How to watch Spider-Man movies in order
With a multiverse of content to swing into, there's never been a better time to be a Spidey fan.
With multiple actors and sagas within the Peter Parker universe, you might be at a loss on where to begin.
So, to help you come to your Spidey-senses, we have our guide on how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.
Spider-Man has made multiple appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to a deal between Sony and Marvel, so we’ll be including the MCU films that Spider-Man appears in. If you want to delve into the MCU films, be sure to check out our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
From the films featuring Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland and the many actors in the Spider-Verse movies, we have them all.
Mercifully, the chronological order is just the same as the release order as there are no prequel shenanigans as of yet, though the Spider-Verse could always take some unexpected twists and turns.
How to watch Spider-Man movies in order
The Sam Raimi trilogy
The Sam Raimi trilogy films are in order, quite predictably, as follows.
- Spider-Man (2002)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Below are some more detailed entries on each of the trilogies entries.
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1. Spider-Man (2002)
Sam Raimi brought the web-slinger to the big screen in fine form for this acclaimed blockbuster, which sees Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) come face to face with his iconic foe, Green Goblin/Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe).
This outing also introduces us to Kirsten Dunst as the love of Peter's life, Mary Jane Watson, and James Franco as Norman's son and Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn.
The film also gave us the first outing of JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson and delivered one of cinema's most iconic kisses.
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2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The high point of Raimi's trilogy, Spider-Man 2 is widely regarded as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, chronicling Peter Parker's clash with the terrifying Doctor Octopus/Dr Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina).
In case that was not enough, Peter faces an identity crisis about whether he should stay in his role as Spider-Man as he watches MJ move on with her professional and romantic life.
Elsewhere, Harry Osborn grew increasingly resentful of Spider-Man, leading him to make a dark discovery.
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3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
This final outing for Maguire's Spider-Man was something of a misstep, biting off more than it could chew with the inclusion of three villains, none of which particularly resonated with audiences.
While still a financial success, the cold critical reaction to the film, in particular an ill-advised dance number, ultimately encouraged Sony to reboot the franchise with a younger lead actor and fresh continuity.
Nevertheless, Spider-Man 3 does have its defenders; there are a handful of great moments and the film does a serviceable job of wrapping up character arcs set up earlier in the trilogy.
The film sees Peter on top of the world while facing challenges in his romance with Mary Jane, before an alien symbiote sees some dark changes underway. Elsewhere, Harry returns as the New Goblin for revenge on Spidey and Peter discovers who was really responsible for the death of Uncle Ben.
It also features new additions in the form of Sandman/Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), Venom/Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Captain George Stacy (James Cromwell).
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The Marc Webb duology
There are only two films here and, unsurprisingly, watching them in order isn't exactly complicated.
- The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
If you want a little more detail on each of Garfield's outings as the webbed wonder, then read on below.
1. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Andrew Garfield took over the web-shooters for this reboot, which retells Spider-Man's tragic origin in a somewhat more grounded way.
Emma Stone co-stars as the ill-fated Gwen Stacy, while Rhys Ifans takes on the role of troubled scientist Dr Curt Connors, better known by his supervillain alter-ego: The Lizard.
While by no means revolutionary, most critics agreed that The Amazing Spider-Man was a fun and promising new take on Marvel's wisecracking wall-crawler.
Martin Sheen stars as Uncle Ben Parker in the film, while Sally Field portrays Aunt May Parker and Dennis Leary plays Gwen's father, Captain George Stacy.
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2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Unfortunately, here's where things went wrong (again).
Sony was keen to spin their Spider-Man franchise into an expansive cinematic universe rivalling that of the mainline MCU but ultimately tried too much too fast.
The result is a film that is far too long, overloaded with villains and semi-incomprehensible from a story perspective, once again putting the future of the franchise in doubt.
Loosely based on the Death of Gwen Stacy storyline, the feature pits Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man against Jamie Foxx's Electro/Max Dillon, Dane DeHaan's Green Goblin/Harry Osborn and Paul Giamatti's Rhino.
Emma Stone returned as Gwen Stacy, with Peter and Gwen's romance taking centre stage once more as Peter feels guilt over the death of her father Captain George Stacy.
The film also saw Big Little Lies star Shaileene Woodley cast in the role fo Mary Jane Watson but her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.
Also look out for a small turn from Felicity Jones as Felicia Hardy, who here is an Oscorp employee but likely would have become the Black Cat if Sony's Spider-Man Cinematic Universe had taken off as planned.
Don't expect it to knock your socks off, but it would be worth familiarising yourself with this entry prior to watching Spider-Man: No Way Home.
And it is worth noting that while the movie itself can be a slog, Andrew Garfield once against showed why he was a great choice to don the suit.
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The Spider-Verse animated films
Whilst introducing the concept of parallel Spider-Verses, watching the film in order is a simple affair - as long as you can keep up with the changing art styles and multiple iterations of Spider-Man and Spider-Woman.
