The drama of human lives fused with action-packed adventure and glorifying fight sequences has spawned over a decade of noteworthy X Men order movies with bizarre timelines, to say the least.
The timelines are askew and leave the viewer quite baffled.
To add to that, the X Men movie release dates also do not go in chronological order — particularly with the X Men movies in order. Though the reboots, prequels, and spinoffs kept the series fresh and engaging, it complicated the continuity.
If you’re looking to watch all X Men movies in UK but do not know which order to go in, we’ve created a handy guide to help you out. Just like watching Marvel Movies in order, you can use this guide to enjoy all X Men series in the UK.
You can watch these action movies either in x men chronological order of events within the films or in order of their release dates in the real world.
X Men Movies in Order of Release
We have provided you with the list of X Men movies in release order to watch below:
- X Men – July 14, 2000
- X2 – May 2, 2003
- X Men: The Last Stand – May 26, 2006
- X Men Origins: Wolverine – May 1, 2009
- X Men: First Class – June 3, 2011
- The Wolverine – July 26, 2013
- X Men: Days of Future Past – May 23, 2014
- Deadpool – February 12, 2016
- X Men: Apocalypse – May 27, 2016
- Logan – March 3, 2017
- Deadpool 2 – May 18, 2018
- Dark Phoenix – June 7, 2019
- The New Mutants – August 28, 2020
There are seldom movie franchises that depict real-world problems in the reel world – hurdles faced by minorities and underlying messages about the civil rights movement.
The X Men movies are, therefore, the kind of best movies you don’t want to miss. We hope this blog will help you easily watch the X Men movies in order!
X Men Movies in Chronological Order
We know it’s complicated and that’s why we’re here to walk you through the classic movies of X Men Movies in Order.
1. X Men First Class
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Duration/Length: 2h 12min
Trailer: X Men First Class
Although this prequel was not released first in theatres, in the X Men universe it happens to be the first. The starry line-up of actors includes James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) alongside Micheal Fassbender and Keven Bacon.
This story origins in the year 1962 and shows a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) forming a team with young Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) to trail a former Nazi mutant scientist (Kevin Bacon).
In the background, The Cuban Missile Crisis is also discreetly shown. One of the best X Men Movies in order.
2. X Men Days of the Future Past
Director: Bryan Singer
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Duration/Length: 2h 12min
Trailer: X Men Days of the Future Past
With a stellar cast starring Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, McAvoy, and more, Days of the Future Past created much hype before it was released in 2014.
One of the best family movies on Disney Plus, this X Men movie technically takes place in 1973, however the plot centers around the year 2023 (two years away from now – how insane is that!)
The movie largely confused the audiences by the events that unfold. Wolverine, in the future, has his consciousness sent back to the year 1973, which helps him prevent Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) from using Mystique’s (Jennifer Lawrence) blood to create a strong army in the future.
So, in essence, Wolverine alters the past, thereby erasing the 2023 timeline as well as the events that happened in X Men, X2, and X Men: The Last Stand.
To add some clarity, filmmaker Bryan Singer explained:
“Part of the philosophy we had at the end of Days of Future Past is that you can’t fully change the course or current of the river, but you can just divert it a little bit, and we diverted it a little bit… Any possibility could occur, but characters are still moving towards their immutable place.”
3. X Men Origins: Wolverine
Director: Gavin Hood
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds
IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
Duration/Length: 1h 47min
Trailer: X Men Origins: Wolverine
The Wolverine X Men original OG story takes us on a journey to reveal how Logan loses his memory and how his powers first began to manifest. The story begins back in 1845 and is shown as flashbacks throughout the movie.
Aside from the flashbacks, the movie is set in 1979 and tells us about the rivalry of James Logan with his brother as well as his experiences in special forces and much more. One of the best X Men Movies in order.
4. X Men: Apocalypse
Director: Bryan Singer
Stars: James McAvoyMichael FassbenderJennifer Lawrence
IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Duration/Length: 2h 24min
Trailer: X Men: Apocalypse
The X-Men prequel is set in the 1980s and follows closely the events of X Men: First Class and 1970s feel of Days of the Future Past.
The movie shows us the young mutant adult versions of the X Men, who are up against a powerful mutant enemy called En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac).
5. X Men Dark Phoenix
Director: Simon Kinberg
Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
IMDb Rating: 5.7/10
Duration/Length: 1h 54min
Trailer: X Men Dark Phoenix
The first class X Men origins story of the Dark Phoenix saga was the final film that features the ‘young’ X Men cast. It takes place in the year 1992 and has a somewhat muddled storyline which confused the viewer on how it connects to the next film chronologically.
Towards the end of the film, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) transforms into the Dark Phoenix. This force not only makes her immensely more strong best female Marvel Character but also far more unstable once she returns home. The X-Men must now come together to save her soul and fight aliens who want to dominate the galaxy using Grey’s new skills.
6. X Men
Director: Bryan Singer
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Duration/Length: 1h 44min
Trailer: X Men
From reel to real, the X Men movie was the first superhero movie to be released in the X Men franchise. The movie was released in the year 2000 and was set in the same year.
The movie introduces us to the brotherhood and the X Men for the first time in the X Men timeline. Despite this you can also watch superhero movies like DC movies in order and some fantasy movies like Star Trek movies in order.
