanded Wolverine in 2009. If you only want Hugh Jackman’s best Logan work, prioritize The Wolverine and Logan.

What’s included

Both lanes claim it. This page lists it as the Fox X/Deadpool finale. For Avengers-era Multiverse Saga context, see the MCU movies in order page—same film, different neighbor list.

More timelines

Other release-order and story-order guides on this site.