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
- Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024)
The third iteration is yet to be released but we still have details on each of the entries just below.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
While not officially tied to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man universe, there are a handful of playful references in Sony's acclaimed animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that make it a fitting palate cleanser before diving into Spidey's next iteration.
The Academy Award-winning family flick tells a charming coming-of-age story built around High School student and spider bite victim Miles Morales, who teams up with heroes from alternate universes to halt a sinister plan by the Kingpin.
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2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Building upon the success of the first entry, Across the Spider-Verse upped the ante with our James Mottram proclaiming that "no live-action superhero movie comes near it".
After the events of the previous film, Miles Morales finds himself a year later with his grades falling against the backdrop of the multiverse causing strange phenomena to become commonplace since becoming torn open.
One such being The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a black-hole-adorned villain whom Miles doesn't take seriously as he is far more preoccupied with trying to win Gwen's affection.
The Spot slowly learns to use his strange powers and his empty-threats turn into real ones very quickly.
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3. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024)
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will continue on directly from Across the Spider-Verse and will likely feature all of the same characters.
Details are light at the moment but we know the film will conclude the trilogy but we doubt it's the last we've seen from the characters.
Expect this and the preceding entry into the series to lead into a female-led spin-off film in development focused on the Gwen and Jessica iterations of Spider-Woman and the character Silk/Cindy Moon.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is due to be released in cinemas on 29th March 2024.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe
1. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The mixed reviews regarding The Amazing Spider-Man 2 led to a groundbreaking deal between Disney and Sony to share custody of Spider-Man, allowing him to join the MCU proper.
Once again, the role was recast and the continuity wiped clean, with Tom Holland playing a fresh-faced Peter Parker who actually looked high school-aged, rather than like a man in his early 30s.
He debuted in Captain America: Civil War in a small but memorable role that lays the groundwork for 2017's Homecoming, introducing a mentor relationship between Peter Parker and Tony Stark.
The appearance here also introduces Marisa Tomei as May Parker.
2. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Holland's first solo outing as Spider-Man sees him face his toughest challenge yet, coming to blows with Michael Keaton's ruthless villain: The Vulture/Adrian Toomes.
Taking cues from '80s teen flicks like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, it's a fun ride with some great comedic moments and a small supporting role for Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man.
The film also introduces Zendaya as Michelle aka MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, while Peter's chief love interest for the film is classmate Liz (Laura Harrier).
Spider-Man: Homecoming also stars Jon Favreau as Harold "Happy" Hogan, Donald Glover as Aaron Davis, Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Tyne Daly as Anne Marie Hoag, Marisa Tomei as May Parker, and a cameo from Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.
3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
In Avengers: Infinity War, Holland reprised his role for an epic crossover which sees the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy merge in a brutal confrontation against Thanos and his sinister followers.
As you might expect, Spidey once again sees himself paired up with Iron Man, while also meeting Doctor Strange for the first time - but certainly not the last.
The film ends with a devastating cliffhanger that directly involves Peter.
In addition to this, Jacob Batalon also puts in a small appearance as Ned.
4. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Picking up after the devastating events of Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame follows the Marvel heroes as they try desperately to revert the actions of Thanos, whatever it takes.
Peter Parker is one of the individuals saved by the actions of the Avengers and joins all of the main superheroes in the climactic battle towards the end of the film.
He also shares an incredibly emotional scene with mentor Iron Man/Tony Stark and Pepper Potts at the climax of the battle.
Also, be sure to look out for appearances once more from both Ned and May towards the end of the film.
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Set shortly after the events of Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home is another fun solo adventure for the webslinger, chronicling Peter Parker's school trip across Europe.
Along the way, he hopes to win over his crush MJ, but that won't be easy when Nick Fury recruits him to fight a group of elemental monsters, alongside an enigmatic new hero called Mysterio/Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal).
And it has a doozy of an ending too that sets the stage for a very different adventure for the web-slinger when he returns - with potentially some other Peter Parkers alongside him and a host of returning villains.
Far From Home also stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei as May Parker, and Jon Favreau as Harold "Happy" Hogan.
Available to purchase on Amazon
6. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Picking up from the cliffhanger ending of the last film, Spider-Man: No Way Home sees Peter struggling with all the extra attention he is receiving and the impact it is has on his loved ones, including girlfriend MJ, best friend Ned and his aunt May Parker (Marisa Tomei).
Turning to sorcerer Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Peter hopes to undo some of the latest events in his life but unwittingly opens up his world to dangers caused by villains from across the Multiverse.
Among the villains are Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) from the Sam Raimi trilogy, along with Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans) from the Amazing Spider-Man films.
However, do Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield return in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
It should be noted that this film follows the events of every live-action series of Spider-Man films.
See here for our explainer for the Spider-Man: No Way Home ending and also our explainer on the end credits scenes.
Read more:
- Spider-Man: No Way Home review – “The best superhero movie in recent years”
- New Doctor Strange detail revealed in Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Spider-Man: No Way Home – Best Easter eggs and cameos in new MCU film
- Spider-Man: No Way Home includes major reference to Miles Morales
- What’s next for Daredevil as the Man without Fear is restored in the MCU?
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