With so many Spider-Man movies available to purchase or stream it is becoming increasingly difficult (and sometimes confusing) to keep track of every film. Which Spider-Man movies are connected? Which are stand alone tales? Do the Spider-Man movies need to be viewed in any order? There are simply too many questions!
The best way to answer these questions (and more) is to firstly look at the series as a whole. By understanding what films are in the Spider-Man film series it is then much easier to pick it apart, so to speak.
The Spider-Man movie series includes the following films:
- Spider-Man (1977)
- Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978)
- Spider-Man (1978) – The Japanese film
- Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge (1979)
- Spider-Man (2002)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload (2013)
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled! (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Venom (2018)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
- Lego Marvel Spider-Man: Vexed by Venom (2019)
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- Morbius (2022)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1 (2023)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 2 (2024)
The films above are listed in production order. If you want to watch the Spider-Man films in order, then simply start at the top of the list and work your way down.
But if you don’t want to watch the Spider-Man movies in order, or you only have access to certain titles, then it is best to adhere to the following guidelines:
- The Spider-Man films can be broken down into smaller subcategories
- Some Spider-Man movies are part of a wider universe
Now let’s use this information to navigate the series.
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The Spider-Man movie timelines
The Spider-Man movie series contains various timelines. Each timeline incorporates one or more film and can be watched as follows:
- The ‘70s era – Spider-Man (1977), Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978) and Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge (1979)
- The Japanese Spider-Man movie – Spider-Man (1978) (Supaidāman)
- The Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy – Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- The Amazing Spider-Man films – The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe – Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- The Lego Spider-Man movies – Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload (2013), Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled! (2015) and Lego Marvel Spider-Man: Vexed by Venom (2019)
- The Spider-Verse – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1 (2023), and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 2 (2024)
- Sony’s Marvel Universe – Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Morbius (2022)
Deconstructing the Spider-Man movies into subcategories (or individual timelines) is very useful, as it can make it easier when it comes to viewing each entry. For example, there are three movies within the ‘70s era of Spider-Man movies and there are two movies within The Amazing Spider-Man film series, so you can simply watch this and disregard everything else.
Depending on what films take your interest, or which categories you want to dive into, you should view the films in the order I’ve stated. So, for the ‘70s era, begin with Spider-Man, then continue with Spider-Man Strikes Back and conclude with Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge. Do the same for the other subcategories.
You don’t need to watch the subcategories in any particular order, so if you want to watch the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy before you watch the Japanese Spider-Man movie you can. Likewise, feel free to watch The Amazing Spider-Man movies before starting the ‘70s era – it is entirely fine.
The great thing about the multiple timelines/subcategories is that you get to dive in and out of Spider-Man stories in short bursts. This can make viewing the Spider-Man films an easy watch if you so wish it to be.
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Enter the Spider-Verse
As noted earlier in this post, some of the Spider-Man films are part of a wider universe and this can alter your viewing. To date, this applies to the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Sony Marvel Universe and the Spider-Verse.
The Spider-Man films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe are connected to an ongoing series of movies from Marvel Studios, which date back to the release of Iron Man (2008). I could list every movie and television series set within the MCU, but it is forever updating and expanding so it would take a while (and it is information you don’t really need).
What you need to know here is that Spider-Man first entered the MCU with Captain America: Civil War (2016). If you wish to view all of the Spider-Man-related content from the MCU, start with Civil War and follow the films in the order I have listed them in.
When it comes to the Sony Marvel Universe, this is a universe that concentrates on Spider-Man villains/Spider-Man-related characters. To date, this universe includes Venom (2018) and Morbius (2022), but is set to expand.
And then there’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) – which blows things out of the water considerably. This film introduces the idea that every Spider-Man movie is connected (yes, every Spider-Man movie).
If you like the idea that the Spider-Man films are all part of one epic multiverse, then you will need to watch all of the entries that I have listed at the top of this page. Watch them in production order, and when you get to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse you will understand how they are all connected.
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Spider-Man movies in order
From looking at the above information it should be clear that you can watch the Spider-Man movie subcategories in any order. However, when it comes down to the individual titles it is best to follow the orders I’ve listed above.
My advice? Simply pick a subcategory that interests you and work your way through it the way I have advised. You will find it a more rewarding experience than if you just jump back and forth with no direction.
I hope this post has pointed you in the right direction, and has answered some of your questions regarding the Spider-Man movies.
If you would like further information on this subject, I recommend you read my post: ‘What are the Spider-Man movies?’. The post covers a similar topic, but from a slightly different angle and provides additional details on the Spider-Man movie series and its individual parts.
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