7. X2: X Men United
Director: Bryan Singer
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Duration/Length: 2h 15min
Trailer: X2: X Men United
Kelly used his newfound skills to flee Genosha and finally arrived at the X-Mansion for assistance. However, the abnormal mutation generated by Magneto’s machine’s radiation led his cellular structure to break down. The storm was the last person to see him alive before he dissolved into water.
The franchise’s first sequel, X2:X Men United released in 2003 with the events set in the same year.
The antagonist is anti-mutant colonel William Stryker who kidnaps Professor X, compelling the X Men to team up with their nemesis.
8. X Men: The Last Stand
Director: Brett Ratner
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
Duration/Length: 1h 44min
Trailer: X Men: The Last Stand
This installment is the final sequel to the ORIGINAL franchise line, which takes place in the year 2006.
In this sequel, the government discovers a cure for mutations. The movie also shows a young girl (Jean Gray) taking on her alternate persona, Phoenix for the very first time in the series – not chronologically but release-date-wise. This movie has an amazing story plot.
9. The Wolverine
Director: James Mangold
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Tao Okamoto
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
Duration/Length: 2h 6min
Trailer: The Wolverine
Wolverine makes a comeback with the 2013 film, which is a sequel to both X Men Origins: Wolverine and X Men: The Last Stand.
After Jean Grey’s death, this movie takes place in the same year that it was released and depicts Logan fighting his demons of grief over Jean Grey’s death in X2 while being stuck in a conspiracy involving mutants and the Yakuza.
This movie is one of the best X Men films. Along with multiple popular movies on HBO Max, you can also enjoy The Wolverine on this streaming platform quite easily.
10. Deadpool
Director: Tim Miller
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller
IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
Duration/Length: 1h 48min
Trailer: Deadpool
The very R-rated Marvel Comics adaptation Deadpool is vaguely connected to the X Men film timeline.
The movie begins to show mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) falling in love with a sex worker called Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). However, he soon discovers that he has terminal cancer and decides to give an experimental cure a shot to awaken his residing mutant genes.
Soon disfigured, Wake teams up with the X Men to defeat his arch-nemesis Ajax (Ed Skrein). You could skip this movie altogether but if the perfectionist in you urges you to complete the order, you can add it to your movie marathon.
11. Deadpool 2
Director: David Leitch
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Duration/Length: 2h
Trailer: Deadpool 2
20th Century Fox released Deadpool 2 in the United States on May 18, 2018. The sequel to Deadpool features a cameo of the young X Men casts.
The fun part of this X Men film is that the movie was released in 2018 and it’s also set in the same year, BUT Deadpool travels back in time to X Men Origins: Wolverine and kills Ryan Reynold’s previous iteration of the Deadpool character.
12. Logan
Director: James Mangold
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Duration/Length: 2h 17min
Trailer: Logan
The X Men film propels us far into the future – to the year 2029. A much older Logan (Jackman) is happily living a quiet life when a mutant child Laura comes to him for his help.
It’s a morbid time, with most of the mutants almost extinct. This sets the tone for it to be a finale of sorts, with harrowing deaths of our much-loved character’s adding to the misery of hardcore fans.
However, one thing to note is that this final installment brings the entire series together nicely.
X Men Movies by Chronological Series
The X Men films do not exist as a single continuous saga. Instead, several mini-franchises have emerged within Fox’s larger X-franchise. As a result, it’s easier to think of them in granular terms rather than getting caught up in how they fit together as a whole.
Things were simpler back then, with X Men, X Men 2, and X Men: The Last Stand serving as the beginning, middle, and end of a standalone trilogy. Hugh Jackman returned in an origin story for the series’ most popular character, Wolverine, three years after The Last Stand.
Fox was never going to let a lucrative franchise die after only three films, so three years after The Last Stand, Hugh Jackman returned in an origin story for the series’ most popular character, Wolverine.
We’ve treated The New Mutants as a separate entity because it doesn’t fit in with the other series in Fox’s X Men films. See the order to watch X Men movies:
Original X-Men trilogy
- X-Men
- X-Men 2/X2: X-Men United
- X-Men: The Last Stand
Prequel series
- X-Men: First Class
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- X-Men: Apocalypse
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Wolverine series
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- The Wolverine
- Logan
Deadpool series
- Deadpool
- Deadpool 2
The New Mutants
- The New Mutants
Which X-Men films are Available on Disney Plus?
As of March 2021, Disney Plus in the United States has a limited selection of X-Men movies in order: X-Men, X2, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and The Wolverine.
While, X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and The Wolverine are available on the Disney+ library of the United Kingdom.
It has been confirmed that First Class and Logan will join it within the next year – this is due to the fact that Star on Disney Plus allows the more adult Logan to be added to the streamer with parental controls.
The best thing about watching movies on Disney Plus is that it’s compatible with a variety of devices, including Android, iOS, FireStick, Roku, Kodi, macOS, Windows, and more. You can also get Disney Plus on PS4, and enjoy the X-Men series.
Conclusion
The X-Men films are enchanting and will keep you fascinated for the rest of your life. There’s a reason why everyone considers the X-Men films to be the best adult companions we’ve ever had. This holiday season, watch the X Men movies in order.
Apart from these movies we also have a huge list of movies in order like Jurassic Park movies in Order, Star Wars movies in Order, and Fast and Furious movies in Order.
Jane Davies
