While Wolverine might be a surly loner, he is also one the most beloved Marvel superheroes of all time. Hugh Jackman marked Wolverine’s live action debut in 2000 in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men. The actor's portrayal quickly became a fan favourite, and Jackman would become synonymous with the role for the next 24 years. If you are looking for how (and where) to watch every Wolverine movie in release and chronological order, you can use this JustWatch guide to find out everything you need to know.
How to watch Wolverine movies in chronological order
Wolverine's adventures on the big screen include time-traveling (in Days of Future Past) and complications due to the Deadpool trilogy's meta-narratives. This means you can't simply watch Wolverine's movies chronologically according to the year in which they are set. Instead, the best way to watch them in order is to following the original timeline, then Wolverine's journey throughout Fox's rebooted timeline, and then finally his adventure with Deadpool.
The Original Timeline:
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- X-Men
- X2
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- The Wolverine
The Fox reboot timeline:
- X-Men: First Class (cameo)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- X-Men: Apocalypse (cameo)
- Logan
The Deadpool timeline:
- Deadpool & Wolverine
Wolverine's story begins with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which includes an opening credits sequence that follows him through the years before his memory loss. The movie then shows his attempt to lead a normal life, years before he meets Charles Xavier and the X-Men. The next movie to watch is X-Men, showing how a chance encounter with Rogue leads him to teams up with the X-Men. The story continues in X2, which sheds lights on how Wolverine got his adamantium skeleton and his traumatic history with William Stryker. You can then watch X-Men: The Last Stand, followed by the standalone Wolverine movie, The Wolverine – which follows Logan as he travels to Japan to face his traumatic past. From here, the timeline of Wolverine-related movies get a little more complicated.
In 2011, 20th Century Fox released an X-Men prequel film, X-Men: First Class, set in the 1960s. Wolverine only features in a very brief cameo, so it's not essential to Logan's storyline – but watching the film will prove useful to fully understand its sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past, in which Wolverine is an important character. In Days of Future Past, Wolverine is transported back to the 1970s to try and stop an assassination which has helped create a dystopian world for mutants all over the world.
An enraged Wolverine technically appears next in X-Men: Apocalypse while suffering from the Weapon X experiment, but this is a short cameo that doesn't relate to the film's overall plot. He then does not appear in Dark Phoenix at all, marking the first time Wolverine isn't in an X-Men movie.
In 2017, Wolverine got his third solo film, Logan, which saw The Wolverine director James Mangold return for the character's supposed swan song. While it's unclear whether Logan takes place in a separate timeline entirely, it takes place decades after his days with the X-Men. It shows a Wolverine who is past his prime, as he secretly takes care of Charles Xavier in dire conditions. A shocking discovery related to his own past gives Wolverine one last mission to complete.
Although Logan was intended to be the last Wolverine movie starring Hugh Jackman, these plans changed when Jackman agreed to return to the role for Deadpool & Wolverine. It is unclear how the movie fits into the X-Men timelines – especially due to the Deadpool franchise's meta-narratives – but it makes sense to watch Deadpool & Wolverine as the final movie chronologically.
How to watch Wolverine movies in release order
If trying to work out the X-Men timelines has left you feeling dizzy, another option is to watch them all in release order. This will give you the same experience viewers had when watching Wolverine movies in theaters for the first time between 2000 and 2024.
If you'd like to watch every Wolverine movie in release order, check out the list below. We've also included the latest streaming options so you can find where to watch them all on streaming services in the United Kingdom.
